Guest: Whitney Webb. We discuss Whitney’s multi-part investigative journalism articles on the Jeffrey Epstein affair, his ties to intelligence and organized crime, trafficking networks and sexual blackmail operations, and the origins of the Epstein case, going back decades. We focus on Part 2 of the series, titled Government by Blackmail: Jeffrey Epstein, Trump’s Mentor and the Dark Secrets of the Reagan Era. 

Whitney Webb is a MintPress news journalist and the co-host of the MintCast podcast. She is based in southern Chile and has contributed to numerous independent media outlets with writing and interviews and Whitney is the 2019 winner of the Serena Shim Award for Uncompromised Integrity in Journalism.  

FOLLOW @_whitneywebb, find her work at MintPress News and the MintCast podcast.

Around the Empire is listener supported, independent media. Pitch in at Patreon: patreon.com/aroundtheempire or paypal.me/aroundtheempirepod. Find all links at aroundtheempire.com. 

SUBSCRIBE on YouTube. FOLLOW @aroundtheempire and @joanneleon. 

SUBSCRIBE/FOLLOW on iTunes, iHeart, Spotify, Google Play, Facebook or on your preferred podcast app.

Recorded on July 26, 2019. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

1. Hidden in Plain Sight: The Shocking Origins of the Jeffrey Epstein Case, Whitney Webb, MintPress News
2. Government by Blackmail: Jeffrey Epstein, Trump’s Mentor and the Dark Secrets of the Reagan Era, Whitney Webb, MintPress News
3. WSJ: Jeffrey Epstein’s Pilots Are Subpoenaed in Sex-Trafficking Investigation
4. NYT: How Jeffrey Epstein Used the Billionaire Behind Victoria’s Secret for Wealth and Women

Guest: Whitney Webb. We continue the discussion on Whitney’s multi-part investigative journalism articles on the Jeffrey Epstein affair, his ties to intelligence and organized crime, trafficking networks and sexual blackmail operations, and the origins of the Epstein case, going back decades. We focus on Part 3: Mega Group, Maxwells, and Mossad: The Spy Story at the Heart of the Jeffrey Epstein Scandal,

Whitney Webb is a MintPress news journalist and the co-host of the MintCast podcast. She is based in southern Chile and has contributed to numerous independent media outlets with writing and interviews and Whitney is the 2019 winner of the Serena Shim Award for Uncompromised Integrity in Journalism.  

FOLLOW @_whitneywebb, find her work at MintPress News and the MintCast podcast.

Around the Empire is listener supported, independent media. Pitch in at Patreon: patreon.com/aroundtheempire or paypal.me/aroundtheempirepod. Find all links at aroundtheempire.com. 

SUBSCRIBE on YouTube. FOLLOW @aroundtheempire and @joanneleon. 

SUBSCRIBE/FOLLOW on iTunes, iHeart, Spotify, Google Play, Facebook or on your preferred podcast app.

Recorded on August 7, 2019. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

1. Around the Empire: Ep 115 Epstein, Trafficking & Blackmail feat Whitney Webb
2. Mega Group, Maxwells, and Mossad: The Spy Story at the Heart of the Jeffrey Epstein Scandal, Whitney Webb, MintPress News

 

Guest: Mark Sleboda. Mark Sleboda joins us today from Moscow to talk about political affairs in Ukraine and the recent snap elections in the Ukrainian parliament, the Rada. The “throw the bums out” trend continues and the new president,Volodymyr Zelensky and his brand new political party now has a rare absolute majority and they begin the task of actually governing this troubled state. 

Mark is an International Affairs & Security Analyst, a US Navy veteran, a university lecturer and a foreign policy realist.

FOLLOW Mark on Twitter @MarkSleboda1 and on Facebook, look for his appearances on RT, Sputnik and other international channels. 

Around the Empire is listener supported, independent media. Pitch in at Patreon: patreon.com/aroundtheempire or paypal.me/aroundtheempirepod. Find all links at aroundtheempire.com. 

SUBSCRIBE on YouTube. FOLLOW @aroundtheempire and @joanneleon.  SUBSCRIBE/FOLLOW on iTunes, iHeart, Spotify, Google Play, Facebook or on your preferred podcast app.

Recorded on August 7, 2019. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Timestamps:

01:30 Ukraine presidential and snap parliamentary elections, Zelensky, “Servant of the People”, rejection of Poroshenko, anti-corruption, vague policies that appeal to East and West Ukraine, new inexperienced Zelensky party in Rada with diverse policy positions, no party platform or ideology

11:00 Oligarch Kolomoisky, originally pro-Maidan, funded & armed nationalist/neo-Nazi battalions, Privat Bank, fled country with IMF funds, self-exiled and later returned, possibly created Zelensky

16:30 Zelensky continues orientation toward EU and the West, Minsk agreement, privatization and austerity

18:30 Civil war, refusal to talk with Donbass separatists leaders, relations with Russia

21:30 Ukrainian economy

27:30 Control of military and national guard, intelligence services

30:30 Ukraine elections and parties (also with an introduction to Mark’s pets voicing their opinion in the background :) (see photos in reference links)

44:00 VICE article (see reference links) propaganda on the far-Right militias, influence on Europe, missiles found in Italy, blowback of Western proxies, current situation with neo-Nazi militias, previous contradictory work of VICE in Ukraine

Reference Links:

1. Around the Empire: Ep 99 Ukraine feat Mark Sleboda
2. Netflix: Servant of the People
3. VICE: FAR-RIGHT EXTREMISTS HAVE BEEN USING UKRAINE’S WAR AS A TRAINING GROUND. THEY’RE RETURNING HOME. 
4. Pics of Mark’s pets (including Morrigan the crow)

 

Behind the News, 8/22/19 - guests: Brian Hioe, Kavita Krishnan - Doug Henwood

Dan talks to Jacobin editor Bhaskar Sunkara about his book The Socialist Manifesto: The Case for Radical Politics in an Era of Extreme Inequality. We must study socialism's history and plan for its future.

Thanks to Verso Books. Check out their huge selection of left-wing titles at versobooks.com

Please support this podcast with your money at Patreon.com/TheDig

Behind the News, 8/15/19 - guests: Andrew Sernatinger, Margaret Kimberley - Doug Henwood

Good News, Bad News: 4 Trends in US Energy Use Comments|Add Comment|Print In 2018, the United States set a new record for energy consumption: 101 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu) of energy. Of this total, 81 quadrillion Btu (or 80%) were from fossil fuels: petroleum, natural gas and coal. What does this growing consumption mean for climate change, and is it still possible for the United States to get on a path to reduce emissions at the pace needed? We reviewed the U.S. Energy...

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And we talk to the author of a new thriller on Palestinian resistance to Israel.

Human objects and activity can be seen in over one hundred sites on the lunar surface. Michelle Hanlon explains why and how it should be protected for all moonkind.

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Effective transit is great for the environment, but it’s not always convenient. Lyft and Uber are super convenient, but not always great for congestion and emissions. Can we have the best of both worlds?

Sources:
Casey Gifford | King County Metro
Chris Snyder | Via
Brian Brooke | Sound Transit
Jessica Ramirez | Puget Sound Sage
Greg Erhardt | University of Kentucky
Ben Fried & Hayley Richardson | The Transit Center
“Do TNCS decrease or increase congestion?” | Erhardt, et. al.
“The future of transit isn’t a $5 discount on Uber Trips” | The Transit Center
“Partners in Transit” | Schweiterman, et. al
Map of Uber and Lyft in Fall 2016 | SF County Transportation Authority

Further reading:
How Much Traffic Do Uber and Lyft Cause? | CityLab
A bus gets a lot of hate. These cities are trying to change that | Vox
How a Canadian town “Uberized” its public transportation | Marketplace

Finally, we really wanted to dig into the labor piece of transit vs. ride-hailing, but the scope of the video didn’t allow for it – there’s a lot of really fascinating pieces that we hope to dig into in the future (e.g. salary + benefits of transit employees vs. contract work of Lyft and Uber drivers). But here are some interesting articles about it:

Uber and Lyft drivers demand better pay, workplace protections and driver-led unions | TechCrunch
India’s Uber drivers went on strike because they’re making $3 a day | Washington Post
Treat workers as employees? Uber, Lyft and others are scrambling for a compromise | Los Angeles Times

This story was originally published by Grist with the headline This transit experiment is a cross between Uber and the bus on Aug 7, 2019.

From the 905 Comedy festival, master impressionist Jessica Holmes, and comedian Tim Steeves shares how he has yet to master the art of ordering in a restaurant

French food was the envy of the world – before it became trapped by its own history. Can a new school of traditionalists revive its glories? By Wendell Steavenson. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

Gavin Watson was a hero of the struggle against apartheid. But this once-powerful businessman is now caught up in a sweeping inquiry that goes to the heart of how a nation is run. By Mark Gevisser. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

Dirty money needs laundering if it’s to be of any use – and the UK is the best place in the world to do it. By Oliver Bullough. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

Read 16 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Welcome to the radio magazine that brings you news, commentary and analysis from a Black Left perspective. I’m Glen Ford, along with my co-host Nellie Bailey. Coming up: The Black Alliance for Peace demands that elected officials tell us where they stand on militarism and endless war; a Black scholar defends Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s description of immigrant detention centers as “concentration camps”; and, we’ll examine the changing relationship between African Americans and the Mother Continent.

August 9th marks the 5th anniversary of the day Mike Brown was shot to death by a white policeman in Ferguson, Missouri, setting off national revulsion against killer cops and the criminal injustice system. Activists in cities around the country are commemorating the events that spawned the Black Lives Matter movement. In Newark, New Jersey, the public library will host a day of activities on August 14th, in hopes of spurring renewed social activism. Zayid Muhammad is with N-CAP, Newark Communities for Accountable Policing.

 Black office-holders are about to be put on notice, that their support for U.S. imperial crimes around the world goes against the grain of the pro-peace tradition in Black America. Ajamu Baraka, of the Black Alliance for Peace, says both corporate parties try to keep U.S. foreign policy out of the political debate. The Alliance is demanding that elected officials go on record on issues of war and peace.

Freshman Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, known as AOC, came under savage attack when she described detention centers for immigrants as “concentration camps.” But Zoe Samudzi, co-author of the book, “As Black As Resistance,” says AOC is correct in broadening the popular discussion about the various ways that targeted groups are contained and controlled. Samudzi’s latest essay is titled, “Policing the Borders of Suffering.” She says no ethnic group has a monopoly on terms like “genocide” and “concentration camp.”

Nemata Blyden is a professor of History and International Affairs at George Washington University, and author of the book, “African Americans and Africa: A New History.” Blyden has a unique perspective on the subject. She was born in Sierra Leone, West Africa, the descendant of a renowned Pan Africanist and an African American mother. Professor Blyden talks about her book.

 

 

 

Democracy Now! 2019-08-02 Friday

• Headlines for August 02, 2019
• "You're Gonna Kill Me": Bodycam Video Shows Dallas Officers Mocking Man as He Died Pinned to Ground
• Ex-Health Insurance Exec: Industry Is Using Decades-Old Scare Tactics to Fight Medicare for All
• Climate System "Getting Unhinged" as Massive Heat Wave Causes Record Melting of Greenland Ice Sheet

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Democracy Now! 2019-08-01 Thursday

• Headlines for August 01, 2019
• Dolores Huerta & Cornel West Respond to Democratic Debate as Biden & Harris Face Harsh Scrutiny
• "You Owe Them an Apology": Tulsi Gabbard Slams Kamala Harris on Her Record as California AG
• "You're Dipping into the Kool-Aid": Booker Accuses Biden of Helping Drive Mass Incarceration
• Dolores Huerta Accuses Biden of "Speaking Just Like a Republican" on Immigration
• "It Wasn't a Golden Age": Cornel West Says Democrats Have to Reckon with Mixed Obama Legacy
• Cornel West: Corporate Media's Superficial Coverage Helped Create "Fascist Frankenstein Trump"

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Dan interviews Lily Geismer, the author of Don't Blame Us: Suburban Liberals and the Transformation of the Democratic Party. While Boston whites fought school busing in the streets, suburban liberals along Route 128 maintained and benefited from the larger system of metropolitan residential and school segregation that made the crisis possible. Suburban liberals also played a key role in creating a new Democratic Party that embraced a superficial politics of recognition while advancing a technocratic elite-driven neoliberal agenda that included the demonization and persecution of poor black mothers on welfare and mass incarceration.

Thanks to Verso Books. Check out their huge selection of left-wing titles at www.versobooks.com

Please support this podcast with your money at Patreon.com/TheDig

Behind the News, 8/1/19 - guests: Derek Seidman, Marshall Auerback - Doug Henwood

Susan Oosthuizen explains why we should be reassessing what we think about the Anglo-Saxons. historyextra.com/podcasts

For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

What are the lessons learned from the 1980s Tanker War in the Persian Gulf?

 Welcome to the radio magazine that brings you news, commentary and analysis from a Black Left perspective. I’m Glen Ford, along with my co-host Nellie Bailey. Coming up: Newark, New Jersey throws a party for Mumia Abu Jamal’s latest book; Mumia. The nation’s best known political prisoner, offers his journalistic analysis of Joe Biden’s worthiness for president; and, the Socialist Action Party’s candidate tells us why HE ought to be president.

Dr. Gerald Horne is Professor of History and African American studies at University of Houston, and possibly Black America’s most prolific living political writer. One of his latest books is “US Imperialism and Anti-Communism vs. Liberation of Southern Africa, from Rhodes to Mandela.” Chapter Two is titled, “US Lays the Foundation for Apartheid – 1906 to 1930.” The United State DID create the world’s first totally racially regimented society, in the Jim Crow South. But, did the US lay the “foundation” for South African apartheid? Dr. Horne explains.

 At the Source of Knowledge bookstore in Newark, New Jersey, veterans of the Black Panther Party organized a hugely successful roundtable discussion of the new book by Mumia Abu Jamal and his co-author, Steven Vittoria. It’s titled, “Murder Incorporated,” and it’s in three parts. The second volume, with a focus on US imperialism, was just released. One of the speakers at the roundtable was Todd Steven Burroughs, author of a number of books, and co-author of “Correcting Manning Marable’s Malcolm X.” Burroughs is also a biographer of Mumia Abu Jamal.

The nation’s best known political prisoner is a lifelong journalist. Mumia Abu Jamal files this report for Prison Radio. It’s called “Biden his time.”

The Democrats and Republicans, the two corporate parties, aren’t the only ones fielding presidential candidates. Jeff Mackler is running on the Socialist Action Party ticket.

Democracy Now! 2019-07-25 Thursday

• Headlines for July 25, 2019
• "A Victory for the People of Puerto Rico": Gov. Ricardo Rosselló Resigns Following Mass Protests
• Robert Mueller Testimony Disappoints Democrats Who Bet on Special Counsel to Help Sink Trump
• Ryan Grim: Tom Perez Was Elected Head of DNC Thanks to a "Silent Coup" in Puerto Rico in 2017
• Protests Erupt in London as Boris Johnson Is Sworn In as New Prime Minister, Promising Hard Brexit

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Turn on, tune in, and drop out … that was the catchcry of U.S. psychologist Timothy Leary in the 1960s. By 1966 psychedelics were demonised and banned, but now—in controlled scientific settings—there's a psychedelic 'renaissance' in mental health therapy. Early research on the use of ecstasy in the treatment of stress disorders looks promising.

After decades of rightwing dominance, a transatlantic movement of leftwing economists is building a practical alternative to neoliberalism. By Andy Beckett. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

(This post was originally published on my Patreon page.)

One of the central themes in Donald Trump’s presidential campaign was that U.S. workers were being badly hurt by trade. His story was that the country had signed bad trade deals that were put together by “stupid” trade negotiators.

Trump’s story was half right. Workers in the United States were badly hurt by trade, a fact that many in the mainstream are still reluctant to acknowledge in spite of overwhelming evidence.

The basic point is a simple one that has a long pedigree in economics dating back to the famous Stolper-Samuelson trade theorem. The United States has relatively more highly-educated workers (college degree or more) than developing countries and relatively fewer less-educated workers (less than a college degree). This means that when we open trade to China and other developing countries, we would expect to see more highly educated workers benefit and less highly educated workers lose.

We saw this story in action in the last decade in a really big way. From 2000 to 2007 we lost 20 percent of all manufacturing jobs in the United States. (This is before the Great Recession; the job loss was due to the explosion of the trade deficit in these years, not the collapse of the housing bubble.) We lost 40 percent of the jobs held by union members in manufacturing in these years.

It is important to remember that the Stolper-Samuelson prediction on non-college educated workers being losers (roughly two-thirds of the labor force) is a balanced trade story. The picture is of course worse when the U.S. runs a large trade deficit, since most of what we import is manufactured goods, a sector which employs a disproportionate number of non-college educated workers.

The Stolper-Samuelson effect is also amplified by the fact that we don’t have free trade in the items produced by the most highly educated workers. Doctors and other highly paid professionals from foreign countries cannot freely compete with our professionals. We have maintained and even strengthened professional barriers that keep pay for our doctors far above levels in other wealthy countries and even further above their pay in the developing world.

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We report from inside Honduras on the 10th anniversary of the US-backed military coup that overthrew its independent left-wing democracy. Gerardo Torres of the opposition Libre Party discusses how Washington maintains a chokehold on Honduran politics and society to advance its economic and military interests.

PART 1 OF 2

Max Blumenthal and Ben Norton continue reporting in Honduras with Gerardo Torres of the opposition Libre Party, who explains how the 2009 US-backed right-wing military coup that ousted elected President Manuel Zelaya, overseen by Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, unleashed an immigration crisis that has fueled Trump and the far-right. We also address the hypocrisy of the "war on drugs" and foreign imperialist intervention in Central America.

PART 2 OF 2