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In a wide ranging conversation co-hosted with Sibel Edmonds, reporter Rick Rozoff informs us about NATO, its “mission” and alliance with the US.  Investigative journalist and NATO expert Rick Rozoff joins us to discuss the eighteen-year-old project of Zbigniew Brzezinski, Paul Wolfowitz and their cabal to destroy the post-Soviet Commonwealth of Independent States and create a chain of buffer states around Russia, enclosing it with NATO member states and partners. He provides us with analyses and implications of the invasion of Afghanistan by the U.S. and NATO, and the duo’s expansion into Central Asia where Russian, Chinese and Iranian interests converge.  Rozoff talks about the Central Asia chessboard and how the region may be transformed into a battleground of conflicting 21st century geopolitical interests, the role of Islamic extremism and how it is used by the West on this grand chess board, Mujahideen and Al Qaeda’s partnership with US-NATO in the Balkans, Caucasus and Central Asia operations, the real mission of Afghanistan’s NATO-trained 7,000 troops as guardians of the oil and gas pipeline connecting Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India- the TAPI pipeline & more!

Rick Rozoff is an investigative journalist based in Chicago and has been an active opponent of war, militarism and intervention for over 40 years. He manages the Stop NATO e-mail list , and is the editor of Stop NATO, a website on the threat of international militarization, especially on the globalization of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Mr. Rozoff has a graduate degree in European literature.

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Ray McGovern, 27-year intelligence veteran, slams New York Times for its coverage of Iran;  Nancy Talanian, founder of No More Guantanamos, talks about Obama’s failed promise to close Gitmo.   McGovern, who has a new website, talks about his article at ConsortiumNews regarding the clear contradiction between the US/Israeli intelligence estimates about Iran’s nuclear program, and the hysterical coverage of the New York Times.  McGovern compares it to the pre-2003 coverage of Iraq and its mythical WMD.  He dismisses the meme that “we cannot allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon”, and details the Times’ faulty reporting.  He has some great stories about  a recent Times event in honor of the Pentagon Papers, and how he taught basic journalism to Anderson Cooper after his Q and A with Rumsfeld in Atlanta.  He also comments on the prosecution of former CIA officer John Kiriakou and offers strong criticism of the new NDAA, which could be used against him or your humble host.

At 45:46, Nancy Talanian joins us.  She’s the founder of No More Guantanamos, and is working to close the camp and end rendition and torture.  We talk about Obama’s failure to close Gitmo (and, as predicted, he made no mention of it in the State of the Union speech) and the general denial and passivity on the part of most Americans.  We also talk about the prison at Bagram in Afghanistan, and the call of the Karzai government to turn the prison to local control and release those who have not been charged or convicted.  We talk about the British citizen still held, Shaaker Amer and the “dryboarding” that may have caused the unexplained deaths of 3 prisoners in 2006.  Her website is here.

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Richard Moore offers a reality check in this Boiling Frogs interview, co-hosted with Sibel Edmonds.  Inspect the expanded coverage at Boiling Frogs Post.Moore shares with us his unique perspective on the working of the political world at the highest levels, the matrix of a fabricated collective illusion, how this matrix of unreality is formed for us, and his proposals for escaping it. He discusses consensus reality, as generated by official rhetoric and amplified by mass media, and how this perspective on the political process, and on the roles of left and right, bears very little relationship to actual reality, and remain as a fabricated collective illusion.   Moore further discusses the new post World War II paradigm which was designed and planned in a series of meetings, by a handful of people selected from the Council on Foreign Relations, to specifically serve the interests of central bankers. He talks about the recent rise in collective activism energy such as the Arab Spring uprisings, the Occupy Movement, and various protests in Europe, the left and right as illusions foisted on us to keep us divided, the importance of localism and inclusiveness in pursuit of real changes, and more!

Richard K Moore, an expatriate from Silicon Valley, retired and moved to Ireland in 1994 to begin his ‘real work’ – trying to understand how the world works, and how we can make it better. Many years of researching and writing culminated in his widely acclaimed book Escaping the Matrix: How We the People Can Change the World (The Cyberjournal Project, 2005). His Cyberjournal email list has been going since 1994 (cyberjournal.org). The book’s website is http://escapingthematrix.org, and his website is http://cyberjournal.org. He can be contacted via email at rkm@quaylargo.com.

This interview podcast is free to all, courtesy of a generous subscriber who wants to be anonymous.  Tom Frank recaps the amazing double-down GOP strategy since 2008; Gar Alperovitz has some great ideas for a more democratic economy.Frank’s new book really nails it–Pity the Billionaire looks at the remarkable moves by right wing strategists to use hard times to transfer even more wealth to the ultra rich.  Frank is the author of What’s the Matter with Kansas and The Wrecking Crew, and is the lead essayist for Harper’s magazine.  He talks about the Right’s reaction to the election loss in 2008, fueled by the rants of Glenn Beck on Fox and Rick Santini on CNBC, big money from the Koch brothers, and aggressive chearleading for the Tea Party from Fox News and other corporate media.  Speaking from a snowed-in hotel room in Seattle, Frank talks about the bizarre positions of GOP candidates, and has plenty of criticism for the Dems, too.  We also talk about his February column in Harper’s, about Jack Abramoff’s forgiveness tour.

At 39:00 we are joined by Prof. Alperovitz, who has a strong background in advocating for workers and a fair division of wealth and income.  We talk about the fight over the payroll tax extension, the free market fantasies of the Republican candidates, and how tone-deaf they are to Occupy and the real suffering of Americans, especially the unemployed. He has some great ideas for realignment of wealth and income gaps, and defines his vision of the pluralist commonwealth.  Near the end, we get his comments on the tensions with Iran, as he has written two books on nuclear policies.

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Listener Doug Zimmerman joins PBC to talk about the pluses and minuses of Ron Paul–should progressives support him, at least in the primaries?  Anarchist scott crow (sic, no caps) deepens the definition of “anarchism”…..prepare to be surprised!Zimmerman is an activist from Columbus, Ohio who attended the progressive radio conference in Madison, WI in 2008.  He has no illusions about Ron Paul, but makes a good case that progressives can support him, at least in the primaries, because he offers the most direct challenge to Obama on war, presidential power, wiretapping and the Patriot Act.  And Zimmerman persuades your humble host that a Paul-Obama debate would force Obama to respond to the progressive base he takes for granted–much more than, say a Romney-Obama debate.

In the second segment, starting at 33:20, scott crow talks about anarchism, community organizing, and his new book:  Black Flags and Windmills: Hope, Anarchy and the Common Ground Collective.  crow went to New Orleans after Katrina to rescue a friend, then returned to the Algiers neighborhood where they fought local police, federal troops, Blackwater goons and armed white supremacists in order to help residents get rescued and rebuild.  He explains how aspects of the Black Panther and Zapatista programs influenced the Common Ground Collective, and offers a definition of anarchism that is much deeper than the one we often use.  He argues that the Occupy movement is largely based on the ideas advanced by contemporary anarchists, and talks about the police state tactics that were used against him, even before 9/11.  You can visit his website here and buy the book here.

Activist Kevin Zeese reports from Occupy DC, where an agenda is emerging;  PBC discloses that bankster goons share video surveillance with NYPD;  William D. Hartung, expert on military-industrial complex, on the industry’s huge influence on deficit-whacking “supercommittee”; and Gary Chew reviews the new film, Margin Call.

Zeese, an attorney and leader of many progressive actions, reports from Occupy DC, where they just published the first edition of The Occupy Washington Post and a broad, 7-point agenda of issues is surfacing.  We talk about that agenda, express solidarity with the general strike in Oakland, and Zeese says the political system is too broken to try to steer the protests to political action in 2012.

At about 18:22, PBC shares a report from Counterpunch writer Pam Martens about the pervasive police surveillance of lower Manhattan, which is shared with security goons from the banks and other financial institutions, and privately operated by the wealthy and well-connected Tisch family.  Big Brother, making money on watching you.

At 23:37, we talk with Hartung, author of Prophets of War, which we discussed in a March, 2011 podcast here.  Hartung has just completed a study, Tools of Influence, revealing the large campaign contributions to members of the deficit-cutting “supercommittee” from the war industry.

At 58:00, film critic Gary Chew returns to tell us about Kevin Spacey’s Margin Call.

In this brief, single-topic podcast, PBC recaps the midterm election from his Left and Left Coast perspective: Californians rejected corporate tool candidates and initiatives! Brown beat eMeg despite her record spending of $160 million; Boxer beat failed CEO Fiorina despite the big spending by Karl Rove’s GPS and other outside GOP groups; Texas Oil’s Prop 23 was soundly rejected by voters; and Dave Jones won as Insurance Commissioner despite insurance industry support for his opponent. BigBiz did win Prop 24 (which would have rolled back tax breaks for corporations) and Prop 26, which now requires 2/3 votes to raise fees at the local and state level. Prop 19 to legalize cannabis lost, but the anti-gerrymandering forces passed Prop 20 and defeated Prop 27 by big margins. PBC goes on to comment on the Dems loss of control of the House and Pelosi’s speakership, and to point out the failures of leadership by the President that marked the first two years of Obama’s term, and his weak statements at the post-election news conference that invite more GOP obstruction. PBC says “lower your expectations, again.” For more detailed comments on the midterm elections, Podcasts 193 and 194 will feature analysis from Tim Carpenter of Progressive Democrats of America, journalist Robert Parry, Political Science Prof. David Coates, and language and framing expert Jeffrey Feldman.

We’ve just reached a deal with Stitcher.com, which distributes podcasts and other audio content to mobile phones and other devices. So check out Stitcher and let your friends and fiends know that they can listen to PBC on iPhones, Droids and Blackberrys!

Filmmaker Laura Poitras and Prof. Roberto Rodriguez on apartheid in Arizona. Poitras is producer/director/cinematographer of the new documentary The Oath which adds new information to the case of Salim Hamdan (bin Laden’s driver) who spent 5.5 years at Guantanamo and tried in a military tribunal; he is now free in Yemen. The film also profiles Abu Jandal, who recruited Hamdan into al Qaeda. It opens in early May in NY, watch for it this summer. Rodriguez wrote a commentary for Common Dreams which adds context to Arizona Gov. Brewer’s signing of SB 1070, the draconian law that allows police to stop anyone they suspect of being an illegal resident. We talk about how McCain unleashed the Tea Party virus that is now threatening his re-election. Rodriguez supports boycotts, and political theater–like citizens going to police stations to ask to have their documents inspected. The second portion begins at 22:55
]]> http://peterbcollins.com/2010/04/27/info-on-podcast-128/feed/ 0 http://peterbcollins.com/2010/04/14/mark-fiore-wins-pulitzer-prize/ http://peterbcollins.com/2010/04/14/mark-fiore-wins-pulitzer-prize/#comments Thu, 15 Apr 2010 01:24:04 +0000 Peter B. Collins http://www.peterbcollins.com/?p=2790

Mark Fiore, the talented political cartoonist whose animations are featured on this home page (just scroll down a bit if you haven’t found it) won the Pulitzer Prize this week. Mark is the first web-based political cartoonist to win the Pulitzer. I’ve known Mark for more than 6 years, and I’m really pleased that he has gotten this major recognition. Congratulations, Mark!