Around The Empire

Guests: Jennifer Pan, Alexandra Siegel. We talk about their research paper titled "How Saudi Crackdowns Fail to Silence Online Dissent" which was published in American Political Science Review. They studied the effects of well-known Saudi activists, religious leaders and journalists being imprisoned for online dissent. They analyzed tweets and Google search data from 2010 to 2017 using automated analysis of text and crowd-sourced evaluation of content to draw conclusions about the behavior of their peers and followers. Their research showed that it did not suppress online dissent overall.

Jennifer Pan is an Assistant Professor Dept. of Communication Stanford University. Her research focuses on political communication and authoritarian politics, political censorship, propaganda, and information manipulation in the digital age. She uses experimental and computational methods with large-scale datasets on political activity in China and other countries. Website: http://jenpan.com

Alexandra Siegel is a Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University Immigration Policy Lab and a Research Associate at NYU Social Media and Political Participation Lab.

In her research she studies mass and elite political behavior in the Arab World including intergroup conflict, extremism and disinformation. Her analysis involves large datasets from social media, text and networks, machine learning methods and experiments. Website: https://alexandra-siegel.com

FOLLOW Jen on Twitter @jenpan and find her work on her website jenpan.com. Follow Alexandra on Twitter @aasiegel and find her work on her website alexandra-siegel.com

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.

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Kevin Gosztola provides an account of his experience reporting on the Julian Assange extradition hearing for four days at the court in London, plus more details and insights about the case and the people involved.

Kevin Gosztola is a journalist and managing editor of Shadowproof. He also produces and co-hosts the excellent weekly podcast with Rania Khalek, "Unauthorized Disclosure." Kevin also reported on Chelsea Manning's military

FOLLOW Kevin @kgosztola, find his work at shadowproof.com, and subscribe to his podcast Unauthorized Disclosure.

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.

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Recorded on February 28, 2020. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

1. (Day 1) ASSANGE'S DEFENSE DETAILS CIA-BACKED ESPIONAGE OPERATION, TRUMP'S POLITICIZATION OF JUSTICE DEPARTMENT, Kevin Gosztola, Shadowproof
2. (Day 2) ASSANGE EXTRADITION HEARING: CHELSEA MANNING'S GRAND JURY RESISTANCE A MAJOR HURDLE FOR PROSECUTORS, Kevin Gosztola, Shadowproof
3. (Day 3) PROSECUTION: US-UK TREATY DOES NOT APPLY TO ASSANGE EXTRADITION, Kevin Gosztola, Shadowproof
4. (Day 4) JUDGE: JULIAN ASSANGE MUST REMAIN IN GLASS BOX DURING EXTRADITION PROCEEDINGS, Kevin Gosztola
5. Around the Empire: Ep 110 Assange Indictments Rely on Contrived Narrative feat Kevin Gosztola
6. Around the Empire: Ep 97 Chelsea Manning's Resistance feat Kevin Gosztola

Guest: Gordon Dimmack. We discuss the extradition hearing for Julian Assange, the failure of the mainstream media journalists and more. John Pilger has made good use of the phrase "journalism on trial" and it As John Pilger noted today: "Should Julian #Assange be extradited, it will not only be a crime of the British state but of those quisling journalists who smeared and lied about him". Their actions and negligence are also undermining their own press freedoms and placing their own profession in jeopardy. Gordon has repeatedly made these same arguments with strong substantiation. He has dedicated himself to both calling them out and making up for their failings.

Gordon hosts a popular YouTube channel where he covers news, politics, war and the horrific state of our corporate media. He broadcasts mostly from the Midlands but also on the ground at various events around the country and his slogan is "Make Orwell fiction again."

FOLLOW @gordondimmack SUBSCRIBE to his YouTube channel, find and support his work on his website http://gordondimmack.com

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 Feb 25, 2020. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

1. Gordon Dimmack YouTube channel
2. Your Man in the Public Gallery – Assange Hearing Day 1, Craig Murray
3. UK minister who approved Trump's request to extradite Assange spoke at secretive US conferences with people calling for him to be "neutralized", Matt Kennard, Mark Curtis
4. Kevin Gosztola Reports From Day 1 of Julian Assange's Extradition Hearing
5. Julian Assange was 'handcuffed 11 times and stripped naked', Ben Quinn

Guest: Karen Kwiatkowski. We discuss the treatment of Julian Assange and his reported torture and interrogation by US authorities in Belmash prison, the ongoing Assange extradition hearing and more.

Lt. Col. Karen Kwiatkowski, USAF (ret.) is a farmer, a teacher and a retired Air Force officer. She has degrees from Harvard, University of Alaska and a PhD from Catholic University. Before retiring she was a Pentagon desk officer who was in the building during the attack on 9/11 and worked for the Pentagon's Near East and South Asia directorate which dealt with the Office of Special Plans. Since retiring, she has become a noted critic of the U.S. government's involvement in Iraq and other aspects of foreign policy. She is a founding member of the Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity, and the recipient of the Sam Adams Associates for Integrity in Intelligence Award in 2018 for her insider essays which denounced a corrupting political influence on the course of military intelligence leading up to the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Karen has said that the role she played as a source for Knight-Ridder is accurately portrayed in the Rob Reiner's film "Shock and Awe." She has also appeared in documentary films, including "Why We Fight".

FOLLOW @karen4the6th Find her work at LewRockwell.com, Consortium News and American Conservative.

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.

Reference Links:

1. Why is Julian Assange Being Tortured to Death?, Karen Kwiatkowski
2. Pray and Weep, Karen Kwiatkowski
3. Assange in Court, Craig Murray
4. VIPS: Extradition of Julian Assange Threatens Us All, Consortium News
5. VIPS Fault Mueller Probe, Criticize Refusal to Interview Assange, Consortium News
6. Lt. Col. Karen Kwiatkowski Wins 2018 Sam Adams Award, Consortium News
7. The new Pentagon papers, Karen Kwiatkowski, Salon
8. In Rumsfeld's Shop, Karen Kwiatkowski, American Conservative
9. Conscientious Objector, Karen Kwiatkowski, American Conservative
10. Open Door Policy, Karen Kwiatkowski, American Conservative
11. James Comey: Justice is supposed to be blind. Bill Barr can't see that, Washington Post

Guest: Maj. Danny Sjursen, US Army (ret.) We talk about two articles that Danny wrote about the conflicts between the United States and Iran over the last seven decades and what he calls a "timeline of provocations and retaliations" and we also talk about Iran's history of relative restraint.

Major Danny Sjursen is a retired US Army strategist and former history instructor at West Point. He served tours with reconnaissance units in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is the author of a memoir and critical analysis of the Iraq War titled: "Ghostriders of Baghdad: Soldiers, Civilians, and the Myth of the Surge". His articles are published by numerous media outlets: antiwar.com, The American Conservative, Truthdig, TomDispatch and others. He is the co-host of the Fortress on a Hill podcast.

FOLLOW Danny @SkepticalVet, subscribe to his podcast Fortress on a Hill.

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.

Reference Links:

1. Who Started It?: A (Reverse) Timeline of US/Iran Retaliations, Danny Sjursen
2. The Islamic Republic of Restraint, Danny Sjursen

Guest: Tim Shorrock. In recent weeks there have been cries of alarm about North Korea's missile testing all throughout the media but they've omitted some key developments like the massive military build up in South Korea and Northeast Asia over the past few years. Tim provides us with some of that omitted context including the fact that the South Korean armed forces, allied with the US, is the seventh largest in the world.

Tim grew up in Japan and Korea and he has been covering national security and other topics around Asia and the Korean peninsula since the late 1970's . He is a correspondent at The Nation and he's the author of the popular book "Spies for Hire: The Secret World of Intelligence Outsourcing".

FOLLOW @TimothyS Find his work at The Nation and at his website http://timshorrock.com. Buy his book: Spies For Hire: The Secret World of Intelligence Outsourcing.

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 December 31, 2019. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

1. A Low-Intensity War Is Underway in Northeast Asia, Tim Shorrock, The Nation

Guest: Alan MacLeod. We discuss the recent UK elections and how the Labour Party's Brexit strategy backfired. We talk about the relentless propaganda campaign that was launched against Jeremy Corbyn and how there is a similar campaign being run against Bernie Sanders in the United States that is growing in intensity. We wonder if Bernie will learn from Corbyn's experience or whether he'll continue the kind of "high road" approach that did not turn out well for Corbyn. We also discuss the post-election implications for the future of the United Kingdom and its constituent countries England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. We also discuss the coup in Bolivia.

Dr. Alan MacLeod is an academic, an author and a journalist who does work on media analysis and politics with a focus on social media, Latin American politics and propaganda. He writes for MintPress News and Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting and he has written two recent books, Bad News From Venezuela: Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age: Still Manufacturing Consent.

FOLLOW him on Twitter at @AlanRMacLeod. Find his work at MintPress News and look for his books Bad News From Venezuela: Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age: Still Manufacturing Consent.

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 December 19, 2019. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

1. Corporate Media Find All the Wrong Lessons for US Left in Corbyn's Defeat, Alan MacLeod
2. Labour's Brexit Strategy Backfires as UK Votes to Leave EU at Any Cost, Alan MacLeod, MintPress News
3. Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn to Step Down After UK Election Catastrophe, Alan MacLeod, MintPress News
4. British Weapons Manufacturers, Banks, See Share Price Rocket after Conservative Election Victory, Alan MacLeod, MintPress News
5. Election Result Signals a Possible End of the United Kingdom, Alan MacLeod
6. Around the Empire: Ep 96 Using Venezuela to Suppress Populism & Anti-Imperialism feat Alan MacLeod

Guest: Gareth Porter. As the news was breaking of Iranian retaliatory strikes on military bases in Iraq where American troops were deployed, Gareth Porter and I were talking about his analysis comparing the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident in Vietnam to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's apparent strategy to "grease the skids" for war with Iran.

Gareth Porter is an independent Investigative historian and journalist on the national security state. He is the author of numerous books including Perils of Dominance: Imbalance of Power and the Road to War in Vietnam (2005) and Manufactured Crisis: the Untold Story of the Iran Nuclear Scare (2014). He is the winner of the 2012 Gellhorn Prize for Journalism

FOLLOW Gareth on Twitter at @GarethPorter. Find his work at The American Conservative, Truthdig, Antiwar.com, Middle East Eye and other media outlets. Read his new book: The CIA Insider's Guide to the Iran Crisis: From CIA Coup to the Brink of War.

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 Jan 7, 2020. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

1. Pompeo's Gulf Of Tonkin Incident, Gareth Porter
2. Book: Perils of Dominance: Imbalance of Power and the Road to War in Vietnam, Gareth Porter
3. Book: Manufactured Crisis: the Untold Story of the Iran Nuclear Scare, Gareth Porter
4. Book: The CIA Insider's Guide to the Iran Crisis: From CIA Coup to the Brink of War, Gareth Porter, John Kiriakou

Guest: Jeffrey Carr. Dan Wright and Joanne Leon did a reunion conversation with cybersecurity expert, Jeffrey Carr, to revisit the infamously erroneous Crowdstrike analysis of the DNC hack which they attributed to Russia based on their analysis of an alleged Russian hack of a Ukrainian military artillery app. We also discussed Crowdstrike's history, its recent mention in President Trump's phone call with Ukrainian President Zelensky (the same phone call that led to his impeachment for a different reason) and the broader issue of how cybersecurity firms are incentivized to make specious claims concerning attribution of a hack, particularly if it gains them notoriety that leads to more business.

Jeffrey Carr is a cybersecurity author, researcher, entrepreneur and consultant, who focuses on cyber warfare. He is the author of the book "Inside Cyber Warfare: Mapping the Cyber Underworld" and the creator of the Suits and Spooks conference series which "bridges the gap between the Intelligence Community and Industry on hard challenges in Information Security".

Follow Jeff on Twitter @JeffreyCarr and find the Suits and Spooks conference series at suitsandspooks.com and find his writing at his blog https://jeffreycarr.blogspot.com

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 December 17, 2019. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

1. Around the Empire Episode 13: Crowdstrike's Russian Hacking Claims feat. Jeffrey Carr (4/12/17)
2. Think Tank: Cyber Firm at Center of Russian Hacking Charges Misread Data, VOA
3. Cyber Firm Rewrites Part of Disputed Russian Hacking Report, VOA
4. Trump-Zelensky July 25, 2019 phone call transcript
5. "How a Fringe Theory About Ukraine Took Root in the White House", New York Times, Scott Shane
6. (Questionable recent story mentioned in podcast) Ukraine SBU detains several involved in hacking the DNC servers, Scott Humor

Guest: Elijah Magnier. We discuss what really happened in Iraq over the past week, leading up to the killing of the Iranian General Qassem Soleimani and the Iraqi PMU vice commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandes. We talk about the reactions, justifications and likely consequences. Also, Elijah provides some more clarification on the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF/PMU or Hashd al-Shaabi) and the way the different Iraqi security forces have been described inaccurately in western media.

Elijah Magnier is a veteran war correspondent and political analyst with over 35 years of experience covering the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

FOLLOW Elijah Magnier @ejmalrai. Read and support his work at ejmagnier.com

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 January 4, 2020. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

1. What Comes Next After the US Assassination of Qassem Soliemani? The Options, Elijah Magnier
2. ATE Episode 140: Uprising in Iraq feat Elijah Magnier (12/18/19)
3. ATE Episode 127: Iraq Protests, US-Iran War, Regime Change feat Elijah Magnier (10/6/19)
4. ATE Episode 68: Iraq Politics & Stalled Idlib Op in Syria feat Elijah Magnier (9/17/18)