Around The Empire

Guest: Rod Phillips ("Rod from Philly"). On the weekend after the election Rod Phillips and I got together to talk about our thoughts on the contested election, what we have seen and experienced in real life in the Philadelphia area, the bigger questions and the impact on average Americans. In a bonus question we talked about how we see this playing out, corruption, common ground and what we would like to see going forward.

Rod is a media analyst and the current producer on the radio show "The Backstory" (Radio Sputnik 4-6 PM EST Mon-Fri). He is a former athlete and worked as an EMT for more than seven years. FOLLOW Rod on Twitter @Rodr_76.

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 November 7, 2020. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

With guest co-host Kelley Lane we talk about what we're observing in real life in the days before the 2020 election, rallies, polls, fearmongering and the extraordinary measures that have been put in place for this election. We talk about our concerns and in a bonus segment about our predictions for outcomes and things that might happen.

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 November 2, 2020. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Guests: Tim Canova and Kelley Lane tell the story of Tim Canova's experience running in the Democratic primary against Debbie Wasserman-Schultz in Florida's 23rd district in 2016 and running again in the general election as an independent in 2018. We also talk about election integrity issues and the upcoming 2020 presidential election.

Tim Canova is an activist, politician and law professor specializing in banking and finance. Since 2012 he has been a Professor of Law and Public Finance at Nova Southeastern University. He's the chairman of Progress for All, a small-donor based grassroots political and community action group supporting progressive candidates and causes at the national, state, and local levels.

Kelley Lane is an independent journalist and activist. She is a board member for Candidates With A Contract (CWAC) and the editor/producer of the Assange Countdown to Freedom show and a volunteer with AuditUSA..

FOLLOW Tim at @Tim_Canova and find his work.at progressforall.org

FOLLOW Kelley at @Kelleyswords.

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 October 19, 2020. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

1. http://www.johnanthonymarie.com/election/methodology_presentation.pdf
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzBI33kOiKc&feature=youtu.be

Note: There were mono/stereo issues with the original episode. This is the same content with improved audio.

Guest: Aaron Maté. We talk about OPCW whistleblowers, Jose Bustani and Aaron's testimony at the UN. We also discuss recent developments in the Russiagate conspiracy and pay tribute to the great Stephen Cohen, prominent scholar, professor and author. There is a bonus segment for patrons about who was behind the pressuring of OPCW and for what purpose. Ep 189EXTRA Relentless Pressure on OPCW feat Aaron Maté

Aaron is the host of the Pushback With Aaron Maté show at the Grayzone and a contributing writer at The Nation.

FOLLOW Aaron on Twitter @aaronjmate, subscribe to his show Pushback with Aaron Maté at the Grayzone channel on YouTube and support him at Patreon.

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 October 16, 2020. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

1. The Grayzone's Aaron Maté testifies at UN on OPCW Syria cover-up, Aaron Maté
2. (Part 1) Analysis: That Senate 'Collusion' Report? It's Got No Smoking Gun ... but It Does Have a Fog Machine,Real Clear Investigations, Aaron Maté
3. (Part 2) Analysis: Senate Russiagate Report Left Big Stones Unturned. Two Were Named Mifsud and Assange, Real Clear Investigations, Aaron Maté
4. Pelosis Take a Big Stake in CrowdStrike, Democrat-Connected Linchpin of Russia Probe, Real Clear Investigations, Aaron Maté
5. Pushback: OPCW Syria whistleblower and ex-director attacked by US, UK, France at UN, Aaron Maté
6. Ex-OPCW chief Jose Bustani reads Syria testimony that US, UK blocked at UN
7. Pushback: Ex-OPCW chief defends Syria whistleblowers and reveals he was spied on before Iraq war, Aaron Maté

Guest: Aaron Maté. We talk about OPCW whistleblowers, Jose Bustani and Aaron's testimony at the UN. We also discuss recent developments in the Russiagate conspiracy and pay tribute to the great Stephen Cohen, prominent scholar, professor and author. There is a bonus segment for patrons about who was behind the pressuring of OPCW and for what purpose. Ep 189EXTRA Relentless Pressure on OPCW feat Aaron Maté

Aaron is the host of the Pushback With Aaron Maté show at the Grayzone and a contributing writer at The Nation.

FOLLOW Aaron on Twitter @aaronjmate, subscribe to his show Pushback with Aaron Maté at the Grayzone channel on YouTube and support him at Patreon.

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 October 16, 2020. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

1. The Grayzone's Aaron Maté testifies at UN on OPCW Syria cover-up, Aaron Maté
2. (Part 1) Analysis: That Senate 'Collusion' Report? It's Got No Smoking Gun ... but It Does Have a Fog Machine,Real Clear Investigations, Aaron Maté
3. (Part 2) Analysis: Senate Russiagate Report Left Big Stones Unturned. Two Were Named Mifsud and Assange, Real Clear Investigations, Aaron Maté
4. Pelosis Take a Big Stake in CrowdStrike, Democrat-Connected Linchpin of Russia Probe, Real Clear Investigations, Aaron Maté
5. Pushback: OPCW Syria whistleblower and ex-director attacked by US, UK, France at UN, Aaron Maté
6. Ex-OPCW chief Jose Bustani reads Syria testimony that US, UK blocked at UN
7. Pushback: Ex-OPCW chief defends Syria whistleblowers and reveals he was spied on before Iraq war, Aaron Maté

Guest: Mohamed Elmaazi. We talk about the Assange extradition hearings, what transpired in weeks 3 and 4 and what procedures lie ahead in this process. Mohamed has been providing continuous coverage of the extradition hearings both last year and this year from the press annex of the different court facilities or from nearby facilities via video link when in person coverage wasn't possible.

Mohamed Elmaazi is a journalist with experience in human rights law, with degrees from American University in Cairo and SOAS. He writes for Sputnik News, he publishes The Interregnum blog and he has been a contributor to Open Democracy, The Canary, the Grayzone and The Real News Network.

FOLLOW Mohamed on Twitter at @MElmaazi. Find his writing at Sputnik News, The Canary and visit his blog The Interregnum

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 October 9, 2020. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

1. Mohamed Elmaazi articles at Muckrack
2. Assange's Extradition Hearings End With Warnings That 'Journalism is on Trial' From WikiLeaks Chief, Mohamed Elmaazi
3. Assange's Lawyers 'Priority Targets' of US-Backed Espionage of Ecuadorian Embassy, Court Told, Mohamed Elmaazi
4. I Had Convinced Myself That They Were Ok' Ex-Prison Warden Tells Assange Hearing on Detainee Regime, Mohamed Elmaazi

Guest: Alastair Crooke. In a recent article, Alastair said: "Theories of human 'Progress' as an upward-trending, linear continuum, inevitably leading to 'a better human end', though clothed today as technological 'miracles', were never empirical hypotheses. They were always concocted myths, answering to a human need for meaning, yet manipulated ruthlessly in the interests of power." Alastair argues that these kinds of "struggles" have a long and bloody history. Politics in the United States in 2020 have been configured into a crusade against a "cosmic evil" and we seem to be barreling toward a major crisis from which we must not avert our gaze. We go into detail on these topics and Alastair offers an insider's view of how we got to this point. There is a bonus segment for patrons, Ep 187EXTRA: Underlying Political and Ideological Battles in 2020, about who the key players are in this epic battle, what their goals are and to what lengths they are willing to take all of this.

Alistair Crooke is a former British diplomat, the founder and director of the Conflicts Forum, a former ranking figure in both British intelligence (MI6) and European Union diplomacy. and he served as an advisor to the High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union (CFSP) from 1997 to 2003. He was also a member of an international fact finding committee, the Mitchell Committee, which published the Mitchell Report in 2001 on the causes of the Second Intifada. He is the author of the book Resistance: The Essence of the Islamist Revolution which offers strategic insights into the origins and logic of Islamist groups which have adopted military resistance as a tactic.

Find Alastair's writing at Strategic Culture and look for his book Resistance: The Essence of the Islamist Revolution.

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 October 2, 2020. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

1. And Then What? – We Daren't Not Look Into the Abyss, Alastair Crooke
2. Book: Resistance: The Essence of the Islamist Revolution.

Guest: Neda Bolourchi. We talk about the recent developments with the JCPOA Iran deal and how the Trump administration is trying to "have its cake and eat it too". We discuss the happenings in the UN general assembly and UN Security Council, the news of troop withdrawals from Iraq and a lot more. There is an extra bonus segment for patrons: Ep 186EXTRA Middle East Prospects in the New Cold War Era.

Dr. Bolourchi teaches at Rutgers University-New Brunswick Center for Middle Eastern Studies. She is is a thought leader whose work crosses multiple fields, from the academic to the legal to foreign policy and more. Her academic research examines the transformative discourse on Iran during the twentieth century across the political and religious spectra. She completed years of research in Iran, Syria, and Armenia and she has provided foreign policy and security analysis and commentary for a variety of publications and news channels internationally. She previously worked on matters of civil litigation and white collar criminal defense. Her legal work includes international and comparative analysis of human rights violations in the Middle East.

Find Neda at LinkedIn and find her work on her Rutgers University Center for Middle Eastern Studies web page.

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 September 23, 2020. Music by Fluorescent Grey

Reference Links:

1. ATE Ep 86 Misunderstanding Regime Change in Iran feat Neda Bolourchi
2. ATE Ep 143 The Killing of Soleimani feat Neda Bolourchi
3. US success in Iran arms embargo extension 'very unlikely', Al Arabiya

Guest: Danny Sjursen. We talk about his new book Patriotic Dissent: America in the Age of Endless War. We talk about the ways that Danny has broken down, categorized and explained the various forms of patriotism and dissent that he sees. He also talks about his own personal evolution in his views of these things. He gives some examples of people in American history who dissented and why that gives him cause for some optimism. One of the people who urged Danny to write this book, Robert Scheer, said: "Sjursen calls for a critical exploration of our allegiances, and suggests a path to a new, more complex notion of patriotism. Equal parts somber and idealistic, this is a story about what it means to be an American in the midst of perpetual war, and what the future of patriotism might look like." There is an extra bonus segment for patrons: Ep 185EXTRA 9/11 in 2020.

Daniel A. Sjursen is a retired U.S. Army Major, a prolific writer and speaker, an author/columnist/speaker/podcast host.. He is a contributing editor at Antiwar.com. His work has appeared in the LA Times, NY Times, The Nation, HuffPost, The Hill, Salon, BuzzFeed News, Tom Dispatch and Truthdig.com, among other publications. He is the co-host of the Fortress on a Hill podcast and does interviews on numerous podcasts and other media. He wrote a memoir and critical analysis of the Iraq War titled, Ghostriders of Baghdad: Soldiers, Civilians, and the Myth of the Surge, his new book Patriotic Dissent: America in the Age of Endless War was published this month and he has another book in progress on the history of the United States.

FOLLOW @SkepticalVet, SUBSCRIBE to the Fortress on a Hill podcast and buy his book Patriotic Dissent: America in the Age of Endless War published by Heyday.

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 September 17, 2020. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

1. Patriotic Dissent: America in the Age of Endless War, Danny Sjursen
2. September 14, 2001: The Day America Became Israel, Danny Sjursen
3. What Activists Today Can Learn From MLK's Bold Anti-War Stance, Danny Sjursen
4. NYT 1967 response to MLK Beyond Vietnam speech: "Dr. King's Error"
5. How Do You Prefer Your Empire: Coarse or Polite?, Danny Sjursen

Guest: Kevin Gosztola. We focus on week 2 of the Assange Extradition hearings, witness testimony from Eric Lewis, Thomas Durkin, Daniel Ellsberg, John Goetz and Carey Shenkman and Assange's defense team. We also talked about the password leaked in a book by Luke Harding and David Lee, the highly problematic Espionage Act and how it, like the Assange case, is political in nature. Kevin has been doing reporting and analysis on the cases of Chelsea Manning and Julian Assange and Wikileaks both on the ground (and now remotely) for the past decade.

Kevin Gosztola is managing editor of Shadowproof, he publishes the Dissenter newsletter and he produces and co-hosts the Unauthorized Disclosure podcast with Rania Khalek.

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

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 September 18, 2020. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

1. Assange's Extradition Trial: Court Hears About the History of Political Prosecutions Under the Espionage Act, Kevin Gosztola
2. Good Ellsberg, Bad Assange at Extradition Trial, Pentagon Papers Whistleblower Dismantles False Narrative, Kevin Gosztola
3. Witnesses at Extradition Trial Say Assange Could Spend Rest of His Life in US Prison, Kevin Gosztola
4. At Assange Trial, Prosecution Invokes Human Rights Court Decision That Downplayed Abusive Supermax Prisons, Kevin Gosztola
5. Julian Assange Extradition Hearing - September 18, 2020 (video)
6. Julian Assange Extradition Trial - September 17, 2020 (video)
7. Julian Assange Extradition Hearing - September 16, 2020 (video)
8. Julian Assange Extradition Hearing - September 15, 2020 (video)
9. Julian Assange Extradition Hearing - September 14, 2020 (video)
10. ATE Ep 110 Assange Indictments Rely on Contrived Narrative feat Kevin Gosztola
11. Khaled El-Masri biography and statement via ACLU
12. ATE Ep 152 Kevin Gosztola: Insights from Assange Extradition Hearing in London