CovertAction Bulletin

In this episode, we highlight the struggle of the workers at the Ford Cuautitlán Assembly Plant, just outside Mexico City. On January 8, 1990, workers at the plant were attacked by police and private hired thugs wearing Ford jackets. This happened during a prolonged period of labor action by the workers, and kicked off an occupation of the plant. This attack didn’t happen in a vacuum and the CIA played a role in squashing labor at the plant.

We’re joined by Rob McKenzie, former President of United Auto Workers (UAW) 879 from 1998-2006 and the author of El Golpe: U.S. Labor, the CIA and the Coup at Ford in Mexico.

Read Rob’s article on the topic on CovertActionMagazine.com

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Earlier this month, Elon Musk released a portion of Twitter’s algorithm and has since asked netizens to pat him on the back for his contribution to bringing back the old “free speech” of the early days of the internet. As the controversy on Twitter surrounding blue checks being given to dead celebrities, Musk continues to portray himself as disrupting the social media market by being a true advocate for real journalism. The hypocrisy of that is glaring. We discuss what free speech on the internet means, and what role, if any, Musk has in bringing it about.

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The Washington Post has published that it has reviewed over 300 leaked documents posted online allegedly from the CIA and other intelligence agencies. The documents' presence online prompted an investigation that led to the arrest on Thursday of a 21-year-old Air National guardsman, Jack Teixeira.

This leak of Pentagon documents has given us a glimpse of how the US government and some of its allies are viewing the current status of the US & NATO proxy war in Ukraine. Reports continue to come out claiming that some of the documents are Russian disinformation, but the Pentagon has confirmed the authenticity of some of the documents. Whether they’re fully authentic or not, the establishment has seized on the Pentagon leaks in order to push for more war.

Whistleblower John Kiriakou joins us for this episode.

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The expulsion of two Black elected Representatives from Tennessee’s state government continues a long, racist tradition of the removal of Black people in political power in the United States. From the founding of the country through the Reconstruction era and to the modern day,  white supremacy and capitalism have used every weapon at their disposal to disenfranchise Black voters and legislators.

Also being ignored in media conversation around Tennessee is the reason behind the expulsion: that Representatives Jones, Pearson and Johnson were part of a march of 7,000 young people after the shooting at The Covenant School.

We discuss ongoing attacks on basic democratic rights like voting, building movements and more with political strategist Anoa Changa.

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Mass protests in Israel broke out after Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu fired his Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant. Hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated against Netanyahu’s planned judicial reform - really, a legislative coup. But nowhere in the media coverage was any discussion of how the protests or the judicial reform itself would impact the Palestinian people who continue to live under Israeli occupation and terror.

 At the same time, Zionists have attacked Al Aqsa mosque and other holy sites during Ramadan.

To bring out this important perspective, we spoke with Wafa Aludaini, a Gaza-based journalist and activist.

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On March 18, thousands of people from across the country and the world gathered in Lafayette Park, just outside the White House, demanding an end to the endless US wars of the past 20 years and in particular the proxy conflict in Ukraine.

Almost 300 groups endorsed the event from a wide variety of struggles, including the environmental organizations , antiwar veterans organizations, Black liberation fighters, African solitary groups, and many more. Rachel and I were both thrilled to have been there to experience this resurgence in the peace movement in the United States, coming such a critical time when the US is waging a deadly and costly proxy war with Russia in Ukraine with no end in sight, and aiming its guns at China at the same time.

From its start at Lafayette Park, the event marched to the White House, and then to the warmongering Washington Post, carrying caskets draped in flags of nations impacted by the US war machine. The event ended at the historic New York Avenue Presbyterian Church with an indoor rally.

For today’s episode, we’re going to bring you a selection of speakers from this historic event. Some you may have heard of - like Jill Stein and Noam Chomsky. Others are voices that everyone needs to hear more of, shining light on the crimes of imperialism from Eritrea to Guam.

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In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, Islamophobia became a sort of unofficial religion in the United States. Vigilante street attacks on Muslim people became common. The government surveilled mosques and community centers. Over two decades later, the situation doesn’t seem much different. Resistance to bringing refugees from Syria into the US based entirely in racism and Islamophobia. As we mark the 20th anniversary of the war in Iraq in March 2023, the New York Times’ major retrospective piece barely mentions the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians who died, and says nothing about its own role in the war or the toll on Muslim people in the US.

But Islamophobia as a weapon of imperialism goes deeper: The US has a long history of funding right-wing political Islamist forces from Afghanistan to Syria and Indonesia. In this episode, we investigate the role that Islamophobia plays in US foreign and domestic policy. It’s a tool used by those in power to justify its wars and surveillance operations in its quest for continued global hegemony.

We’re joined by Dr. Nazia Kazi, author of Islamophobia, Race and Global Politics, and Associate Professor of Anthropology at Stockton University in New Jersey.

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The Office of the Director of National Intelligence has released its 2023 Annual Threat Assessment, putting China, Russia, Iran and North Korea directly in the crosshairs of US imperialism and regime change operations. The report is very clear on the motives of the entire establishment: to prevent any other state from challenging US hegemony, the “rules-based global order.” We discuss the lengthy portion of the report dedicated to China and dive into the clear projection of the U.S. empire.

We’re joined today to talk about this and a number of other topics by Amanda Yee, host of the podcast Radio Free Amanda. 

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35 people were arrested and 23 charged with domestic terrorism at a music festival gathering that was part of the a week of action to stop Cop City. Cop City, as it is known by activists, is a $90 million dollar police militarization facility in Atlanta, and activists for the past two years have been occupying the forest where it is being built. We discuss how police militarization and the aftermath of 2020 play out in cities across the country, also including the most recent Jim Crow legislative coup in Mississippi. We discuss the state repression, surveillance, and escalation with Kamau Franklin, founder of Community Movement Builders. 

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Just before the one-year anniversary of the Russian Special Military Operation in Ukraine, President Biden made a surprise visit to Kiev over President’s Day weekend. According to the AP, the plan was approved just two days before, but discussion began a month prior. Air Force One flew to Germany, then turned its transponders off for a flight to Poland. Only two US journalists accompanied Biden - and they had to surrender their devices to the White House for the trip. The Russian government was notified hours before.

Biden’s trip also brought along surveillance planes - including E-3 Sentry airborne radar and an electronic RC-135W Rivet Joint - which reportedly monitored the situation from Poland, and another $500 million for military equipment on top of the $50 billion already given to the country.

Perhaps more notable were Biden’s comments, which push for more war and more destruction under the guise of defending so-called democracy in Ukraine. He signed the guest book in the Ukrainian Presidential Palace, ending with the phrase “Slava Ukraini.” Zelinsky said that he and Biden also discussed “long-range weapons.”

We'll talk about one-year anniversary of the invasion, the prospects for peace, and building a popular and mass anti-imperialist movement to achieve it. Joining us today is Jacquie Luqman, DC-based activist and co-host of By Any Means Necessary on Radio Sputnik.

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