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On FPF #360, I discuss some misleading and incorrect stories that appeared in the mainstream media. Recent articles about Venezuela featured headlines suggesting four million people fled Venezuela this year. The reality is a UN report said less than three and a half million Venezuelans have left Venezuela since 2015. The MSM recently ran stories that claimed Kim Jong-un purged his nuclear negotiation team. Days later the negotiator was pictured with Kim. 

I also cover the US taking steps to prevent Turkey from buying the F-35 and Israeli treatment of Palestinians. 

Links

Ben Norton - Fake Purge

Moon of Alabama - Rules of the Water

https://youtu.be/RL00TxIdxSQ

During the week, Patrick took the opportunity to read from, and expound upon, an article called "The Declaration Confusion" (which appeared in Lew Rockwell's book The Left, The Right, and The State ) for the newly renamed Liberty, Bigly sideshow and we thought the content was prime for the main podcast. Topics include the right of Secession and how the various political factions interpret the Constitution.

The Liberty Weekly Email List

The Conspiratorial Corruption of the Constitution Ep. 2

Julian Assange and the Sedition Act

Dangerous History Podcast

Books referenced in this episode (please use the Amazon Affiliate Link!):

The Left, The Right, and The State by Lew Rockwell

Capitalism and Freedom by Milton Friedman

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Scott interviews William Astore about his recent TomDispatch piece on American air power. Astore, a retired Air Force officer, explains what he was and was not taught about bombing as a strategy in war, most notably the fact that the perception of the U.S. military by the people getting bombed is rarely considered. Air power, and particularly unmanned drones, explains Astore, creates a tremendous amount of blowback from people living under the constant threat of death from the skies. This has explicitly been the case with several recent acts of terrorism, including the Times Square bomber of 2010.

Discussed on the show:

"Tomgram: William Astore, The Dark Side of Air Power" (TomDispatch)

Operation Rolling Thunder

"Caught Between U.S. and Taliban, a Family Dies and the Survivor Seeks Justice" (The New York Times)

"5/14/19 Andrew Cockburn on the Military-Industrial 'Virus'" (The Libertarian Institute)

William J. Astore is a retired lieutenant colonel (USAF) and history professor. He is a contributing writer at Antiwar.com and TomDispatch.com. Read all of his work at his website, BracingViews.com.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Kesslyn Runs, by Charles Featherstone; NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; Tom Woods' Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal, or Bitcoin: 1Ct2FmcGrAGX56RnDtN9HncYghXfvF2GAh.

Joe Lauria discusses the dangerous legal precedent set by the case against Julian Assange, whose actions in leaking government documents are not categorically different from those of a journalist. As Glenn Greenwald points out, there's no "license" that makes someone a journalist, and no way to definitively identify an act of journalism—the first amendment must apply to everyone, regardless of their character and especially of the impact to the government of what they write.

Discussed on the show:

"After Assange’s Espionage Act Indictment, Police Move Against More Journalists for Publishing Classified Material" (Consortium News)

Official Secrets Act 1989

United States diplomatic cables leak

"ROBERT PARRY: All Investigative Journalists Do What Julian Assange Did" (Consortium News)

"5/31/19 Trevor Timm on the Century's Greatest 1st Amendment Threat" (The Libertarian Institute)

"5/31/19 Daniel Ellsberg on the Importance of Whistleblowers" (The Libertarian Institute)

"The indictment of Assange is a blueprint for making journalists into felons" (The Washington Post)

"Under Intense Pressure to Silence Wikileaks, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Proposed Drone Strike on Julian Assange – True Pundit" (True Pundit)

Joe Lauria is the editor-in-chief at Consortium News. He is a former UN correspondent and wrote at the Boston Globe and Wall Street Journal. You can follow him on Twitter @unjoe.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Kesslyn Runs, by Charles Featherstone; NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; Tom Woods' Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal, or Bitcoin: 1Ct2FmcGrAGX56RnDtN9HncYghXfvF2GAh.

Will Porter returns to FPF to talk about Assange, Russiagate, and Yemen. A Swedish judge rejected a prosecutor's request to ask the UK extradite Assange to Sweden for questioning about sexual assault allegations in 2010. Will explains this may be some of the first good news Assange has gotten in some time. 

Robert Mueller gave a brief press conference about his Russiagate probe. Mueller used language that has allowed Russiagate conspiracy theorists to falsely claim that Trump was only not charged because he is a sitting president. Will and Kyle debunk Mueller's distortions of the truth - that no conspiracy with Russia exists. 

Will and Kyle discuss the ongoing genocide in Yemen and the considerable role the US, France, and the UK play in the war. 

Will Porter is a staff writer at RT. His work can be found at Antiwar.com, Consortium News, and the Libertarian Institute.

On FPF #358, I discuss the effort to make a deal with North Korea and instability in some African countries. Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan said he sees no reason to restart war games with South Korea. I explain this is a good sign that the US intends to remain in the freeze for freeze agreement with North Korea. Staying in the agreement will allow South Korea to continue to try to provide aid and economic development with North Korea.  

In Sudan and Algeria, popular uprisings had setback against the ruling military councils in both countries. The Algerian ruling council canceled elections scheduled for next month. In Sudan, government forces entered a protest camp and killed over 30 people. The killing is a significant escalation in violence against the Sudanese protesters. In the Congo, government forces battled militants in an active Ebola zone. 

Links

Counties beef up militaries in response US/China

Pompeo/Trump temper excitement about the Deal of the Century

Mike Swanson joins Scott to talk about President Trump's latest tariff announcement against Mexico. Trump and his team may think these trade policies are good for the economy, says Swanson, but they may also just be using the trade war as a way to shift blame elsewhere, should the U.S. have a bad recession during Trump's presidency. Yet another possibility is that Trump knows protectionism is deleterious overall, but believes the effect may be worse on countries like Mexico and China, so that if the world economy takes a hit, America may come out better than others, and still be able to attract investment. Swanson believes many of the same signs from the 2008 crisis are pointing to another big recession that could come in the next year or two. His advice: buy gold and silver now.

Discussed on the show:

Long March

Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act

Greenspan's Bubbles: The Age of Ignorance at the Federal Reserve

The Great Deformation: The Corruption of Capitalism in America

Big Debt Crises

Bretton Woods system

Mike Swanson provides investment advice at wallstreetwindow.com and is the author of The War State: The Cold War Origins Of The Military-Industrial Complex And The Power Elite. He also works with the Neopolis Media Group, a group of historians, educators, authors, researchers, and free speech advocates who endeavor to provide original and engaging content, including The Ochelli Effect, and The Lone Gunman Podcast.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Kesslyn Runs, by Charles Featherstone; NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; Tom Woods' Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal, or Bitcoin: 1Ct2FmcGrAGX56RnDtN9HncYghXfvF2GAh.

On FPF #337, I discuss news in the relationship between the US and China. Taiwan has become a more source of more tension as the US has increased ties with Taiwan. The US is also putting more pressure on the Chinese company Huawei. Tump's nominee for Defense Secretary is very hawkish towards China, and that is earning him praise from Democrats. 

Links

Ted Galen Carpenter - Taiwan

Moon of Alabama - NK executions

Scott talks to Aaron Maté about the continuing Russiagate narrative. Democrats have far too much invested in the idea that Trump somehow stole the election from Hillary Clinton, says Maté, to ever admit that they were wrong in their hysteria. Maté reminds us that many skeptics aren't even sure the DNC emails were hacked by anyone, let alone Russia, but may instead have been leaked from someone on the inside.

Discussed on the show:

"NBC Claims Russians Plan To Give African Americans Combat Training" (Antiwar.com Original)

"Trump-Russia Investigation: Was Brennan’s ‘Intelligence Bombshell’ the Steel Dossier?" (National Review)

The Management of Savagery: How America's National Security State Fueled the Rise of Al Qaeda, ISIS, and Donald Trump

"12/13/16 Craig Murray: DNC, Podesta emails leaked by Americans, not hacked by Russia" (The Libertarian Institute)

"On Russia, Did Mueller Overstate His Own Report?" (Accuracy.Org)

Aaron Maté is a former host and producer at The Real News and writes regularly at The Nation. Follow him on Twitter @AaronJMate.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Kesslyn Runs, by Charles Featherstone; NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; Tom Woods' Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal, or Bitcoin: 1Ct2FmcGrAGX56RnDtN9HncYghXfvF2GAh.

Giorgio Cafiero of Gulf State Analytics discusses the mess that U.S. foreign policy has made of the Middle East in light of the news that ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is in fact alive after many claims and rumors to the contrary. President Trump, Scott and Cafiero agree, has made a few good moves against America's recent foreign policy trend, but for the most part has adhered exactly to the precedents of Obama, both Bushes, and Clinton.

Discussed on the show:

"Baghdadi’s Alive, and So Is Islamic State’s Narrative" (LobeLog)

"ISIL chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi appears in propaganda video" (Al Jazeera)

"Undefeated, ISIS Is Back in Iraq" (New York Review of Books)

"Audio Evidence: John Kerry confirms arming Daesh" (YouTube)

"The Redirection" (The New Yorker)

"Preparing the Battlefield" (The New Yorker)

Devil's Game

Asad: The Struggle for the Middle East by Seale

Giorgio Cafiero is the CEO and founder of Gulf State Analytics, a geopolitical risk consultancy based in Washington, DC. He writes regularly for the Middle East Institute, The National Interest, and LobeLog. Find him on Twitter @GiorgioCafiero.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Kesslyn Runs, by Charles Featherstone; NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; Tom Woods' Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal, or Bitcoin: 1Ct2FmcGrAGX56RnDtN9HncYghXfvF2GAh.