Joanne from Around the Empire and Hrvoje from Geopolitics and Empire get together for a wide ranging discussion about the Great Game, the Great Reset, the pandemic lockdowns and other responses, the ramping up of hostilities with Russia and China, withdrawal from Afghanistan and the sudden permission to speak about the lab leak theory. 

FOLLOW Hrvoje at @Geopolitics_Emp SUBSCRIBE to  the Geopolitics and Empire podcast on podcast apps, Youtube, Odyssey and other platforms and find the website at geopoliticsandempire.com

Around the Empire aroundtheempire.com is listener supported, independent media.

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FOLLOW @aroundtheempire and @joanneleon.  

Recorded on June 7, 2021. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Guest: Sharmine Narwani. We talk about Gaza, the Resistance and the differences between attacks on Gaza in past years and what is happening now, who really needs a ceasefire the most and why a ceasefire with no real change does not really help the Palestinians. We talk about reactions from other countries in the region to the latest attack on Gaza and Sharmine provides an update on the current situation in Lebanon which has fallen out of the news of late but is still in crisis and still deals with foreign interference. Lastly we talked about a new media project that Sharmine will be launching soon. In a bonus question, we talk about the evolution of the map of Palestine and Israel since World War II and how that map might change going forward -- essentially the future of Israel and Palestine. 

FOLLOW Sharmine @snarwani and find her work at her website mideastshuffle.com

Around the Empire aroundtheempire.com is listener supported, independent media.

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FOLLOW @aroundtheempire and @joanneleon.  

Recorded on May 18, 2021. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

1. When Fighting Erupts Between Israel and Hamas, the Question of War Crimes, New York Times 
2. Human Rights Watch: A Threshold Crossed: Israeli Authorities and the Crimes of Apartheid and Persecution
3. (2014) Another ceasefire in Gaza? No, thank you, Sharmine Narwani

Guest: Craig (Pasta) Jardula. Hosts: Joanne Leon and Kelley Lane. We talk about the latest developments in the election integrity arena surrounding the 2020 election, especially the Arizona audit. There have been a lot of claims about audits in various states but the term “audit” means a lot of different things in American elections (as in some “audits” are really not audits). However, the audit that is happening in the state of Arizona right now is a real audit, which is important for a lot of reasons that we discuss in this episode. Around the Empire’s main focus is not electoral politics or any politics in particular. But politics are at the center of all wars and foreign policy and the presidential elections in the United States are at the center of most wars and foreign policy in today’s world. 

Craig (aka Pasta) Jardula is a host on the Convo Couch show, an independent media show focused on politics, rooted in progressivism and one that strives to stand up for the little guy against the machine. They’ve done extensive work with candidates and investigation of elections and election systems. 

FOLLOW Pasta on Twitter at @yopasta and @theconvocouch, and find their show on YouTube, Rokfin and other platforms. 

Around the Empire aroundtheempire.com is listener supported, independent media.

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FOLLOW @aroundtheempire and @joanneleon.  

Recorded on May 8, 2021. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

1. Video Clip: Craig Jardula interview Ken Bennett (Twitter)
2. Justice Dept. Letter on Arizona Audit
3. Democrats Lied About the Georgia Senate Bill, The Truth About The Election Integrity Act, Fiorella Isabel
4. Convo Couch Live Inside Arizona Audit 5/5/21
5. Convo Couch LIVE: Maricopa Audit @ Veterans Memorial Coliseum 5/5/21
6. Convo Couch LIVE Outside Coliseum Interviews with Brandon Slayton & John Brakey #ArizonaAudit #AZAuditPool 5/6/21
7. Convo Couch Mark Finchem discusses Arizona Audit and Election Integrity 5/8/21
8. Convo Couch LIVE AZ State Senator Sony Borrelli joins The Convo Couch to talk #AZAudit #Arizona #AZAuditPool
9. Convo Couch What’s Really Happening At The Maricopa County Audit? (Rokfin)

Guest: Danny Sjursen. We talk about reasons for the 2011 regime change in Libya, the complex power struggle and foreign intervention that has ensued ever since and the importance of that story in understanding everything else in the Sahel areas of Africa and the broader region. We also discuss the 21st century American-enabled version of the French and British empires, European influence in African countries and how military operations in Africa are largely hidden from the citizens of the NATO countries who are driving them. 

In a recent article, Sjursen wrote about the impact:

Conflicts are catalyzed, authoritarianism accelerated, human rights go to hell-in-a-hand-basket, and the cycle runs on repeat like a skipping (non-) strategy record. Generally, at least in Franco-America’s African adventures, it’s all done so secretly, sleazily, and – because hidden from the pesky public’s peepers – almost silently. Only sometimes the most wretched walking evidences of criminal complicity have a nasty habit of dying on us, and, for a moment the conspirators stand exposed. That’s when the linguistic-apologia indecency starts.

In a bonus question we talk about NATO, how its priorities are set and how its mini-empires are sustained. 

Major Danny Sjursen, USA (ret.) is prolific writer and speaker and a leading expert voice among veterans. He is a Director of the Eisenhower Media Network, a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy, contributing editor at Antiwar.com, the co-host of the Fortress on a Hill podcast and the author of two books:  Ghostriders of Baghdad: Soldiers, Civilians, and the Myth of the Surge, his new book Patriotic Dissent: America in the Age of Endless War. 

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 aroundtheempire.com is listener supported, independent media.

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FOLLOW @aroundtheempire and @joanneleon.  

Recorded on April 29, 2021. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

1. Our ‘Dear Friend’ Deby Is Dead – Yea, About That…, Danny Sjursen
2. Deby’s Death, Chad’s Crisis, and the Ghosts of Libyan Fiascoes Past, Danny Sjursen
3. New Hillary Emails Reveal Propaganda, Executions, Coveting Libyan Oil and Gold, Brad Hoff (2016)
4. State Department FOIA Archives, Clinton email December release

Guest: Dan Kovalik. We talk about his op-ed “The West’s sole prerogative is that Russia has no right to self-defense... even when the threat is right on its border”

Daniel Kovalik teaches International Human Rights at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, and is author of the book: No More War: How the West Violates International Law by Using “Humanitarian” Intervention to Advance Economic and Strategic Interests.

FOLLOW @danielmkovalik and find his book at Skyhorse Publishing.

Around the Empire aroundtheempire.com is listener supported, independent media.

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FOLLOW @aroundtheempire and @joanneleon.  

Recorded on April 27, 2021. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

1. The West’s sole prerogative is that Russia has no right to self-defense... even when the threat is right on its border, Dan Kovalik

Guest: Alan MacLeod. We discuss his article “Support the Tropes: How media language encourages the left to support wars, coups and intervention” and how how media is used as an instrument to manufacture consent for regime change and various acts of war, especially targeting left-leaning audiences. In a bonus segment we talk about Alan’s research on Bellingcat and his article How Bellingcat Launders National Security State Talking Points into the Press. 

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 Alan 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 aroundtheempire.com is listener supported, independent media.

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FOLLOW @aroundtheempire and @joanneleon.  

Recorded on April 26, 2021. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

1. Support the Tropes: How media language encourages the left to support wars, coups and intervention, Alan MacLeod, FAIR
2. Humanitarian Imperialism: How corporate media sell regime change, Intervention and war to progressive audiences, Alan MacLeod, FAIR
3. How Bellingcat Launders National Security State Talking Points into the Press, Alan MacLeod, MintPress News

Guest: Alison McDowell. We talk about her research into Agenda 21, the transformation of education, the natural systems being financialized, the biosecurity state, stakeholder capitalism and more. In a bonus question we talk about why the “great reset” or new normal agenda seems to have been fast-tracked and if there are common threads in the institutions and entities who are behind it. 

Alison McDowell is a mom, a prolific researcher and producer of network mapping and reporting on her independent media site, wrenchinthegears.com and her Youtube channel. 

FOLLOW @Philly852  SUBSCRIBE to her YouTube channel. Find her work at her website wrenchinthegears.com

Around the Empire aroundtheempire.com is listener supported, independent media.

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FOLLOW @aroundtheempire and @joanneleon.  

Recorded on April 19, 2021. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Guest: Michael Vlahos. We discuss his article published at The American Conservative

titled “The Doom Of The Elite: The rise and fall of elites shapes our history and can be predicted”. In a bonus episode we talk about the prospects for a new civil war, Vlahos’ theory that “cancel culture” is a response to the decline, and other warnings from his recent article titled  “There Will Be Blood: Beware the Ides of March!”

Michael Vlahos is an author, a military historian and strategist. He has taught war and strategy graduate courses at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), the U.S Naval War College, and at Centro Estudios Superiores Navales, D.F.  He is the author of the book Fighting Identity: Sacred War and World Change and he is a weekly contributor to The John Batchelor Show. 

Michael Vlahos is a writer and author of the book Fighting Identity: Sacred War and World Change. He has taught war and strategy at Johns Hopkins University and the Naval War College and other institutions. 

FOLLOW @Michalis_Vlahos and find his blog at anewcivilwar.com.

Around the Empire aroundtheempire.com is listener supported, independent media.

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FOLLOW @aroundtheempire and @joanneleon.  

Recorded on April 15, 2021. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

1. The Doom Of The Elite: The rise and fall of elites shapes our history and can be predicted. Michael Vlahos, American Conservative
2. There Will Be Blood: Beware the Ides of March!, Michael Vlahos
3. Old Civil Wars Never Die: Like Zombies They Are Raised By History to Devour Us, Michael Vlahos

Swapcast with Liberty Weekly / Patrick MacFarlane. In this age of decline of the establishment mainstream media, the pundits and the usual chinahawk commentators aren’t the only ones parroting the hostile and aggressive narratives toward China. A surprising number of independent media personalities with large followings are doing the same thing. Patrick takes note of some of the people and places where this is happening and also does some deep dive research into the Uyghur genocide claims and counterclaims themselves and takes a sober look at the evidence. 

Patrick MacFarlane is a practicing attorney in Wisconsin, a libertarian podcaster and a contributor at the Libertarian Institute.

FOLLOW @liberty_weekly  SUBSCRIBE to his podcast Liberty Weekly.  Find his work at libertyweekly.net and the Libertarian Institute

Around the Empire aroundtheempire.com is listener supported, independent media.

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FOLLOW @aroundtheempire and @joanneleon.  

Recorded on April 16, 2021. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

1. Independent Media Parrots Questionable Uyghur Genocide Claims, Patrick MacFarlane, Libertarian Institute
2. Conflicts of Interest #93 - China's Uyghurs: Genocide Victims or CIA Pawns?
3. ATE Ep 207 Chinahawks’ Uyghur Genocide Narrative feat Gareth Porter
4. ATE Ep 181 Xinjiang and the Uyghurs feat Peter Lee

Isa Blumi provides some historical background on Turkey and Ottoman empire, some more current history of Turkey and NATO and also an analysis of Turkey’s current involvement in the rising crisis between US/NATO and Russia in Ukraine. We also explore the role of Turkey’s president Erdogan and what it means when people say that he and his political allies have neo-Ottoman aspirations. 

Dr. Isa Blumi is an historian, an author and Professor of Global History, Islamic World, Ottoman Empire, Yemen, Albania. His most recent Destroying Yemen: What Chaos in Arabia Tells Us about the World tells the story of the wars in Yemen but also “ultimately tells an even larger story of today’s political economy of global capitalism, development, and the war on terror as disparate actors intersect in Arabia.”  He also authored the book Ottoman Refugees, 1878-1939: Migration in a Post-Imperial World

FOLLOW Isa Blumi @IsaBlumi and find his work at Google Scholar and his latest book at UCPress.edu. 

Around the Empire aroundtheempire.com is listener supported, independent media.

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FOLLOW @aroundtheempire and @joanneleon.  

Recorded on April 14, 2021. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Guest: Peter Lee. We talk about the Fiasco in Alaska aka the Alaska Summit talks between the US and China on March 18th where Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security advisor Jake Sullivan met with top Chinese diplomats including Yang Jiechi, the Director of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission Office in China. The preaching by the American officials was met with an unexpected clapbac and the whole affair blew up in international media including Chinese social media where the Chinese translator Zhang Jing and the defiant message she relayed was widely celebrated. We also talk about the US Indo-Pacific command’s containment strategy for China, a multi-faceted Cold War on the rise, the situation with Taiwan, Project 2049, and the prospects for war between Taiwan and China. In a bonus episode Peter explains the “who lost China?” narrative that has influenced the military and diplomatic corps for decades. Before we begin the interview, I’ll include some excerpts of the Chinese response to Blinken from the Fiasco in Alaska.

FOLLOW @chinahand.  SUBSCRIBE to Peter Lee’s China Threat Report.

Around the Empire aroundtheempire.com is listener supported, independent media.

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Twitter @aroundtheempire and @joanneleon.  

Recorded on March 31, 2021. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

1. Peter Lee’s China Threat Report 

Guest: Mark Sleboda. We talk about the state of affairs in Ukraine with the current Zelensky administration and the new US administration’s policies (which involve a lot of old geopolitical rhetoric). We also talk about the escalation in the Donbas and the Black Sea region. In bonus segment for patrons, we talk about the perils of creating external enemies for political purposes and the reasons behind US sanctions and hostility toward Russia. 

Mark Sleboda is an International Affairs & Security Analyst, a US Navy veteran, a university lecturer and a foreign policy realist.

FOLLOW Mark on Twitter @MarkSleboda1 and on Facebook, look for his appearances on RT, Sputnik and other international channels. 

Around the Empire aroundtheempire.com is listener supported, independent media.

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FOLLOW @aroundtheempire and @joanneleon.  

Recorded on March 26, 2021. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

1. ATE Episode 99 Ukraine feat Mark Sleboda
2. ATE Ep 120 Ukraine Political Transformation? feat Mark Sleboda
3. ATE Ep 157 Crisis of Confidence in Ukraine feat Mark Sleboda

Hosts: Joanne Leon and Kelley Lane. Guest: Oliver Boyd-Barrett. We discuss Boyd-Barrett’s book titled RussiaGate and Propaganda: Disinformation in the Age of Social Media, which focuses on the Russiagate case in the broader understanding of propaganda. In the bonus episode, we talk about the recent resurrection of the Russiagate saga and the reasons for it.

Dr. Oliver Boyd-Barrett is Professor Emeritus of Journalism and Public Relations at Bowling Green State University and the author of the book:  RussiaGate and Propaganda:

Disinformation in the Age of Social Media. He serves on the international advisory board of the Organization for Propaganda Studies and he is currently working on a new book “Conflict Propaganda in Syria: Narrative Battles”. 

Find Olivery Boyd-Barrett on Facebook look for his books including RussiaGate and Propaganda: Disinformation in the Age of Social Media and his upcoming book “Conflict Propaganda in Syria: Narrative Battles”. 

Around the Empire aroundtheempire.com is listener supported, independent media.

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FOLLOW  @aroundtheempire and @joanneleon.  FOLLOW Kelley Lane at @KelleysWords

Recorded on March 25, 2021. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

1. Russiagate as Organized Distraction, Oliver Boyd-Barrett, Consortium News
2. The Great Hack (2019 documentary)  Brittany Kaiser

Guest: Angela McArdle. Co-hosts Joanne Leon, Kelley Lane and Kyle Anzalone. This is a swapcast for the Around the Empire podcast and the Conflicts of Interest show. It’s a broad discussion about war and foreign policy, interventionism, elections and the handling of the pandemic with lockdowns and other restrictions and its impact on the lives of Americans, the economy and our rights. There is a bonus episode questioning whether censorship and lockdowns can be compared to a modern day gulag. 

Angela McArdle currently serves as Chair of the Libertarian Party of Los Angeles County and is seeking the National Libertarian Party Chair in 2022. Angela was a two time candidate for California’s 34th Congressional District. She is a paralegal and legal aid who currently works in litigation focused mainly on real estate and constitutional law. She also has a private practice providing self help legal services to low income clients and she was a key organizer for the 2013 protest in LA against a ban on feeding in public rights of way. Angela believes strongly in the sanctity of personal choice and allowing people to govern their own lives.

FOLLOW Angela at @angela4congress and on her website angelamcardle.com

FOLLOW on Twitter: @KyleAnzalone_ @Con_Interest  SUBSCRIBE to the Conflicts of Interest podcast at the Libertarian Institute and on YouTube and LBRY. 

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. 

SUBSCRIBE on YouTube. FOLLOW @aroundtheempire and @joanneleon.  SUBSCRIBE/FOLLOW on iTunes, iHeart, Spotify, Google Play, Facebook or on your preferred podcast app.

Recorded on March 16, 2021. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Guests: Kit Klarenberg & Mohamed Elmaazi. New documents that appear to be from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office have been leaked by a group that identifies as “Anonymous” and is allegedly the same group that has published leaked documents over the past two years about UK Foreign Office covert programs. This batch of documents shows that Whitehall uses private contractors to infiltrate a variety of media (including smaller, “independent” media and social media influencers and civil society. In this case the stated noble objectives are things like improving literacy, ensuring balance in reporting and countering disinformation. The real objectives revealed in the documents are something else entirely. There is also a bonus episode for patrons about how this seems like an evolved, 21st century Operation Mockingbird. 

Kit Klarenberg is an investigative journalist who explores the role of intelligence services in shaping politics and perceptions and he currently writes for RT. Mohamed Elmaazi is a journalist with experience in human rights law who is currently writing for Sputnik International. 

FOLLOW Mohamed on Twitter at @MElmaazi. Find his writing at Sputnik News, The Canary and visit his blog The Interregnum. Follow Kit’s work at RT. 

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 March 3, 2021. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

1. Leaked papers allege massive UK govt effort to co-opt Russian-language anti-Kremlin media & influencers to ‘weaken Russian state’, Kit Klarenberg, RT
2. From Telegram to elections: Leaked documents expose sinister workings of UK government’s anti-Russian ‘troll factory’, RT, Kit Klarenberg
3. UK Foreign Office Docs Reveal 'Full-Spectrum' Psyops to 'Destabilise Russia', Journalist Says, Mohamed Elmaazi, Sputnik
4. ATE Ep 83 Temple of Covert Propaganda (Part 1) feat Mohamed Elmaazi
5. ATE Ep 84 Temple of Covert Propaganda (Part 2) feat Mohamed Elmaazi
6. On Contact: British government psyops with Mohamed Elmaazi
7. Reuters, BBC, and Bellingcat participated in covert UK Foreign Office-funded programs to “weaken Russia,” leaked docs reveal, Max Blumenthal, The Grayzone
8. PNAC: Rebuilding America’s Defenses: Strategy, Forces and Resources for a New Century

Guest: Monica Perez from the Propaganda Report show. We talk about the October, 2019 exercise called Event 201 hosted by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, the World Economic Forum and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which illustrated that “public/private partnerships will be necessary during the response to a severe pandemic in order to diminish large-scale economic and societal consequences.” We have a wide-ranging discussion about the Great Reset and other emerging plans that have been set out by various global institutions. We focus on the immense public relations and propaganda efforts around these things and other broader topics about the way the world is changing. There is also a bonus episode for patrons about what the end game is and how likely it is to be successful. 

Monica Perez is co-host of the Propaganda Report podcast and was the host of The Monica Perez Show for 8 1/2 years on WSB in Atlanta. Prior to that she was an investment banker. She holds a degree from Harvard and a JD-MBA from Stanford and she is a Chartered Financial Analyst and member of the bar of the State of New York.  Monica now lives in Los Angeles, California and is the proud (and busy) mother of three teenagers. 

FOLLOW Monica @MonicaPerezShow,  SUBSCRIBE to the Propaganda Report podcast and https://rokfin.com/propagandareport Rokfin channel. Find her work at The Propaganda Report website or MonicaPerezShow.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 February 17, 2021. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Guest: Elijah Magnier. We talk about the the three attacks in one week on US bases in Iraq following an announcement that the US will escalate the operation in Iraq. US and NATO troops will no longer be withdrawn from Iraq but instead the escalate and expand the mission substantially. We also talk about Syria, the axis of resistance and the broader region.  When we recorded this interview a few days ago the media was reporting that the Biden administration is taking a calm approach, investigating the source of the attacks and not overreacting. All of that changed just a couple of days later when Biden launched an retaliatory attack on “infrastructure utilized by Iranian-backed militant groups in eastern Syria.” Reports on the multiple-target attack are still varying at the moment but the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claims that 22 people were killed. The strikes happened in al Bukamal near the border with Iraq and the “Iranian-backed militant groups” that the Pentagon spokesman referred to are Iraqi Popular Mobilization Force (PMF) fighters. The PMF is sponsored by the Iraqi government and was reorganized around 2014 to fight against ISIS, something that Elijah has explained in previous interviews on this podcast. No evidence from the alleged investigation that the media claimed the Biden administration was conducting before any response has been reported. The Pentagon frames it as a defensive strike and also claims that this was an attempt to “de-escalate the overall situation in both eastern Syria and Iraq.” 

There is also a bonus question for patrons about US support for Saudi operations in Yemen and an increase in deployment of US troops in Saudi Arabia and why the American people don’t elect leaders who can end the forever wars. 

FOLLOW Elijah  on Twitter @ejmalrai. Find and support his work at ejmagnier.com where you can subscribe to his articles and donate. 

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 February 23, 2021. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Guest: Gareth Porter. We discuss Gareth’s new article on the Biden administration’s endorsement of  the Chinahawk narrative on Uychur genocide. Gareth examines the origin, source and credibility of that narrative, the Uyghur people and the Xinjiang province in China. There is also a bonus question about the likelihood of the Biden administration re-entering the JCPOA Iran deal and US military buildup in Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf area. There is also a bonus question for patrons where Gareth gives his thoughts about a US return to the Iran deal under the new Biden administration and some further thoughts on Yemen and Saudi Arabia. 

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).and the co-author with John Kiriakou of his latest book The CIA Insider's Guide to the Iran Crisis: From CIA Coup to the Brink of War. Gareth is the winner of the 2012 Gellhorn Prize for Journalism

FOLLOW Gareth on Twitter at @GarethPorter. Find his work at The Grayzone. Read his most recent book authored with John Kirakou: 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.

Reference Links:

1. US State Department accusation of China ‘genocide’ relied on data abuse and baseless claims by far-right ideologue, Gareth Porter at The Grayzone

Swapcast: Kyle Anzalone from Conflicts of Interest and Joanne Leon from Around the Empire. We compare the Biden foreign policy to the Trump, Obama and Bush administrations, analyze press conference and announcements from NATO’s Jen Stoltenberg about expanding the number of troops and area of operation in Iraq and freezing any withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, and more. 

FOLLOW on Twitter: @KyleAnzalone_ @Con_Interest  SUBSCRIBE to the Conflicts of Interest podcast at the Libertarian Institute and on YouTube and LBRY. 

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 February 18, 2021. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

1. NATO press conference: Stoltenberg speaks to media on second day of NATO ministerial meetings
2. America after Trump isn’t exactly popular around the world, MSNBC
3. US goes one year without a combat death in Afghanistan as Taliban warn against reneging on peace deal, Stars & Stripes

Hosts: Joanne Leon and Kelley Lane. Guests: Craig Jardula (aka Pasta) and Fiorella Isabel from the Convo Couch

We talk about Biden’s foreign policy speech (and other declarations) and the people who are now returning to the helm of the “national security state”. We talked about the increase in censorship (including the recent demonetizing of Convo Couch and others), the “blue fascism” of the establishment and our thoughts on the time being ripe for for a broad, independent political movement. There is a bonus question for patrons about election integrity and the “storming of the citadel of democracy” on January 6th and the impeachment that followed. Fiorella and Pasta were there on the ground in Washington that day and they share with us their observations and analysis of the situation. 

Craig (aka Pasta) Jardula and Fiorella Isabel are the hosts of the Convo Couch show, an independent media show focused on politics, rooted in progressivism and one that strives to stand up for the little guy against the machine. They’ve done extensive work with candidates and investigation of elections and election systems. 

FOLLOW them on Twitter and other social media platforms at @theconvocouch, @Fiorella_im and @yopasta  and find their show on YouTube, Rokfin and 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 February 11, 2021. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Swapcast: Kyle Anzalone from Conflicts of Interest and Joanne Leon from Around the Empire. 

We discuss the 2020 election and a new Time magazine article titled “The Secret History of the Shadow Campaign That Saved the 2020 Election” which explains how an “elite-cabal” “saved democracy” by 'influencing perceptions, changing rules and laws, steering media coverage and controlling the flow of information”. These actions are not illegal, but they affirm the feeling of many Americans that something was wrong with the 2020 election. 

Joanne and Kyle argue that the article is even more nefarious than it appears. The bold, and likely exaggerated, claims about the cabal's influence are reported as unquestionably heroic. Meanwhile any effort by Trump or his supporters to question or challenge the “shadow campaign” is treated as an evil attack on democracy. The message is: Americans need our elites to craft the appropriate narrative so Americans consume the right information and vote for the correct candidate. 

FOLLOW Kyle on Twitter: @KyleAnzalone_  SUBSCRIBE to the Conflicts of Interest podcast at the Libertarian Institute and on YouTube. 

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 February 6, 2021. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

1. The Secret History of the Shadow Campaign That Saved the 2020 Election, Time 
2. Nevada bill would allow tech companies to create governments, AP
3. Bill would allow tech companies to create local governments, Las Vegas Review Journal

Guest: Tom Luongo. We talk about market trading, the short squeeze tactic, Robinhood, Gamestop, silver and other assets that have been in play recently along with an allegedly grassroots populist, online-coordinated effort to rebel against hedge funds and Wall Street. Some have framed this movement as another generation of Occupy Wall Street. We also had a broader conversation about the overall unrest and in a bonus question about the possibility that behind the latest chaos might be yet another factional battle that could even involve foreign entities in a hybrid type war. 

This podcast is another example of how both Tom Luongo and I seek out common ground for discussions even though our views are very different on some issues. But we both believe that a huge number of people from across the spectrum have many of the same fundamental wants, needs and objectives and we should seek those out when we can instead of demonizing and waging war against each other. These divides can be (and are) manipulated, aren’t in our best interest and only favor people who we should be opposing because they absolutely don’t have the best interests of the populace at heart. When we do that, we all lose, so let’s find common ground. 

FOLLOW Tom at @TFL1728. Find his work at Gold, Goats ‘n Guns   Also find his work at Patreon, Youtube and DLive and other platforms. 

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 February 1, 2021. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

1. Market Weekly: Game Stop Revolution or the Matrix Reloaded?, Tom Luongo
2. Gold Goats 'n Guns Live -- The Silver #ShortSqueeze, Tom Luongo
3. GameStop Short Squeeze: These Are the Big Wall Street Players Who Stood to Make Billions, Wall Street on Parade
4. GameStop Promoter Keith Gill Was No “Amateur” Trader; He Held Sophisticated Trading Licenses and Worked in the Finance Industry, Wall Street on Parade
5. GameStop Shares: Dark Pools Owned by Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, UBS, et al, Have Made Tens of Thousands of Trades, Wall Street on Parade
6. Last American Vagabond Interview with Whitney Webb 

Guest: Whitney Webb. We talk about the Solar Winds hack that has been reported by the media since December, including an important update on January 6 which was largely drowned out by the January 6 incidents at the Capitol and the 24/7 media blast that followed. 

News articles about the Solar Winds hack with warnings about impending disaster continue to be published frequently. An article in Lawfare today titled “The SolarWinds Hack Can Directly Affect Control Systems” said: “As Microsoft’s CEO pointed out, what’s been seen so far is only the ‘first phase’ of the attack that targeted IT systems in the government and companies large and small. While disconnecting the SolarWinds Orion system from one’s IT system may mitigate some of the damage, it neglects the possibility that potentially destructive malware could easily have been planted on OT systems as well. And the impact of OT breaches can be more significant than mere IT penetration; OT consists of systems that affect the physical world.”… “By attacking the SolarWinds platform, the Russians were able to get a “two-fer,” that is, persistent access and data exfiltration from the IT networks and access to control system devices and control system OT networks.”  Lawfare directly attributes all of this to the Russian government and it should be noted that Lawfare is very well connected to the national security establishment and has been one of the most extreme promoters of the Russiagate narrative for the past four years. 

In the story about the Solar Winds hack, some key cybersecurity entities familiar to us from Russiagate reappear, like CrowdStrike and FireEye as do some familiar figures like Ghilaine Maxwell’s sister, Isabel. Reports of a massive and ongoing compromise to a broad range of government and private networks with a weak attribution claim about Russian state-sponsored hackers began to spread like a 2016 DNC “hack” narrative deja vu. Dire warnings about dark winters and ruinous cybersecurity attacks have been put on a loop setting, predicting unprecedented economic and institutional impact. Some new entities have emerged and some old figures have reappeared in the latest impending crisis. At the same time there have been rigorous efforts to shift the threat target toward domestic terrorism and dissent.

 One of the disturbing aspects of the whole thing is that long before the reports about the Solar Winds hack, similar but more vague warnings along these lines have been put out into the public by entities whose exercises and simulations have tended to actually occur in real life. 

There is also a bonus question about how the 2020 election was a prerequisite for a much larger, more broad transformative objective that has been signaled by various official organizations inside and outside the US government and marketed by the World Economic Forum whose annual meeting in Davos begins today. 

FOLLOW Whitney @_whitneywebb  SUBSCRIBE to her podcast Unlimited Hangout and find her work at the Unlimited Hangout website, Rokfin and at The Last American Vagabond. 

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 25, 2021. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

1. (Jan, 2021) Another Mega Group Spy Scandal? Samanage, Sabotage, And The SolarWinds Hack, Whitney Webb
2. (Jan, 2021) Silicon Valley and WEF-Backed Foundation Announce Global Initiative for COVID-19 Vaccine Records, Whitney Webb
3. (Jan, 2021) Lawfare: The SolarWinds Hack Can Directly Affect Control Systems
4. (Jan. 20. 2021: WHO Information Notice for IVD Users 2020/05: Nucleic acid testing (NAT) technologies that use polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for detection of SARS-CoV-2
5. (July, 2020) Why a Shadowy Tech Firm With Ties to Israeli Intelligence Is Running Doomsday Election Simulations, Whitney Webb
6. (July, 2020) How an Israeli Spy-Linked Tech Firm Gained Access to the US Gov’t’s Most Classified Networks, Whitney Webb
7. (July, 2020) The Maxwell Family Business: Espionage, Whitney Webb

Guest: Mohamed Elmaazi. The long awaited extradition decision for Julian Assange came on Monday, January 4, 2021, followed by a bail hearing two days later. These recent days have been an emotional rollercoaster for Assange supporters and many were surprised, even shocked, by both decisions. Mohamed Elmaazi continues to be one of the foremost journalists covering the case on the ground at the Old Bailey Courthouse in a press annex or other nearby locations, attending via video link as required during the Covid lockdowns. And two weeks from now the executive power changes hands. The news from the second hearing, the bail hearing, happened on the same day that Congress held the session with the electors from the states in the presidential election and all hell broke loose, so the news about the bail hearing was drowned out. In this interview he provides us with details and analysis on what happened in those hearings.

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 January 6, 2021. Music by Fluorescent Grey.

Reference Links:

1. UK Judge Denies Bail for Julian Assange During US Extradition Appeal, Mohamed Elmaazi
2. Assange's Lawyers to Seek Bail After UK Judge Ruled Against Extradition to US, Mohamed Elmaazi
3. Judge Rules Against Extraditing Julian Assange to the US, Purely Based On His Risk of Suicide, Mohamed Elmaazi
4. Britain Refuses to Extradite ‘Suicidal’ WikiLeaks Founder to US (VoA interview with Marcy Wheeler) Video version of the interview here

Guest: Mohamed Elmaazi. Journalist Mohammed Elmaazi and I had this conversation the week before Christmas just as new exculpatory evidence, audio of conversation between Julian Assange and a State Department official, was released by Project Veritas. We are also now in the final weeks leading up to the court decision on Assange’s extradition from the United Kingdom to the United States and there have been many people, including some pretty influential people, urging Trump to pardon Assange. In our conversation we reviewed some of the events and players and skullduggery over the years since the early days of Wikileaks. Plus there is a bonus episode with our thoughts on whether Assange will be pardoned, who we think are the most influential people lobbying Trump for and against a pardon and how things might play out if Assange is pardoned.

Even The Guardian, whose behavior toward Assange has been contemptible, made an editorial statement opposing extradition. Mohammed commented on it on Twitter: “This editorial statement by The Guardian on Julian Assange is spot on. If only they made this clear years ago rather than 3 weeks before the judge is due to give her decision.” I’d also like to mention a few of the things have happened recently since we recorded this interview. First. there was breaking news about members of the UK parliament now lobbying for an Assange pardon and also German MPs have formed a working group to free Julian Assange. 

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.

Reference Links:

1. Assange Supporters Denounce 'Lies', 'Smears' and 'Fabrications' Outside The Guardian Headquarters, Mohamed Elmaazi
2. Audio Recordings Confirm Assange Spoke to US State Dept to Stop Publication of Unredacted Cables, Mohamed Elmaazi
3. German MPs Form 'Free Julian Assange' Working Group Amid Growing Calls for a Trump Pardon, Mohamed Elmaazi
4. Assange's Removal From Embassy Was Coordinated on 'Direct Orders From the US President', Court Told, Mohamed Elmaazi (Mohamed interview of Cassandra Fairbanks)
5. Tucker Carlson interview with Stella Moris
6. "Project Veritas" Leak: Julian Assange Asked Clinton State Department For Help Mitigating Damage Of Unintentional 2011 Data Dump, Real Clear Politics
7. Glenn Greenwald on Tucker Carlson show re: Assange