Analyst and writer Tom Luongo returns to the show to talk about the economic and geopolitical implications of the current hybrid war between the US and Turkey and the broader war around it. We discuss the collapse of the Turkish Lira, dollar-denominated debt, how currency wars work, and the inertia of markets and traders. We also delve into the geopolitical lead up to this crisis -- Turkey’s role in the Syrian war and a failed coup -- both of which led to realignments and new allies that might result in an unusual rescue. Will Turkey employ a Russian formula for surviving sanctions and currency crises? Will it lead to an exit from NATO? Or will the old guard, Cold Warrior foreign policy establishment bring a defiant Erdogan back into the fold one more time?
Tom is former research chemist and a current staunch libertarian. His speciality is markets analysis informed by geopolitics. Tom currently publishes his blog, Gold Goats ‘n Guns along with a monthly investment newsletter focused on geopolitics, commodities and cryptocurrencies. His work is also featured regularly on sites like Zerohedge, Strategic Culture Foundation and Investing.com. FOLLOW Tom @TFL1728. Find his work at Gold, Goats ‘n Guns, Steemit and on YouTube.
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Recorded on August 14, 2018. Music by Fluorescent Grey.
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Our guest, journalist and analyst Pepe Escobar, speaks to us from Bangkok about the new Great Game in Eurasia and why the critical military and geopolitical situation requires that the US resume relations with Russia despite the massive forces working against that.
Escobar is the correspondent-at-large for Asia Times and a frequent contributor to websites, TV and radio shows ranging from the US to East Asia. Born in Brazil, he's been a foreign correspondent since 1985, and has lived in London, Paris, Milan, Los Angeles, Washington, Bangkok and Hong Kong.
FOLLOW Pepe Escobar on Facebook and find his work at Asia Times.
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Recorded on July 26, 2018. Music by Fluorescent Grey.
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Dan and Joanne talk with Jim Kavanagh about the summit between American President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki and the anticipated attempt to strike a MidEast grand bargain.
Jim is editor and writer at The Polemicist. His work is also published at CounterPunch, Greanville Post and he’s a frequent guest on the Loud and Clear radio show.
Follow Jim at @ThePolemicist_ . Find his work at polemicist.net.
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Recorded on July 12, 2018. Music by Fluorescent Grey.
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Dan and Joanne talk with Sharmine Narwani about the Southern Front -- US-backed rebels based in southern Syria -- and their affiliation with al Qaeda. We also discuss how the Syrian war is like an irregular world war and how it played a role in accelerating a global shift in power.
Sharmine is a commentator and analyst of Mideast geopolitics based in Beirut, speaking to us today from the United States. She is a former senior associate at St. Antony's College, Oxford University and has been published by a wide variety of publications, including the New York Times, the Guardian, Asia Times Online, al Akhbar English, Al Jazeera and RT.
Follow Sharmine @snarwani and find her work at her website mideastshuffle.com
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Recorded on June 28, 2018. Music by Fluorescent Grey.
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Are al-Qaeda Affiliates Fighting Alongside U.S. Rebels in Syria’s South?, Sharmine Narwani, The American Conservative
Dan and Joanne talk with Aaron Maté about Russiagate and the Mueller investigation. We discuss Aaron’s recent article which argues that after a year of investigation there have been several guilty pleas, but none of them go “to the core of the special counsel’s mandate,” about collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government.
Aaron is a host/producer for The Real News and a contributor at The Nation magazine. Follow him on Twitter at @aaronjmate.
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Recorded on June 21, 2018. Music by Fluorescent Grey.
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The Mueller Indictments Still Don’t Add Up to Collusion, Aaron Maté, The Nation
Joanne talks with political analyst and Progressive Independent Garland Nixon about investigations and intelligence operations concerning the 2016 election. We also talk about the recently published Inspector General report on the Clinton email “MidYear Exam” investigation.
Garland is the co-host of the daily radio show “Fault Lines” and host of the weekly radio show “News Views With Garland Nixon”. He is also has a background in law enforcement and investigations. Follow him @Garland Nixon.
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Recorded on June 20, 2018. Music by Fluorescent Grey.
Elijah Magnier returns to the show to talk about politics in post-ISIS Iraq, the results of the recent election, and the mission to select a new prime minister and cabinet. Elijah and Joanne also talk about the latest developments in Syria as the battle for the southwest Syria begins.
Elijah is a veteran war correspondent, a terrorism/counterterrorism analyst specializing in the Europe and the Middle East, especially Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Sudan and Libya. He recently left Iraq and is speaking to us today from Lebanon.
Follow Elijah at @ejmalrai and find his work at ejmagnier.com
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Recorded on May 31, 2018. Music by Fluorescent Grey.
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Joanne interviews Dr. Isa Blumi, an historian, an author and an Associate Professor at Stockholm University. His recent book 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.”
Dr. Blumi gives us a deeper understanding of the war in Yemen in a way that is compelling, fascinating, tragic, and largely untold in the western world. Yemen’s people have a long history of resistance. The war in Yemen is an imperial war for resources and dominance and also a hidden war between Gulf state rivals. The latest escalation of the war has been fueled by Saudi Arabia’s now urgent need for finance and resources.
Follow @IsaBlumi and find his latest book at UCPress.edu.
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Recorded on May 10, 2018. Music by Fluorescent Grey.
Reference Links:
Destroying Yemen: What Chaos in Arabia Tells Us about the World, Isa Blumi, UC Press
A History of the Colonial War in Yemen and the US Involvement, KPFA
Dan and Joanne analyze the New York Times exposure of Operation Crossfire Hurricane and commentary by the authors. We examine the damning claims by pro-Trump media and we also talk about Daily Caller’s revelation of the identity of the alleged FBI informant in the Trump campaign.
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Recorded on May 17, 2018. Music by Fluorescent Grey.
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In this bonus episode (a bonus episode for patrons, 30 minute preview free to the public), Dan and Joanne talk about the growing conflict with Iran, the impact of Trump’s withdrawal from the Iran deal and the severe escalation in the Syrian war that began just hours after that withdrawal.
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Recorded on May 11, 2018. Music by Fluorescent Grey.
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Time for Europe to Join the Resistance, Spiegel, by Klaus Brinkbäumer
Dan and Joanne talk about the FBI in crisis, James Comey, Andrew McCabe, the Mueller investigation, and the abuse of power. We also discuss the strange political bedfellows the crisis has created
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Recorded on May 5, 2018. Music by Fluorescent Grey.
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We hold a roundtable discussion with Joanne Leon, Kyle Anzalone and Will Porter about French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to the White House and Congress where he presented a prodigious plan for the Middle East that includes a harsher set of terms for the Iran deal, containment of Iran and Western dominance in the Middle East.
Kyle Anzalone is the host of the Foreign Policy Focus podcast and the editor-in-chief of ImmersionNews.com. He also writes the Daily News Roundup at Libertarian Institute.
Will Porter is a freelance journalist with a focus on US foreign policy and conflicts abroad. His work can be found at the Libertarian Institute, Antiwar.com and Consortium News
Support Kyle at https://www.patreon.com/ForeignPolicyFocus. Support Will at patreon.com/WKPJournalist.
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Recorded on April 28, 2018. Music by Fluorescent Grey.
Dan and Joanne discuss Jack Goldsmith’s essay, “The 'deep state' is real. But are its leaks against Trump justified?”
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Recorded on April 24, 2018. Music by Fluorescent Grey.
Reference Links:
“Can It Happen Here?: Authoritarianism in America”, Cass Sunstein (book)
Joanne talks with Lt. Col. Daniel L. Davis, USA, Ret.about his recent article, “President Trump is right: Withdrawing from Syria strengthens US security,” and about the current precarious situation where Trump has changed his mind and is signalling an imminent attack on Syria and Russia, using an alleged chemical weapons attack in Ghouta as justification.
Col. Davis served for 21 years, including four combat deployments. He retired from the Army in 2015 and is now a Foreign Policy/Defense Analyst and a senior fellow for Defense Priorities. His areas of expertise are American foreign policy, Middle East policy, Asia policy, grand strategy, international relations, international security, and counterinsurgency.
In 2012, he wrote a classified whistleblower report for Congress about the war in Afghanistan and released an unclassified version to the public. Col Davis regularly appears on news shows and is published in national and international publications.
Follow Col. Davis on Twitter at @DanielLDavis1
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Recorded on April 11, 2018. Music by Fluorescent Grey.
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Joanne talks with veteran war correspondent Elijah Magnier, from Damascus, about recent developments in Syria and his recent three-part article about the big picture and power players in the Syrian war. We also talk about the new crowd-funded book that he is writing on the history of Hezbollah.
Elijah is a journalist and a senior political risk analyst with over 32 years experience covering Europe and the Middle East.
Follow Elijah at @ejmalrai and find his work (in multiple languages) at ejmagnier.com
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Recorded on April 2, 2018. Music by Fluorescent Grey.
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“Will America Accept its Defeat or Will it Challenge the Russian Bear and the Chinese Dragon (Part 1)”, Elijah Magnier
“Will America Accept its Defeat or Will it Challenge the Russian Bear and the Chinese Dragon (Part 2)”, Elijah Magnier
“Will America Accept its Defeat or Will it Challenge the Russian Bear and the Chinese Dragon (Part 3)”, Elijah Magnier
Joanne talks with economist and writer Tom Luongo about Trump’s cabinet shuffle and the possibility that it is part of a Middle East grand bargain, as Alastair Crooke recently wrote about in the online journal, Strategic Culture.
Tom is former research chemist and staunch libertarian, Tom currently publishes his blog, Gold Goats 'n Guns along with a monthly investment newsletter focused on geopolitics, commodities and cryptocurrencies. He is a regular contributor at Russia Insider and Seeking Alpha. His work is also featured regularly on sites like Zerohedge, Lewrockwell.com and Investing.com.
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Follow Tom Luongo @TFL1728. Find his work on YouTube and at Steemit.com/@goldgoatsnguns.
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Recorded on March 27, 2018. Music by Fluorescent Grey.
Reference Links:
1. "Is the North Korea Deal a Stalking Horse for Trump’s Mid-East Makeover?", Alastair Crooke, Strategic Culture
2. "Neoconning the Trump White House", Kelley Beaucar Vlahos, American Conservative
Syrian analyst Ehsani returns to the show to talk about the latest developments in the Syrian war, with a focus on escalations in Eastern Ghouta, Afrin and Eastern Syria. Ehsani also shares his observations from a recent trip to Aleppo. This is a two-part interview originally recorded on March 8th. Due to delays in publishing and rapid developments in those regions, a second part was added on March 27th with updates on the situation.
Ehsani is a Syrian American originally from Aleppo. You can find his social media analysis and discussion about Syria on Twitter at @ehsani22. He has also written for the Syria Comment blog under the pseudonym, “Ehsani”.
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Recorded on March 8 and March 27, 2018. Music by Fluorescent Grey.
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Dan and Joanne talk about the Mueller’s indictment of Russian internet trolls for defrauding the United States and meddling in the 2016 election by placing ads on social media (most of which ran after the election itself). While the indictments themselves seem absurd, they did bring about a significant change. Both the establishment Left and Right are now more united against Russia and around the War Party.
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Recorded on February 23, 2018. Music by Fluorescent Grey.
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Quote Montage:
Rod Rosenstein, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Joy Reid, Bernie Sanders, Thomas Friedman, Lawrence O’Donnell, Max Boot, Jerry Nadler, Laura Ingraham, James Woolsey, Jimmy Dore, Adrian Chen, Max Blumenthal
Dan and Joanne talk about the lead up to and the release of the House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes’ memo on the abuse of the FISA court related to Russiagate.
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Recorded on February 2, 2018. Music by Fluorescent Grey.
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Quote Montage:
Donnie Deutsch, John Heilman, Chuck Shumer, Cory Booker, Adam Schiff, Tucker Carlson, Devin Nunes, Joe DiGenova, Donald Trump
Dan and Joanne talk about Rex Tillerson’s unveiling of the Trump administration’s new Syria policy via a Stanford University speech and interview with Condoleeza Rice. The policy is named “The Way Forward” but ironically it seems more like a regression to the Bush/Cheney neoconservative foreign policy for the Middle East.
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Recorded on January 23, 2018. Music by Fluorescent Grey.
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Dan and Joanne talk about the cost of the Empire, the War on Terror aka “Empire Preservation Wars,” current events and the new “Costs of War Project” done by Brown University.
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Recorded on January 17, 2018. Music by Fluorescent Grey.
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Dan and Joanne speak with Middle East commentator Sonia Mansour Robaey. Sonia is a neuroscientist, philosopher, ethicist, educator and she is a Lebanese francophone living abroad.
Follow Sonia at @les_politiques and find her work at Les Politiques.
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Recorded on November 24, 2017. Music by Fluorescent Grey.
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The Shiites of Lebanon under Ottoman Rule, 1516-1788, Stefan Winter
Dan and Joanne talk with author and journalist Joe Lauria about Russiagate and the growing censorship of dissent.
Joe Lauria is an American journalist based in the Middle East, author of "How I Lost By Hillary Clinton," and he has been a UN correspondent for 25 years. He now writes for Consortium News and has previously written for the Boston Globe and Wall Street Journal and numerous other publications.
Follow Joe at @unjoe and find his writing at Consortium News.
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Recorded on November 24, 2017. Music by Fluorescent Grey.
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Dan and Joanne discuss the Saudi purge, unrest in Lebanon, and the possibility of wars escalating in the Middle East.
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Recorded on November 10, 2017. Music by Fluorescent Grey.
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“US Air Force official: Missile targeting Saudis was Iranian” AP News
Ep. 37 AFRICOM
Dan and Joanne discuss the War on Terror shift to the African continent and the recent loss of US troops in Niger.
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Recorded on October 24, 2017. Music by Fluorescent Grey.
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Interview with Horace Campbell and Mark Fancher Part 2, DemocracyNow