Mankind is a mixture of good and evil, of cooperative and criminal tendencies. In my view, the anarchist society is one which maximizes the tendencies for the good and the cooperative, while it minimizes both the opportunity and the moral legitimacy of the evil and the criminal. If the anarchist view is correct, and the State is indeed the great legalized and socially legitimated channel for all manner of antisocial crime — theft , oppression, mass murder — on a massive scale, then surely the abolition of such an engine of crime can do nothing but favor the good in man and discourage the bad….The anarchist view holds that, given the “nature of man,” given the degree of goodness or badness at any point of time, anarchism will maximize the opportunities for good and minimize the channels for the bad.
Nasser Arrabyee discusses the heavy fighting going on outside of Ma’rib, the last stronghold of the Saudi-backed government in Yemen. The Houthi “rebels” are closing in on the city, says Arrabyee, and may capture it within a few days—doing so could give them the bargaining chip they need to finally negotiate an end to Saudi aggression against their country and their people. Arrabyee hails the recent announcement of an end to American support for Saudi “offensive operations” as very good news, but insists that the suffering will not end until the Saudi blockade is abolished. Most of the deaths in Yemen have not been due to direct fighting, but instead to starvation and easily-preventable illnesses like cholera. Hundreds of thousands of civilians, at least, have died from these factors—many of them children—and hundreds of thousands more are at risk for as long as the blockade continues.
Discussed on the show:
“‘Serious’ questions over SAS involvement in Yemen war” (The Guardian)
“UN Warns 400,000 Yemeni Children May Starve To Death In 2021” (Forbes)
Nasser Arrabyee is a Yemeni journalist based in Sana’a, Yemen. He is the owner and director of yemen-now.com. You can follow him on Twitter @narrabyee.
Scott talks with Danny Sjursen about President Biden’s foreign policy moves during his first few weeks in office. Most notably, the administration has announced an end to all support for “offensive operations” in Yemen. Sjursen agrees that this is great news, but urges some caution so that we don’t too readily accept a declaration that could still allow loopholes. The news isn’t all good: the Biden administration has also hinted that they will cancel the Afghanistan withdrawal deal that was made with the Taliban under Trump. Sjursen suspects that Biden will escalate the war a little at first, put it on the back burner, withdraw some troops and then leave the war in basically the same state for the next administration. In other words, he will do what all presidents have done since the start of the war 20 years ago.
Discussed on the show:
“Biden’s Bolt From Yemen?: Symbolic Step, Systemic Limits, and Linguistic Gymnastics” (Antiwar.com Original)
“2/5/21 Hassan El-Tayyab on Biden’s Big Step Toward Peace in Yemen” (The Scott Horton Show)
Some 70% of the Yemeni population live in northern Yemen’s Houthi territory. Since the war began, north Yemen has been under a savage U.S.-backed, Saudi naval blockade. 80% of the country relies on aid to survive and north Yemen is where the widespread malnutrition is most intense. In essence, the designation was a death sentence for those civilians. The Houthis have been in power in Sanaa for six years. The U.S.-backed, Saudi puppet President has spent much of that time on house arrest in Riyadh. Aid groups who wished to help Yemenis in the north, would necessarily have to work with the Houthis and therefore open themselves up to being hit with U.S. sanctions. This policy was designed to tie the hands of the Biden administration as well, who had, during the campaign, already indicated their intention to end the war.
It remains to be seen what “offensive” operations and “relevant” arms sales means exactly. As they say, the devil is in the details. But tentatively, there seems to be reasons for hope. But make no mistake, right now is the time for activists, and concerned citizens opposed to the brutal Yemen war, to redouble their efforts and apply the most pressure on the administration, as well as Congress.
Hassan El-Tayyab discusses the great news out of Washington last week: the Biden administration has announced an end to all support for Saudi offensive operations in Yemen, and is appointing an envoy to help negotiate a peace deal. This is a great victory for all the grassroots peace activists who have worked tirelessly over the last few years to put an end to the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. But there is still work to be done—the Trump administration’s designation of the Houthis as a terrorist group is making it nearly impossible for aid organizations to send assistance to the people of Yemen, and Biden’s team hasn’t reversed that designation. Scott also reminds us that Biden could pick up the phone today and simply tell Saudi Arabia to end their war now. The fact that he hasn’t done so means that peace in Yemen could still be a slow and messy process despite the recent good news.
“How come they can target official military personnel who were on a military mission?” asked Ahmed al-Helou, another Yemeni colonel who worked with Abdullah al-Taisy. “They seem not to understand the difference between the local community and the militants.”
Michael Boldin of the Tenth Amendment Center explains the U.S.-saudi coalition’s war on Yemen and why the U.S. government must cease all support for the genocide immediately.
Hassan El-Tayyab discusses the prospects for an end to the war in Yemen under the incoming Biden administration. President Biden and Secretary of State nominee Antony Blinken have both signaled that they’d like to end U.S. participation in the war right away, though as of this interview, the new administration hasn’t made any moves yet. Still, opponents of the war are hopeful that Biden will follow through on his promise, especially given the renewed efforts in Congress to end both the war and the U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia that make such conflicts possible. Whereas Trump could resist these congressional efforts, it will be politically very difficult for Biden to do so, given his public stance on the war, and the fact that it is mainly Democrat representatives leading the way. Yemen remains the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, with severe famine, cholera and polio on top of the covid pandemic that the whole world is facing.
Discussed on the show:
“Biden Must Address Yemen on Day One and Move Immediately to Prevent Future Wars” (Truthout)
Over 300 organisations from 18 countries have signed up for a call to action against the war on Yemen so far, making this the biggest international anti-war co-ordination since the campaign against the Iraq war. This protest is timed to take place just days after the inauguration of Joe Biden, who has promised to end US support for the war. This is our one central aim – to hold him to his word and force fellow governments to follow suit.
Unfortunately, due to the circumstances in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic many of the planned physical protests have had to be postponed but our global movement will not be silenced. For the World Says No to War on Yemen Global Online Rally we have brought together a group of prominent voices from across the world to speak out against this utterly brutal war and call for its immediate end.
On COI #62, Kyle Anzalone breaks down the war in Yemen. Since 2015, the US has enabled Saudi’s brutal air war against the people of Yemen. At least a quarter of a million died in the war. US-made bombs have been used to destroy weddings, funerals, and even a school bus full of young boys. The endless Saudi war crimes have invoked little criticism and response from two American presidents.
The UN calls Yemen the worst humanitarian crisis in 40 years. Many children have already starved to death and many more are living in famine-like conditions. The US must end its support for Saudi’s war and remove the last-minute Trump sanctions that will make the crisis even worse.
On COI #59, Kyle Anzalone discusses several recent news stories. A new study finds US sonar tests are killing whales in the Pacific. The sonar is for detecting submarines but it likely causing marine life to become beached and die. Several Senators in Guam are trying to prevent the US from continuing the sonar activities.
Trump’s designation of the Houthi as a terror group will severely limit the amount of remittance sent to the county. The World Bank believes 10% of people in Yemen rely on money sent from people in other countries. The sanctions will prevent money transfers to Yemen. The UN warns the country is on the brink of the world’s worst crisis in 40 years.
US News Twitter added a ‘hacked materials’ warning to an article published by The Gray Zone detailing how BBC, Reuters, and Bellingcat were paid by the UK Foreign Office. [Link] The US opened a new facility to cage migrant children. [Link] The New York police officers...
On Monday, Chairman Dan McKnight of BringOurTroopsHome.US traveled to Pierre, South Dakota to testify in front of the House Military and Veterans Affairs Committee in favor of the "Defend the Guard" bill introduced by State Rep. Aaron Aylward (R-Harrisburg). This...
Given the recent stories about Merrick Garland’s experience at the helm of the Oklahoma City bombing prosecution and his own comments about prosecuting white supremacists should he be made Attorney General, I have some questions about Garland’s handling of the OKC...
Enough Already: Time to End the War on Terrorism by Scott Horton, A Video Adaptation Commentary by the author. Directed by Gus Cantavero. Access the full video playlist here. https://youtu.be/RLFe4xWvhR8?list=PLq2qhcVwTVJRQuCWXMVUM8SG2qYDFoPZA
Eli Clifton discusses the Biden Administration's Afghanistan study group, a panel of national security experts and former officers giving recommendations on whether the U.S. should get out of Afghanistan on the Trump administration's withdrawal timeline. Some of these...
Ray McGovern talks with Scott about the lies and malfeasance of the national security state during the "Russiagate" fiasco. McGovern begins by rehashing the FBI's lies that first led to a FISA warrant on Carter Page, who they failed to disclose to the court was...
Scott interviews Gareth Porter about his coverage of the recent and widespread claims of a Chinese genocide of the Uyghurs. Many of these accusations have relied on the work of one man, Adrian Zenz, whose research Porter calls into question. Porter wrote a piece with...
Scott talks to Ben Wizner of the ACLU about the ongoing Julian Assange saga. Assange's attempted prosecution under the Espionage Act is practically unprecedented, says Wizner. While it's true that many leakers of government secrets have been charged for violations of...
55 Minutes Suitable for All Ages Independent journalist Jeremy R. Hammond returns to the show and starts by talking about his background and how he got into investigative journalism. He then discusses what he sees as the effects of the insane money printing over the...
58 Minutes Some Strong Language Clint is the host of the Liberty Lockdown Podcast and a former private money mortgage broker. Clint joins Pete to explain why the government's actions in the last 12 months is setting up a housing/real estate crisis that will be...
63 Minutes PG-13 Matt Freeman is a Vet and the host of the Statist Quo podcast. Matt returns to the show to talk to Pete about another gun bill that is making its way through Congress, HR127. They discuss its implications, whether they believe it can be passed, and...
84 Minutes Safe for Work Bird is one-fourth of the hosts of the Timeline Earth podcast. Bird joins Pete to go over the thought of Mao Zedong Episode 534: Marxism Part 2 - The Thought of Ioseb Besarionis dzе Jughashvili (Joseph Stalin) Episode 524: Marxism Part 1 -...
On COI #75, Connor Freeman - writer at The Libertarian Institute - returns to the show to discuss the Israeli vaccination program. The program has received wide-spread praise from the US media and even Dr. Fauci. While Israel is vaccinating a lot of people, the...
On COI #74, Kyle and Will go over recent comments from the Biden administration signaling it's ready to sit down with Iran and European powers to discuss coming back into the 2015 nuclear deal. But with US officials hinting that other "regional issues" could be...
On COI #73, Joanne Leon - host of Around the Empire - returns to the show to discuss Biden's foreign policy. The mainstream media is pushing the narrative that Biden's foreign policy is radically different than Trump's. While there are some differences, like Yemen,...
On Conflicts of Interest #72, Kyle Anzalone discusses the recent attack on US troops in norther Iraq. The attack left one contractor dead and an American soldier injured. Hawks are claiming Iran was behind the attack and the US must respond. The link between Iran and...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wwqph7MwUdQ In war, State power is pushed to its ultimate, and, under the slogans of “defense” and “emergency,” it can impose a tyranny upon the public such as might be openly resisted in time of peace. War thus provides many benefits...
https://youtu.be/1ydfn5PUKbY Buy the book ***Busting Myths About the State and the Libertarian Alternative***: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1610166965?tag=lrc18-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1 LBRY / Odysee:...
https://youtu.be/oF5SaB330gQ Mankind is a mixture of good and evil, of cooperative and criminal tendencies. In my view, the anarchist society is one which maximizes the tendencies for the good and the cooperative, while it minimizes both the opportunity and the moral...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_V-1s8PolDI Libertarian content creator Drew Hancock joins me to discuss his YouTube channel and his viral video, "The Problem with Blue-Pilled Libertarians." We discuss our liberty journeys and how Drew ended up following in his dad's...
https://youtu.be/WCiXZGtT3RU With respect to Tim Pool and Luke Rudkowski, I caution their uncritical acceptance of Chinese genocide against the Uyghur Muslims and their proliferation of atrocity propaganda. Although Tim Pool and Luke Rudkowski are antiwar, their...
https://youtu.be/hKHZH3W5KOA Dutch libertarian, law student, and longtime friend and supporter of the show, Thijs van der Linde joins me to discuss the recent anti-lockdown protests and rioting in the Netherlands. We also discuss his undergraduate law school thesis...
https://youtu.be/BCg98f1pypY Michael Boldin, director of the Tenth Amendment Center and the host of the Path to Liberty Podcast joined me to discuss methods the Founding Fathers prescribed for combating both poor constitutional and blatantly unconstitutional policy....
Car from Timeline Earth joined Tommy to discuss Bitcoin and the future of separation of currency and state. After Elon Musk and Tesla announced they will be accepting Bitcoin for purchases the price skyrocketed. Is this the peak? or just the beginning?...
Tommy invited Pete to discuss his strategies moving forward in combatting the propaganda and demonization coming from the cathedral since Trump losing the election. Free Man Beyond The Wall Pete's Substack The Monopoly On Violence...
Tommy invited Scott on to discuss the policies of the Biden administration in regards to Iran and the rumors surrounding Iran's nuclear capabilities and ambitions. Buy Enough Already Donate https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/strangerencounterspodcast/scott_iran.mp3...
Erik Sawyer, formerly of the Revolution Report, joined Tommy to discuss current events, culture, and the Libertarian Party. They cover r/wallstreetbets, Doug Mackey, identity politics, the multi-front war against the cathedral, and how the culture of the LP has been...
