Scott talks to Ryan McMaken about nuclear proliferation. McMaken describes two lessons that other countries have learned from the U.S. about nukes: (1) America will use the threat of an emerging nuclear program as an excuse for invasion, as it did in Iraq and threatens to do in Iran, and (2) America has so far been unwilling to make serious threats against any nuclear-armed country. Although the first trend seems like it would be an obstacle for any country wishing to protect itself from the threat of war with the U.S., North Korea provides a recent example of a country that chose to pursue a deterrent nuclear program. But although it greatly lessens the possibility of war, this isn’t necessarily a good thing. A nuclear-armed world may make us safer in some immediate respects, but overall, only greatly increases the possibility of disastrous global conflict.
Discussed on the show:
“”Weapons of Mass Destruction”: The Last Refuge of the Global Interventionist” (Mises Institute)
Ryan McMaken is a senior editor at the Mises Institute. He has degrees in economics and political science from the University of Colorado, and was the economist for the Colorado Division of Housing from 2009 to 2014. He is the author of Commie Cowboys: The Bourgeoisie and the Nation-State in the Western Genre.
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 experts have recommended that we pull troops out soon, but the majority have counseled against a hasty withdrawal—which of course in practice could very well mean staying indefinitely. Clifton points out the obvious problem with this group: most of its members have current or former financial ties to the arms industry. Even if these experts aren’t giving recommendations solely on the basis of personal financial interest, their backgrounds at least indicate that they are the type of people who associate professionally with weapons manufacturers, and are therefore likely to hold views that are favorable to the those who plan and benefit from war.
Eli Clifton is a reporting fellow with The Investigative Fund at The Nation Institute and a contributing editor for Lobe Log. Follow him on Twitter @EliClifton.
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 already a CIA asset who was delivering them information about the Russians. McGovern also reminds us that Comey himself lied about the reliability of the evidence in the Steele dossier, which in private he revealed that he knew to be dubious. But of course the real target was always Donald Trump and his campaign all along, who could be easily spied on thanks to the “two hops” principle, by which almost anyone can become the target of “legitimate” surveillance according to the convoluted and malicious system of the national security apparatus.
Ray McGovern is the co-creator of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity and the former chief of the CIA’s Soviet analysts division. Read all of his work at his website: raymcgovern.com.
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 Grayzone collaborator Max Blumenthal covering the many instances of data manipulation on Zenz’s part, all of which undermine the case that the Chinese government is perpetrating a genocide. To be clear, says Porter, China is an authoritarian regime with many instances of mistreatment of all its citizens. And the Uyghurs have, in some cases, borne a disproportionate amount of that abuse. But we have to be very careful in distinguishing truth from exaggerated claims by partisans and ideologues, who may have reasons for deliberately inflaming tensions between China and the U.S. Peace between these two countries, he reminds us, is absolutely vital for global security.
Discussed on the show:
“US State Department accusation of China ‘genocide’ relied on data abuse and baseless claims by far-right ideologue” (The Grayzone)
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 secrecy agreements, no journalist or publisher has ever been successfully prosecuted for putting those secrets out to the public. The Obama administration considered going after Assange, but realized that to do so would set a precedent that would also encapsulate the New York Times, the Washington Post and any other outlet that claims to conduct national security journalism. The Trump administration, on the other hand, apparently wasn’t concerned with that problem, and went after Assange anyway. Wizner and Scott just hope that mainstream journalists will realize what a problem it would be if Assange were convicted, not just for their livelihoods, but for American liberal democracy as we know it.
Nathan Robinson shares his story of being fired from the Guardian after posting a sarcastic tweet about Israel. After joking about the amount of military aid the U.S. government sends to Israel, Robinson was immediately labeled an anti-semite and swiftly fired from his position as a columnist at the Guardian. He is hardly the first to endure such treatment. Robinson points out how ironic the favorable treatment of the state of Israel is by world governments and the mainstream media, all while it is guilty of serious and ongoing abuses against the Palestinians. Criticism of Israel, on the other hand, even on the grounds of its human rights abuses, is quickly silenced.
Discussed on the show:
“How the Media Cracks Down on Critics of Israel” (Current Affairs)
Nathan J. Robinson is Editor-in-Chief of Current Affairs and a former columnist for the Guardian. Follow him on Twitter @NathanJRobinson.
US News YouTube removed a Consortium News video that covered election suppression in the Georgia Senate runoff. [Link] Facebook plans to invest $1 billion in the news industry over the next three years. Facebook invested $600 million in the industry since 2018. [Link]...
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
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....
The great Tom Woods had me on for another Scott Horton Week on his show to talk about the new book. War's Roots Iraq War II Syria War All the Time Iran's nuclear program
Father of tiny helpless children gets in a car wreck, calls 911, cop murders him to death so now he can never be there to protect his family. Cop wins "Officer of the Year" award.
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...
Nathan Robinson shares his story of being fired from the Guardian after posting a sarcastic tweet about Israel. After joking about the amount of military aid the U.S. government sends to Israel, Robinson was immediately labeled an anti-semite and swiftly fired from...
Phil Weiss is back to discuss Israel, beginning with the observation us that now that the two-state solution is essentially off the table for good, it's impossible to ignore the fact that Israel is an apartheid state that has enshrined in law its subjugation of the...
Scott talks to Mike Swanson about some of the problems in the U.S. economy and what we can expect in the near future. Scott points out the emerging real estate booms in places like Austin, Texas, as wealthy residents of states with severe lockdowns seek relief in...
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 -...
71 Minutes Some Strong Language Scott Horton is Managing Director of The Libertarian Institute, host of Antiwar Radio for Pacifica, 90.7 FM KPFK in Los Angeles and KUCR 88.3 in Riverside, podcasts the Scott Horton Show from scotthorton.org, and is the Editorial...
82 Minutes PG-13 Ryan Dawson is the host of the Anti-Neocon Report and a documentary filmmaker. Ryan joins Pete to talk about YouTube deleting his account, the answer that he has created, and to give his take on current events. ANCReport.com vid.ancreport.com Get...
60 Minutes PG-13 Lee Enfield is the proprietor of EnBlocPress.com and an Army Infantry veteran. Pete asked Lee to come on to answer questions that reference his experience of being in the military. Especially what a soldier would think if a country they just entered...
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...
On COI #71, Kyle and Will discuss the Biden administration's continued push to extradite Julian Assange. Picking up where Trump left off, Biden's DOJ has submitted an appeal to UK judge Vanessa Baraitser to challenge her January ruling against extradition on grounds...
On COI #70, Kyle discusses several key Biden policies he will keep from Trump. Biden's Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, said the US will continue to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital. The announcement signals the US will maintain many of the increasingly...
On COI #69, Joanne Leon, host of Around the Empire, returns to the show to discuss the 2020 election. A new Time magazine article - The Secret History of the Shadow Campaign That Saved the 2020 Election - explains how an 'elite-cabal' 'saved democracy' by 'influencing...
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://youtu.be/S2c8lqfL6CU A final word about conscription: of all the ways in which war aggrandizes the State, this is perhaps the most flagrant and most despotic. But the most striking fact about conscription is the absurdity of the arguments put forward on its...
https://youtu.be/Ut4X7B1sHII Keith Knight and I tag teamed an interview with David D. Friedman about his newest book, "Legal Systems Very Different From Ours." I asked him some burning questions I had from what I consider to be a Liberty Weekly Classic--"Non-State...
https://youtu.be/kyuxnMc-NSc In this episode of the podcast, Drew Cook joins me to share his story of recovery and to explain his first hand account of how the state creates addicts. Drew is the host of The Clean Libertarian and has been a long time listener of the...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2oCgFf2cLs&feature=youtu.be I joined Jose Galison on "No Way Jose" to finish up a belated recap of 2020. We discuss the 2020 campaign trail, allegations of election fraud, Hunter Biden, internet censorship, "trusting the experts,"...
There are a few rights of passage in law school. Many of them occur in constitutional law. For instance, constitutional law is where most students will learn for the first time that judicial review, the power to declare laws unconstitutional, was not a power granted...
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...
I asked Ryan to join me on the show once again. We wanted to chat about the tech tyranny and subversive technology that helps to keep your information safe, secure, and uncensored. ryanbunting.com for any of your graphic design needs Paypal.me/tommysalmons...
Tommy invited Coop onto the show to discuss the parallels between modern culture, relativity, objectivism, and how nations enter the period of their ultimate demise. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/strangerencounterspodcast/coopfinal.mp3
Last Friday Mike Korbel asked me to be a guest on his podcast, The Invictus Mind. I’ve known Mike a few years and happily agreed to appear. We have a laid back informal chat about the growing technocratic state and how people may find avenues to free themselves from...
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