Clearing the FOG with co-hosts Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese (News Commentary)

On March 11, de facto Haitian President Ariel Henry resigned after being unable to return from a trip to Kenya where he attempted to sign an agreement for military intervention in his country. Social movements shut down the airport in Port-au-Prince and neither the Dominican Republic nor the United States were willing to assist his return. Clearing the FOG speaks with journalist and filmmaker Kim Ives of Haiti Liberte, who has covered events in Haiti for decades. Ives says the current revolutionary moment is unprecedented and describes how the popular movement is organizing to wrest control from Western imperialists that have been occupying Haiti since the coup against President Aristide in 2004. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

 

Direct download: CtF_Show_3_18_24.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 11:39pm EDT

"Nobody thought the conflict in Ukraine would last this long," states Scott Ritter, a former Marine intelligence officer and weapons inspector, as the second anniversary of Russia's special military operation is reached. Ritter predicts that the conflict will end within the year, but there are no positive outcomes. He warns that Ukraine will cease to exist, NATO will disband or alter fundamentally and the risk of nuclear war is high. Ritter also discusses the resignation of Victoria Nuland, revelations from the leaked conversation by German military officers and how the façade of US military dominance has been shattered by events in Ukraine and Western Asia. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_3_11_24.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 4:45pm EDT

On February 20 and 21, the High Court in the United Kingdom heard Julian Assange's case for the right to appeal his extradition to the United States. Clearing the FOG speaks with Chip Gibbons, a lawyer and journalist with Defending Rights and Dissent, who attended the hearing. Gibbons describes the intentional efforts by the UK court to prevent media from covering the hearing, which is ironic as the hearing was fundamentally about the attack on press freedom, and what Julian Assange's options are depending on what the court decides. Gibbons makes the point that the United States has given up all pretense of protecting Assange's health and life if he is extradited, even though that admission would be enough to block his extradition, revealing the lack of regard for the law and Assange's human rights that has been evident throughout this prosecution. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_3_4_24.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 10:41pm EDT

The former president of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernandez (JOH), is currently being tried in New York City for narco-trafficking during his presidency. Activists from the United States and Canada have launched a new campaign to raise awareness of both the US and Canadian governments' complicity in the crimes committed by the JOH administration. Clearing the FOG speaks with Karen Spring, co-coordinator of HondurasNow.org, which is hosting the campaign, about the US-backed coup in Honduras in 2009, the damage done by subsequent administrations that has driven migration of Hondurans north, the efforts of the current Castro government to reverse those damaging policies and ongoing efforts by the US to undermine the Castro government. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_2_26_24.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 11:53pm EDT

In his new book, ¨Journalists and Their Shadows,¨ Patrick Lawrence describes his experience over decades as an editor and foreign correspondent of watching the media rise and fall in its ability to serve as a force to hold power accountable. Lawrence writes about the shadows, or authentic selves, that most journalists currently sacrifice in order to maintain employment in mainstream media outlets and the detrimental impact this has on public discourse. He also describes the antidote - an independent alternative media - and the current obstacles to creating a much-needed vibrant democratized media system. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_2_20_24.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 12:50pm EDT

Farmers throughout the European Union, from Ireland and France to Poland, Greece and Portugal, are in the streets protesting unsustainable working conditions, namely higher costs of production while the prices for their goods remain stagnant and new environmental regulations are being brutally imposed on them without state support to realize them. Right wing neo-Nazi groups are using the farming crisis to empower themselves, as they were successful in doing in the Netherlands. Clearing the FOG speaks with Morgan Ody, the general coordinator of La Via Campesina - International, about their efforts to resist this rightward turn, struggle to protect small and medium farmers from neoliberal policies, including new corporate trade agreements, and build a just transition to a more resilient, ecological and localized food system. Foe more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_2_12_24.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 10:31pm EDT

February 2 marked the 25th anniversary of the inauguration of President Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, which was the beginning of the Bolivarian Revolution. Over the past 25 years, Venezuela has made remarkable gains in reducing poverty, ending illiteracy and building social infrastructure such as housing, health care, education, transportation and more, despite persistent interference by the United States to impose an economic blockade, fund an opposition, attempt coups and assassinations, delegitimize the elections and threaten military attacks. Clearing the FOG speaks with Leo Flores, a Venezuelan activist, about the progress of the revolution, Venezuela's deep democracy and current efforts by the US to stop it. There is much to learn from Venezuelan's struggle for a better life. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_2_5_24.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 7:42am EDT

On January 7, Adolfo Macias, known as "Fito", a leader of an Ecuadorian drug cartel, escaped from prison, which sparked uprisings across the country. In response, President Daniel Noboa declared a national state of emergency and decreed that the country is in a state of internal conflict, listing 20 gangs as terrorist groups. Clearing the FOG spoke with Alex Main of the Center for Economic Policy and Research about the conditions that have led to growing poverty, insecurity and violence in Ecuador. Main explains how the United States is exploiting the current situation to justify sending US weapons and military personnel to to the country, which has raised concerns about violations of Ecuador's sovereignty and human rights abuses. He also discusses the upcoming elections in Venezuela and the devastating impact of US economic blockades. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_1_29_24.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 11:55pm EDT

Beginning on January 11, the International Court of Justice held two days of testimony regarding the case brought by South Africa against the state of Israel calling on The Court to impose provisional measures to stop Israel from committing acts of genocide against Palestinian people. Clearing the FOG speaks with South African lawyer and activist, Azhar Sakoor, about the significance of the case and other legal efforts aiming to hold all who are complicit with genocide in Palestine accountable. Sakoor also describes the current legal efforts as a 'make or break' moment for international institutions such as the United Nations that will determine whether they continue to exist or are replaced by other institutions and methods of upholding international law. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_1_22_24.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 10:42pm EDT

Major economic shifts are occurring in the world, in part driven by a response to Western imperialist nations' long history of attempting to impose their will through economic and military coercive measures. To understand the current state of globalization and where it is headed, Clearing the FOG speaks with Radhika Desai, the director of the Geopolitical Economy Research Group at the University of Manitoba. Desai discusses neoliberalism and how it weakens first world economies as well as alternatives such as the BRICS formation that are starting to have a significant impact in challenging Western hegemony. She also describes the current events in Western Asia as another turning point in the decline of Western power. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_1_15_24.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 11:30pm EDT

On January 11 and 12, the International Court of Justice, also called the World Court, will hear testimony in South Africa's case charging the state of Israel with genocide. Organizations around the world are mobilizing to press their governments to support South Africa publicly and through Declarations of Intervention in the hope that Israel will be held accountable and that effective actions will be taken to protect the rights and lives of people in Palestine. Clearing the FOG speaks with Suzanne Adely, president of the National Lawyers Guild, about the Genocide Convention, the new International Coalition to Stop Genocide in Palestine and the risk of a broader war in Western Asia. For More information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_1_8_24.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 12:45am EDT

In November, 2023, a delegation from the US Peace Council traveled to China for meetings at the invitation of the Chinese People's Association for Peace and Disarmament. Ajamu Baraka, who participated in that delegation, speaks with Clearing the FOG about what he witnessed and the contrasts between US/Western and Chinese approaches to development, diplomacy and global security. He also discusses the broader conflicts in the world, particularly in Western Asia, the fall of US hegemony, the black radical tradition's definition of peace and the Peoples-Centered Human Rights Framework. Baraka advises us to understand the gravity of the many crises we face and to take action to build a peaceful and dignified society. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_show_1_1_24.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 10:32pm EDT

We hear about the growing influence of fossil fuel, nuclear and Big Agriculture corporations over the United Nations' Conference of Parties (COP) meetings, but hardly anything about the presence of weapons makers and NATO leaders. Clearing the FOG speaks with Canadian environmental lawyer and peace activist Tamara Lorincz, who reports about the meetings and outcomes of the recently-concluded COP28. She is part of an organizing effort to highlight the carbon footprint of Western militaries and the significant contributions of NATO countries to the climate crisis. Lorincz points out the great discrepancies between what Western countries spend each year on their militaries (hundreds of billions of dollars) and what they are willing to contribute to the climate change fund (tens of millions of dollars) for reparations and relief in impacted nations. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_12_18_23.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 12:58am EDT

Sunday, December 10, was the International Human Rights Day to mark the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations in 1948. Clearing the FOG spoke with human rights defender Cheri Honkala. A founder of the Poor Peoples Economic and Human Rights Campaign and the Poor People's Army, Honkala talks about the worsening situation for poor people in the United States. She also describes the protests that will be taking place at the Republican and Democratic Party's national conventions this summer, an update on her arrest and conviction at the Office of Housing and Urban Development in Washington, DC and her new book, a guide on how to take over vacant houses. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_12_11_23.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 11:53pm EDT

Recently, an international delegation traveled to Cairo, Egypt to visit the Rafah border crossing and pressure the United States to allow aid to be brought into Gaza. Hundreds of trucks carrying aid are lined up at the border waiting for permission to enter. Clearing the FOG spoke with Sara Flounders, one of the members of the delegation, about the current situation in Gaza, the role of the United States in the genocide of Palestinians, how the current conflict is impacting the United States' drive to protect its hegemony and the blowback in Western Asia. Flounders also discusses the incredible solidarity across the world with Palestine and the numerous creative actions in support of the Palestinian liberation struggle. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_11_27_23.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 11:21pm EDT

The Israeli War on Palestine, made possible by US support, is beginning to become a regional conflict. In addition to this, the US is backing conflicts in Ukraine targeting Russia, in the Horn of Africa and in Latin America and increasing its aggression against China. Congress is appropriating hundreds of billions of dollars for the Pentagon while the majority of people in the United States struggle to meet their basic needs each week and the climate crisis worsens. To raise awareness about this, Veterans for Peace is organizing a Peace Walk 2024 from Augusta, Maine to Washington, DC, arriving in July to protest the NATO meetings being planned then. Clearing the FOG speaks with Tarak Kauff and Ellen Davidson, two of the Peace Walk organizers. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_11_6_23.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 10:15pm EDT

On November 4, people from across the country will gather in Washington, DC for the 15th Annual March to the White House organized by the Black is Back Coalition. Clearing the FOG speaks with Chairman Omali Yeshitela about the theme of this year's march, building an anti-colonial free speech movement in solidarity with peoples who struggle around the world. Yeshitela is one of the Uhuru 3, who are facing 15 years in jail for their activism. Yeshitela speaks about the historic ties between the black and Palestinian liberation movements. Then, Marjorie Cohn, former president of the National Lawyers Guild, joins the program to speak about a new legal brief on the complicity of the United States with Israel in its commission of genocide and other war crimes. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_10_30_23.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 2:29pm EDT

Building on a recent interview with climate scientist Dr. Michael Mann where he talked about the severity of the climate crisis and the urgent necessity of action, Clearing the FOG speaks with David Bollier of the Schumacher Center for a New Economy about the paradigm-shifting concept of The Commons. Bollier travels around the world, particularly to European and Global South countries where The Commons is part of everyday public discourse and activities to learn about ways that people are creating structures to meet their needs outside of the market and the demand for growth. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_10_23_23.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 1:04am EDT

On October 7, Hamas fighters broke out of Gaza, the world's largest open air prison, and directly attacked the Israeli State, including military facilities, illegal settlements and airports. Israeli Occupying Forces responded with sophisticated weaponry targeting civilian housing in Gaza and schools and hospitals where people sought refuge. Israel has now stopped all water, power and aid to Gaza. To understand what is happening and Palestinian rights under international law, Clearing the FOG speaks with Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh, who resides in Bethlehem. In support of Palestinians' right to resist, massive rallies and marches are taking place around the world. Clearing the FOG also speaks with Priscilla Lynch and Clara Wagner about their direct action last week targeting L3 Harris, which provides military equipment to Israel, as part of a campaign by Demilitarize Western Mass. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_10_16_23.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 1:01pm EDT

As the impacts of the climate crisis become more evident, people are understandably struggling with how to respond. Clearing the FOG speaks with climate scientist Dr. Michael Mann, author of "Our Fragile Moment: How lessons from Earth's past can help us survive the climate crisis," about the reality of our current situation and how major climate changes in the past have shaped the world and human societies. Mann urges people to avoid a doomsday mindset and explains that the actions we take now to stop fossil fuels and to develop resilient systems, no matter how bad it gets, matter for the future of humanity. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_10_9_23.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 10:43pm EDT

Julian Assange may be extradited to the United States as soon as this month. His last avenues to appeal the United Kingdom's extradition order are being exhausted. Clearing the FOG speaks with Kevin Gosztola, an investigative journalist and author of "Guilty of Journalism: The political case against Julian Assange," about why the power structure is targeting Julian Assange, the charges against him and how his trial in the United States will be constrained to prevent him from defending himself. Gosztola also discusses the bigger picture of the impacts of Assange's case, especially how it will embolden more attacks on journalists who expose wrongdoing. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_10_2_23.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 12:21am EDT

Information control in the United States is growing stronger as journalists face more restrictions on their ability to speak with people who work for the public good in agencies and institutions from the local to federal levels and are being targeted through illegal raids and confiscation of their equipment. Clearing the FOG speaks with Kathryn Foxhall, a journalist who works on freedom of information, about another journalist, Brittany Hailer, who is suing over restrictions on her ability to interview employees at a local jail where an unprecedented number of deaths are occurring. Foxhall explains why these restrictions are human rights abuses. Clearing the FOG also speaks with Seth Stern of the Freedom of Information Foundation and Bobby Block of the Florida First Amendment Foundation about journalists' legal rights and their new Know Your Rights Guild for journalists. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_9_25_23.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 12:10am EDT

One year after the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which Big Green groups hailed as a 'climate justice bill,' the truth is surfacing that this legislation is lining the pockets of the fossil fuel industry to the detriment of frontline, especially Black and Indigenous, communities. Clearing the FOG speaks to Anthony Rogers-Wright, a national racial and climate justice advocate, about the ways Joe Biden and the Democrats are failing to address the climate crisis and Big Green groups are turning away from climate justice to embrace Green Capitalism. Rogers-Wright also describes better alternatives to the Big Greens and where people can focus their efforts effectively to struggle for a just and livable future. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_9_18_23.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 10:07pm EDT

Around the world, a major organizing effort is underway, led by civil society and unions with the International People's Assembly, to build a working class movement for alternative systems that address the many crises we face. A series of regional conferences called the Dilemmas of Humanity are taking place in preparation for an international conference in South Africa in mid October. Clearing the FOG speaks with Eugene Puryear of BreakThrough News about the recent meeting in Atlanta, which is part of this process. Puryear speaks about the significance of the Stop Cop City movement and the necessity of leadership coming from frontline communities in the South. He also talks about the threat of nuclear war and the growing state repression of activists and journalists who dare to challenge the wealthy class.For more information, visit PopularResistance.org. 

Direct download: CtF_Show_9_11_23.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 10:32pm EDT

People in the United States pay the highest prices for pharmaceuticals, and Big Pharma spends hundreds of millions of dollars every year for lobbying to keep it that way. The United States is also experiencing a growing shortage of medications from antibiotics to cancer treatments and more despite being a wealthy country. Clearing the FOG speaks with Dana Brown of the Democracy Collaborative to understand what is behind the high prices and shortages. She also describes solutions to these crises and how states across the country are taking action to directly confront the stranglehold the pharmaceutical industry has over our lives. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_9_4_23.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 11:11pm EDT

Award-winning producer, activist and artist Eleanor Goldfield has a new documentary out, To The Trees, about forest defense in the Redwood Forests of Northern California. Beautifully filmed and composed, Goldfield shows the decimation of our old-growth forests and efforts to stop this crime while placing the struggle in the broader context of colonialism and capitalism. Clearing the FOG speaks with Goldfield about how she connected with forest defenders, the experience of making the film and what we can all do to protect our last remaining Redwoods, the giants of carbon sequestration. Aptly named, To The Trees will inspire you to embrace and protect our forests. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_8_28_23.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 10:10pm EDT

At the end of July, the Presidential Guard of Niger, backed by the military, unseated the current president, Mohamed Bazoum, in a coup supported by the people. In response, the United States and France, with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), began planning a military intervention to return Bazoum to power. West African nations, including Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea, quickly declared solidarity with the new government, a move that could turn a military intervention into a greater regional conflict. To understand what is happening in Niger and how it fits into the bigger picture of the rejection of neo-colonialism and US hegemony, Clearing the FOG speaks with Abayomi Azikiwe, the editor of the Pan-African News Wire. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_8_21_23.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 9:47pm EDT

On February 3, 2023, a Norfolk Southern Railroad train carrying 150 cars, some containing toxic chemicals, derailed in the small town of East Palestine, Ohio on the border with Pennsylvania. The residents in the immediate area were evacuated but the 100,000 gallons of chemicals, including vinyl chloride, that spilled spread throughout the region. Now, over six months later, many residents still cannot return to their homes. Hilary Flint of Enon Valley, Pennsylvania, the vice president of the Unity Council for the East Palestine Train Derailment joined Clearing the FOG to describe what happened, the failures of the local, state and federal governments to provide what affected residents need and how they are organizing to pressure President Biden to grant Governor DeWine's request for an emergency declaration and more. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_8_14_23.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 8:50pm EDT

Profiteers are taking over health care in the United States and running it into the ground - firing health professionals and closing hospitals. Dr. Ana Malinow, a lead organizer of the group, National Single Payer, fears we are witnessing the demise of a model national insurance, Medicare, as the 58th anniversary of its passage was celebrated on July 31. Dr. Malinow joins Clearing the FOG to discuss the state of health care in the US. She provides a strong critique of state legislative efforts and the two Medicare for All bills in the House and Senate, HR 3421 and S 1655. Dr. Malinow  outlines what people are doing across the country to build grassroots power to win a national health insurance, Medicare for All, or a national health system. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_8_7_23.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 10:20pm EDT

At a recent meeting, CARICOM members, under pressure from the United States, changed their position to support western military intervention in Haiti. Black leaders from the US, Rwanda and Kenya were brought in to justify the move. Clearing the FOG speaks with Erica Caines of the Black Alliance for Peace's Haiti/Americas team to discuss the long history of outside intervention in Haiti, current resistance in support of people's-centered self-determination and what people in the United States can do to center Haiti in our work. Caines reminds us that Haiti was the spark that lit de-colonization movements throughout the Caribbean and Latin America and urges our solidarity with the Haitian resistance. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_7_31_23.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 12:06am EDT

Nearly one year ago, on July 29, 2022, the FBI simultaneously conducted a heavily-militarized raid on seven facilities associated with the African People's Socialist Party and the Uhuru Movement in Missouri and Florida. The federal government seized computers, phones and archival material. This was later used to fabricate federal charges against three members, Chairman Omali Yeshitela, Penny Hess and Jesse Nevel. Clearing the FOG speaks with Chairman Yeshitela about the raid and prosecution and the new anti-colonial free speech coalition launched this month. Chairman Yeshitela explains why the coalition is specifically anti-colonial and why this broad movement is necessary to protect our First Amendment rights to free speech and assembly.  He also urges everyone to support Black is Back's November 4 March on the White House. For more information, visit HandsOffUhuru.org and PopularResistance.org. 

Direct download: CtF_Show_7_24_23.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 11:09pm EDT

NATO leaders met in Vilnius, Lithuania on July 11 and 12. The major topic of the summit was what to do about Ukraine. Clearing the FOG spoke with Scott Ritter, a former Marine intelligence officer and UN weapons inspector, who wrote recently that the NATO meeting was "a theater of the absurd." Ritter explains why Ukraine is not being admitted to NATO and why NATO will require Ukraine to fight to the end. He provides a history of NATO to place current events in context and important insights into the recent failed mutiny by Wagner leader Yevgeny Prighozin. Ritter states that the best the West can do at this point is to "normalize defeat" in Ukraine and what this means for President Biden. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

 

Direct download: CtF_Show_7_17_23.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 1:22pm EDT

On July 19, Nicaraguans will celebrate the 44th anniversary of the Sandinista Revolution. This month also marks the fifth anniversary of the defeat of the US-backed coup attempt against President Daniel Ortega. Clearing the FOG speaks with solidarity activist and journalist John Perry, who is based in Masaya, about the state of the revolution today and what happened in 2018. Perry has been writing a series of articles about the role of the US and Catholic Church in the violent road blockades, attacks on Sandinista supporters, police and bystanders, and the destruction of public infrastructure. He also exposed the failures of major human rights organizations to report accurately on crimes committed by the opposition. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_7_10_23.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 5:02pm EDT

In 2013 and 2018, UPS workers were forced to accept contracts that failed to protect them and that created a growing underclass. In 2023, the rank-and-file are refusing to accept less than what they need. As the end of their current contract on July 31 grows near, workers across the nation are organizing strike captains, educating workers and holding practice pickets. UPS employs 340,000 people and is responsible for 6% of the nation's GDP. Clearing the FOG speaks to Richard Hooker, Jr., of Teamsters Local 623 in Philadelphia. Richard has been leading the fight for a decent contract. He speaks about the current working conditions, the workers' demands and why this fight is critical for all workers. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_7_3_23.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 10:39pm EDT

Daniel Ellsberg died on June 16, 2023 at the age of 92. In his final months of life, he spoke out about the importance of whistleblowing and the risk of nuclear war resulting from US aggression against Russia and China. Ellsberg urged people not to wait to take action. Clearing the FOG spoke with Jack Cohen-Joppa, co-coordinator of the Nuclear Resister and steering committee member of the International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons, about the long history of and ongoing resistance to nuclear weapons. Cohen-Joppa also talks about actions targeting Raytheon and depleted uranium use in Ukraine. He provides information about actions people can take to create a nuclear-free world. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_6_26_23.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 10:38pm EDT

In the first five months of 2023, over 500 pieces of legislation were introduced in the US to restrict the rights of transgender people. This is part of a growing assault, fueled by the corporate media, on transgender existence. Clearing the FOG speaks with journalist and activist Morgan Artyukhina about the history of transgender struggles, the impacts of the current hostile environment on people, how transgender rights are being used to divide and weaken the ruling class and what people can do to show solidarity and stop the assault. Morgan also discusses the importance of education in creating an inclusive society and the corporate retreat from Pride Month. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_6_12_23.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 12:35pm EDT

This May Day, youth activists from the United States traveled to Cuba to learn about the revolution and to show their solidarity with the struggle against US imperialism. Clearing the FOG spoke with Calla Walsh of the US-based National Network on Cuba about the trip and about the campaign to remove Cuba from the 'state sponsor of terrorism' list, which President Biden recently renewed. Additionally, members of Congress are pushing the FORCE Act, which would make it harder for Cuba to be removed from the list. Days of action are planned in Washington, DC at the end of June to demand that the United States stop its illegal economic blockade of Cuba. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_6_5_23.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 10:12pm EDT

Political comedian Lee Camp recently published his second book, "Dangerous Ideas," which provides a bitter dose of reality in a way that makes it hard not to laugh. He explains that most journalists avoid covering the major crises of our times with any depth, leaving the public grossly misinformed. Camp, who has the courage to take on difficult topics, such as the oligarchy, capitalism, militarism and racism, and what to do about them, has had his work censored, banned and erased in retaliation. On Clearing the FOG, Camp discusses the challenges of living in a country that is afraid or unable to face reality and why he still has hope for humanity. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_5_29_23.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 12:06am EDT

Roughly ten years ago, Kshama Sawant won a seat on the Seattle City Council as an open socialist. Sawant eschewed politics as usual and led by example, taking only the average worker's salary from her paycheck and putting the remainder into worker-led movements. She used her office as a platform for people's struggles and won many victories from a higher minimum wage, to the Amazon tax to housing rights and more. She also survived a recall election. Clearing the FOG speaks with Sawant about her plans to leave city council when her term ends next year, what she has learned as a councilwoman and the new Workers Strike Back campaign being organized by Socialist Alternative and rank-and-file union members. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

 

Direct download: CtF_Show_5_22_23.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 10:46pm EDT

Leaders of the G7 countries, the United States and its Western Imperialist partners plus Japan, will meet this week in Hiroshima to discuss ways to escalate the war on China. As they lead us closer to global and potentially nuclear war, the significance of the location is offensive to people's movements. Clearing the FOG speaks with Rhonda Ramiro, the spokesperson for BAYAN-USA and a leader of the US chapter of the International League of People's Struggle, about protests being planned against the G7 Summit and how people can participate virtually. She also discusses campaigns in the US against state repression and major actions being planned to protest the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in San Francisco this November. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_5_15_23.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 11:57pm EDT

In July of 2021, after decades of grassroots organizing and pressure, the city of Chicago passed the Empowering Communities for Public Safety ordinance. As designated by the ordinance, 66 people were elected to represent 22 police districts in the council elections this year. They were inaugurated on May 2. The new council will oversee the police in Chicago. Clearing the FOG speaks with Frank Chapman, executive director of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, about how they built the grassroots power to win the ordinance, what it will do and the police response to it. Chapman said NAARPR was formed after the murder of Fred Hampton and Mark Clark and that Hampton's vision is finally beginning to be realized more than 50 years later. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_5_8_23.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 10:01pm EDT

May 1 is celebrated around the world, and unofficially in the United States, as International Workers' Day. In honor of this, Clearing the FOG speaks with two workers who are fighting for their rights and dignity. SN 'Yeager,' a spokesperson for the Graduate Employees Organization Local 3550, speaks about the conditions that brought them to go on strike at the University of Michigan (now in its sixth week), the tremendous outpouring of support for their struggle and how the University is retaliating against them. Billy Randel of the Truckers Movement for Justice, which is holding a day-long protest at the Department of Transportation today, speaks about the difficulties truckers are facing in the US and their demands that all workers are paid for all hours worked and greater transparency in the industry. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_5_1_23.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 10:09pm EDT

In 1917, the British government issued the Balfour Declaration, a statement of support for a Jewish State in Palestine. The United Kingdom has been a key ally of the Israeli Apartheid State since its inception. Palestinian rights activists in the UK, recognizing this reality, decided that direct action against entities that support apartheid would be the most effective strategy. Clearing the FOG speaks with Richard, a co-founder of Palestine Action, about the successes they have had over the past three years in their campaign targeting Elbit, an Israeli weapons maker, from forcing factories to close to creating a liability for the government that led to the cancellation of contracts. On May 1, Palestine Action will begin its first public action, the occupation of a factory in Leicester. Their intent is to stay until Elbit leaves. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_4_24_23.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 11:11pm EDT

Hundreds of people die every year at the hands of US Border Patrol agents, either from being beaten, shot, car chases or being left stranded in the desert, simply for exercising their right to move. A US Supreme Court decision, Hernandez Vs Mesa, in February 2020 granted the US Border Patrol the ability to murder people on the Mexican side of the border without being held accountable. Clearing the FOG spoke with four women from the Border Patrol Victims Network - Ana Maria Vasquez and Tracye Peterson, who are volunteers, Marisol Alcantara, who was shot by border agents, and Yanelis Laurencia, whose 23-year-old son was murdered. They are working to raise awareness of the rampant violence on the border that targets migrants and local residents, and to demand justice. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_4_17_23.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 10:01pm EDT

In 2014-15, a broad social movement won net neutrality, but that victory was taken away by the chair of the Federal Communications Commission, Ajit Pai, under the Trump administration. President Biden, promising to restore net neutrality, appointed a favorable chairperson, Gigi Sohn, but his administration and Democrats in Congress failed to defend her from a successful attack by the Telecommunications industry. Clearing the FOG speaks with Evan Greer, director of Fight for the Future, about the current campaign to push for a new FCC commissioner, what is behind the assault on Tik Tok, including a dangerous piece of legislation called the RESTRICT Act, and how corporations are using facial recognition technology for their own agendas. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_4_10_23.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 1:23am EDT

Both the Obama and Trump administrations used alleged chemical attacks in 2013 and 2018 to justify bombing Syria. When inspectors with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, who inspected the site of the attacks, stated that there was not evidence to prove the Syrian military was responsible, and in the case of the 2018 attack, that chemical weapons were even used, they were silenced and punished. Aaron Mate has been covering this story for several years and has testified before the United Nations Security Council three times, most recently on March 24 of this year. He speaks to Clearing the FOG about what really happened and how the OPCW is being corrupted by US influence. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_4_3_23.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 10:30pm EDT

The recent accord between Saudi Arabia and Iran, facilitated by China, signifies a seismic shift in geopolitical dynamics. This was followed by a three-day summit between the presidents of China and Russia in Moscow where they signed agreements that deepen their cooperation. China has established itself as a force for creating peace and stability in the world, replacing the US as a power broker. Clearing the FOG speaks with Patrick Lawrence, a journalist and professor with expertise in Asia, about what good relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran mean for countries in the region that have been destabilized by the US, for Israel and for the US's military presence. Lawrence also discusses de-dollarization and why Russia and China are acting with urgency to create a global order that respects international law. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_3_27_23.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 2:52pm EDT

The twentieth anniversary of the US/NATO invasion and occupation of Iraq was March 19th. The day before that, thousands of people in the United States rallied and marched against the current wars/occupations and funding for militarism instead of people's needs. Clearing the FOG spoke to Kathy Kelly, who is currently the board president of World Beyond War. Kelly was in Iraq during the 'Shock and Awe Campaign' and has worked tirelessly with people in Iraq and Afghanistan to raise awareness of the horrors of war and to provide direct support to them. She is also active in campaigns to ban the use of killer drones and to hold those who profit from this accountable through the upcoming Merchants of Death People's Tribunal. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_3_20_23.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 10:16pm EDT

US aggression toward China is escalating and China is shedding its usual restraint to more clearly call out this aggression and warn the US not to overstep its red lines. Clearing the FOG speaks with K. J. Noh, an activist, journalist and scholar on the geopolitics of the Asian continent. He discusses the renewed belligerence of South Korea under the President Yoon Suk-yeol, the increasing militarization of Japan, shifting alliances in Western Asia and how China, including Taiwan, is responding. Noh also speaks about efforts in the United States to prepare for a war against China and how that is increasing violence against Asian Americans, as well as what we can do to prevent what would be a catastrophic conflict. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_3_13_23.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 9:58pm EDT

Atlanta, Georgia, with the support of the police force, banks and corporations, is trying to build a paramilitary police base in the Weelaunie Forest on 300 acres that was promised as a recreation space to the majority-black community living nearby. The base will be used to house police from across the nation and internationally to train them in urban warfare. The local community is largely opposed to it. They have been using traditional tactics of education, demonstrations and holding space through an occupation of the forest. This has all been met with state repression - violence, the murder of a 26-year old forest defender, arrests and felony terrorism charges. Kamau Franklin, of Community Movement Builders, speaks about the efforts to stop Cop City and why it represents the next level in the escalation of the militarization of police that will impact all of us. A week of action is currently underway. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_3_6_23.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 7:21pm EDT

On March 18, the twentieth anniversary of the US/NATO invasion of Iraq, major antiwar organizations and social movements from across the United States will rally in Washington, DC to demand an end to wars and austerity. Clearing the FOG speaks with Jacqueline Luqman of the Black Alliance for Peace about the current state of the antiwar movement in the US and the long history of opposition to war within the black radical tradition. Luqman explains why it is critical to understand that struggles against racism and capitalism and for people's-centered human rights are inseparable from the work to end wars and the risks of granting legitimacy to organizations that are obstacles to that work. For more information, visit Popular Resistance.

Direct download: CtF_Show_2_27_23.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 9:47pm EDT

This April will mark four years since Julian Assange was forcefully removed from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he had been granted asylum, and jailed in Belmarsh Prison. Assange, whose health is declining, is being persecuted for being a publisher who made leaked material available to the public through Wikileaks. The materials, which exposed war crimes and corruption, were reported on by major media outlets around the world. The Biden administration could free Assange immediately by dropping the charges made by the Trump administration. Clearing the FOG speaks with Gabriel Shipton, Assange's brother, who is starting a US tour with his father, John Shipton, at the end of the month to show his documentary, Ithaka, and call on President Biden to act. The film provides an intimate view of Assange's family's fight to free him. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_2_20_23.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 6:47pm EDT

This week, Clearing the FOG speaks with two advocates for the freedom of political prisoners Mumia Abu-Jamal and Leonard Peltier. Mumia Abu-Jamal is waiting to hear if Judge Lucretia Clemons will grant a new hearing on his case that includes new evidence of corruption in the legal process that led to his false conviction. On February 16, port workers will strike on the West Coast in support of an international day of action in for Mumia. Noelle Hanrahan of Prison Radio talks about his case and the carceral state. Leonard Peltier has now served almost 50 years in prison on a murder charge involving FBI agents. Coleen Rowley, a whistleblower formerly with the FBI, recently wrote to President Biden asking for clemency for Peltier. Rowley discusses the COINTEL Program, which is very much alive, and the culture inside the FBI. Both call on the public to take action to free Abu-Jamal and Peltier. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_2_13_23.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 10:58pm EDT

The Unites States Empire is falling, just as previous empires have done. Clearing the FOG speaks with journalist and author Chris Hedges about his newest book, "The Greatest Evil is War," and the connection between wars and the end of empire. Hedges compares current conditions in the United States and the fall of Rome. He describes the Western war against Russia being fought in Ukraine and aggression against China as part of the last gasp grabs to hold onto US hegemony, but they are failing. He talks about the Military Industrial Complex as an institution that has taken over and is out of control. It will continue to siphon every dollar it can from the US coffers while an increasing number of people are unable to meet their basic needs. Hedges provides an outline of where we are headed and what we must do to change course. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_2_6_23.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 7:33pm EDT

As the Sandinista Revolution is finally able to make its platform a reality, Nicaragua has made significant achievements in healthcare, education, housing, renewable energy and food sovereignty, to name a few. One achievement that is starting to get more attention is the gain in equality for women. The Global Gender Gap Report for 2022 ranked Nicaragua 7th in the world for gender parity. Clearing the FOG spoke with Jill Clark-Gollub, who recently returned from a delegation to Nicaragua that focused on conditions for women. She describes the country as "run by women" who connect their feminism to the struggles against capitalism, colonialism and patriarchy. Clark-Gollub also dispels misinformation about Nicaragua being promoted in the US corporate media and explains how the US is working to undermine the gains of the Sandinistas through hybrid warfare. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_show_1_30_23.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 11:14pm EDT

Following a two-year organizing effort, the International People's Tribunal on US Imperialism will launch in New York City on January 28. The People's Tribunal will focus on US sanctions, blockades and coercive measures and how they impact people in the targeted countries. Clearing the FOG speaks with Helyeh Doutaghi, a co-chair of the Tribunal, a doctoral student at Carleton University in Ottawa, and an anti-imperialist activist, about why this is an opportune time to build a global movement focused on the United States, how the Tribunal will be structured and how the testimony will be used to hold the US accountable for its violations of international law. Doutaghi also explains how people in the United States are being misled so they will support the use of these illegal actions, if they are even aware of them. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_1_23_23.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 9:37pm EDT

In celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, Clearing the FOG brought back an interview from ten years ago with Cheri Honkala of the Poor People's Economic and Human Rights Campaign and Robert Pollin of the Political Economy Research Institute. The program is centered on Dr. King's speech before the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in August 1967, "Where Do We Go From Here?" The guests, along with co-host Kevin Zeese discuss the current economic challenges and efforts to bring transformation at the local and national levels. That conversation is relevant today as we continue to face multiple crises, including climate chaos, the pandemic and a global war. King's warning that it is the system that must be changed reminds us of the important task at hand. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_1_16_23.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 10:03pm EDT

On December 7, 2022, the President of Peru, Pedro Castillo, was removed from power, arrested and imprisoned in what is being called a coup. This followed multiple attempts by the right-wing political parties and members of Congress to oust him. In response, more than a dozen Latin American and Caribbean nations refuse to recognize Dina Boluarte, who took over as president, and large numbers of people have mobilized throughout the country in protest. A general strike was declared on January 4, 2023. To help untangle the complicated political and social situation in Peru, Clearing the FOG speaks with Francesca Emanuele, a Peruvian doctoral student, political analyst and columnist. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_1_9_23.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 12:30am EDT

As 2022 comes to an end and major crises abound, Clearing the FOG spoke with Ajamu Baraka, a long time human rights defender and co-founder of the Black Alliance for Peace, about the big picture of what is happening politically and upcoming opportunities to organize for change. Baraka discusses the continued move to the right in the United States by both of the major political parties and their voting bases, including those in the liberal class, the complicity of the corporate media and the rise of censorship and repression against those who do not adhere to the manufactured narrative. Baraka explains why the Left in the US must organize an authentic radical opposition to the ruling class and have a clear political program rooted in a people-centered human rights framework and where that work is happening. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_1_2_23_Final.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 11:49am EDT

At the most recent United Nations COP27 meeting in Egypt, the nuclear industry had a strong presence pushing nuclear power as a low-carbon alternative to fossil fuels. Clearing the FOG spoke to Dr. Arjun Mkhijani, the president of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, about why nuclear power is not needed and is actually counterproductive in the age of the climate crisis. Dr. Makhijani wrote the book on a roadmap to a carbon-free, nuclear-free future. An expert in nuclear fusion, he also talks about the Department of Energy's nuclear fusion advances, which is actually a weapons program, and why this is a dangerous path. The false claims of nuclear fusion as a potential energy source are being used to justify this research. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_12_26_22.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 12:57pm EDT

President Biden "brought" leaders of selected African nations to the United States for a summit to “demonstrate the United States’ enduring commitment to Africa," the White House claims. But just days before the meeting, the Biden administration imposed more economic sanctions on members of some excluded nations, a likely attempt to send a warning of what happens to those who do not comply with the US' imperialist demands. The Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) organized a week of actions to coincide with Biden's summit. Clearing the FOG speaks with Rose Brewer of BAP's Africa Team about the long history of US intervention to exploit Africans, steal resources, and suppress liberation movements and how this comes home to impact people and social movements in the US. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_12_19_22.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 12:02am EDT

Clearing the FOG speaks with Dan Kovalik, an author and lawyer with expertise in human rights and international law, about his recent visit to Russia and the Donbass region that was formerly part of Ukraine. Kovalik describes what he saw there and how the Russians he met view the current conflict as one between Russia and NATO at this point. Based on the direct involvement of the United States and NATO countries in the area, Kovalik argues that World War III has already begun and that the only way the West could fight such a battle, if it escalates, is through the use of nuclear weapons, which would devastate the planet but which are being normalized in Washington in a significant departure from previous beliefs. He concludes with his thoughts on what we in the United States need to do to prevent such lunacy. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_12_12_22.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 5:35pm EDT

Clearing the FOG speaks with Kali Akuno, who is a member of the Grassroots Global Justice Alliance and the It Takes Roots delegation to the recent COP27, about what happened at the meeting and how they are building a growing global movement to address the climate crisis. Akuno talks about how this COP compared to previous meetings such as the greater influence of the fossil fuel and nuclear industries, repression of political expression, preventing access to movements on the front lines and the destructive influence of the United States' representatives. The COP process is failing and in response, people are creating alternative spaces for strategy and organizing. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_12_5_22.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 7:20pm EDT

In this episode, Clearing the FOG brings back excerpts of a discussion from November 2018 with the now-deceased Glen Ford, the co-founder and Senior Editor of Black Agenda Report, and Kevin Zeese, the co-director of Popular Resistance, about fascism in the United States. This interview covers the origin of fascism in the United States and how it was emulated by European Nations and brought to Latin America through US intervention as well as how fascism is manifest today with support by some who would consider themselves on the Left. Ford and Zeese talk about the rise of fascism in Brazil and how consent for war with Russia and aggression toward China was manufactured. They end with suggestions for what we need to do now that is just as true today as it was four years ago. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_11_28_22.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 6:26pm EDT

As the Israeli State intensifies its violence against and displacement of Palestinians from their homes, international Palestinian solidarity organizations are making new plans to challenge the illegal Israeli occupation. Clearing the FOG speaks with retired Colonel Ann Wright who recently represented the US Boats to Gaza campaign at a meeting of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla Coalition in the United Kingdom. Ann Wright has participated in five trips to confront the blockade of Gaza and deliver desperately-needed supplies, including when Israeli Occupying Forces attacked the ships and killed ten civilians. Wright talks about the new plans for 2023, the dire conditions that Palestinians experience in Gaza and what people in the United States can do considering that the US provides financial support and political cover for Israel's atrocities. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_11_21_22.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 10:37pm EDT

The recent elections by the Israeli State will likely bring to power what author and activist Miko Peled calls "the most openly fascist government" in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Peled wrote about Netanyahu, a known war criminal who was re-elected as Prime Minister, in Mintpress News. In this interview on Clearing the FOG, Peled explains why the danger to Palestinians has never been greater and why international action to end the occupation is critical. He discusses the rise of the far right, the escalation of violent attacks on Palestinians, retaliation against Palestinian journalists and activists, including the dire case of Issa Amro, and how Palestinian resistance is changing. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_11_14_22.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 2:49pm EDT

The United States seized the opportunity when protests over the death of Mahsa Amini started in Iran to push a narrative of mass dissent and repression in the country. This is a narrative the US used in the lead up to its invasion of Afghanistan. There are other signs and evidence of US interference in Iran to foment regime change and justify military intervention. The US Special Envoy to Iran said last week that the military option is on the table. Clearing the FOG speaks with Dr. Foad Izadi, a professor at the University of Tehran, about the demonstrations, how Western media are pushing misinformation and how the actions of the United States are counterproductive. He explains that if the United States actually cared about women in Iran, it would end its illegal sanctions. For more information, visit Popular Resistance.

Direct download: CtF_Show_11_7_22.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 10:53pm EDT

If you live in the United States, you probably believe that the problems in Haiti are cholera and gang violence and that the Haitians need our help in the form of a multinational military force to 'restore order.' Clearing the FOG speaks with Chris Bernadel of the Black Alliance for Peace's Haiti/Americas Team about the bigger picture of the United States' long term interference in Haiti to suppress social movements and install US-friendly regimes. Bernadel describes how it is the United States that has manufactured the current crises in Haiti with the help of a compliant media and is now trying to send an unaccountable military force to suppress mass mobilizations that have been going on for two months against the de facto prime minister, Ariel Henry, and devastating inflation. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_10_24_22.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 10:24pm EDT

The proxy war between NATO and Russia being waged in Ukraine has taken a dangerous turn and the risk of nuclear annihilation is growing as a result. Clearing the FOG speaks with Scott Ritter, a former US Marine intelligence officer and United Nations weapons inspector, who explains that the recent murder of Darya Dugina, the attack on the Nordstream Pipelines and the bombing of the Kerch bridges are terrorist attacks linked to Ukrainian and US intelligence agencies. Ritter says the NATO military exercises simulating a nuclear attack against Russia that start this week could trigger a nuclear war and should be postponed, but "there are no adults in the room" willing to do that. Ritter also predicts how the conflict is going to end. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_10_17_22.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 5:19pm EDT

Today is Indigenous People's Day, still celebrated by some as the violent colonizer Christopher Columbus Day. Clearing the FOG speaks with Jean-Luc Pierite of the North American Indian Center of Boston (NAICOB) and United American Indians of New England (UAINE) about the growing recognition of the trauma and murder of American Indian children who were sent to assimilation centers called residential schools across the US and Canada and how that theft of children's cultural heritage and identity continues today through the foster care system. A major Supreme Court case that could destroy the Indian Child Welfare Act is set to be heard in November. Pierite also discusses the campaign in Massachusetts to recognize Indigenous People's Day statewide, the Massachusetts Indigenous Legislative Agenda and the work being done in solidarity with indigenous peoples around the world and the Black Lives Matter movement to create a path to a better future. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_10_10_22.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 5:25pm EDT

Last week, more than 1,000 fast food workers at San Francisco International Airport went on strike for three days over low wages, health benefits and pensions. They had not received a raise in more than three years and many worked multiple jobs. Workers building the new US embassy in Tegucigalpa, Honduras have been on strike off and on since early July over a new contract that deprives them of fair compensation and violates Honduran labor laws. They are being fired and police are violently repressing their pickets. Clearing the FOG speaks with Ted Waechter of UNITE-HERE Local 2 in San Francisco and Honduras expert Adrienne Pine about worker struggles in the US and abroad and the need for solidarity and greater militancy to fight an economic system that values profits more than people. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_10_3_22.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 4:58pm EDT

On October 8, people around the world will take action to demand that Julian Assange be freed. Tens of thousands of people have registered to surround the British Parliament on that day. In the United States, people will demonstrate at the Department of Justice in Washington, DC. Clearing the FOG speaks with Randy Credico, a political satirist, host of Live on the Fly: Assange Countdown to Freedom, and an organizer on behalf of Julian Assange. Credico describes his meetings with Assange while he was in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, provides an update on Assange's legal case and discusses his work to raise awareness about the importance of defending Assange, including his current billboard campaign. For  more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_9_26_22.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 11:04pm EDT

In 2014, Congress used a midnight rider added to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to hand the Indigenous Sacred Land at Oak Flats in Arizona over to a subsidiary of Rio Tinto, Resolution Copper, to mine, which would destroy the land and pollute the local water. Apache Stronghold and its allies are fighting to protect the land and with it, their cultural identity and religious freedom. A new Bureau of Land Management report and conflict within the Ninth Circuit Court are promising for them. Clearing the FOG speaks with Dr. Wendsler Nosie, Sr. about the significance of Oak Flats and how it exposes the ways colonization and capitalism harm and threaten the existence of most people in the United States, not just the Native American population. Dr. Nosie discusses spirituality, ancient prophecies and the urgent need to work together to change course. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_09_19_22.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 7:10pm EDT

Residents of West Jackson are in the midst of a severe water crisis due to the failure of a water treatment facility and don't know when they will have clean water in their homes again. The state is failing to get water to everyone, so many local groups are organizing mutual aid efforts. The governor refuses to access federal funds to fully repair the city's water infrastructure, which has been failing for decades. Clearing the FOG speaks with Kali Akuno, a co-founder of Cooperation Jackson, about the current crisis, including how the wealthy residents were spared, how it fits into the bigger picture of systemic racism and the drive to privatize, and what you can do to support efforts to build water sovereignty. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_9_12_22.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 11:25pm EDT

Railroad workers voted overwhelmingly this year to go on strike after more than two years of contract negotiations. The Biden administration prevented a strike by appointing a Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) to hold hearings. That board released its recommendations recently. Clearing the FOG speaks with Michael "Paul" Lindsey, a railroad engineer and member of Railroad Workers United, about the deterioration of working conditions, workers' response to the PEB and the high likelihood of a national strike this Fall. Lindsey explains why the railroad worker's plight is similar to that of many workers in the United States and around the world and the importance of solidarity if a strike occurs. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_9_5_22.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 9:45pm EDT

Forty years ago, residents of Philadelphia won a subsidized housing community in the area known as Black Bottom after fighting the discrimination and displacement being used to clear the way for University City. Now the city is allowing that community, 72 residences called University City Townhomes (UCT), to be sold for gentrification. Clearing the FOG spoke with Rasheda Alexander, a resident of UCT, and Sterling Johnson of Philadelphia Housing Action about their efforts to protect UCT and stop the wave of evictions and displacement that primarily target low income black and brown people. Their organizing and actions have not only been effective in putting pressure on city officials but have also brought the community together and inspired others to stand up for their rights. See SaveTheUCTownhomes.com for more information.

Direct download: CtF_Show_8_29_22.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 12:57am EDT

On August 5, lightning caused a fire at an oil supertanker base in Matanzas, Cuba. The fire caused the collapse of three large oil tanks, killed 16 people and wounded 146 people. Immediately, friendly nations sent aid, including $70 million in oil from Russia, but the United States only provided technical advice to the neighboring Caribbean nation that has been crippled by six decades of the US' economic blockade. Clearing the FOG speaks with Arturo Lopez-Levy of the Council on Hemispheric Affairs about the fire, the Biden administration's continuation of Trump's policies in Cuba and the campaign to change that, as well as the shifting politics in Latin America as more nations defy the illegal blockade and work to create a zone of peace. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_8-22-22.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 11:29pm EDT

On July 29, the FBI conducted a surprise raid on the homes and offices of leaders of the African People's Socialist Party and Uhuru Solidarity Movement (APSP-Uhuru) in Florida and Missouri under the pretext that they were co-conspirators in an indictment of a Russian national, Alexander Ionov. In the raid, documents and electronic devices were stolen. The raid was coordinated with the Biden Administration. Clearing the FOG speaks with Chairman Omali Yeshitela of the APSP - Uhuru about the raid and the broader implications of it for activists in the United States. This raid is connected to the anti-Russian narrative that has been developed in the US to justify the conflict in Ukraine and it sends a warning to all who dare to work for justice and speak the truth. Visit APSPUhuru.org to find out how to show your support. Visit PopularResistance.org for more information.

Direct download: CtF_Show_8_8_22.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 5:36pm EDT

As heatwaves, droughts and wild fires ravage the planet, pressure is building on the White House and Congress to take substantive action to address the climate crisis. More than a thousand organizations in the United States have come together as the People vs Fossil Fuels coalition with the demand that President Biden declare a climate emergency and use his executive powers to stop fossil fuel extraction and new infrastructure. Their actions have succeeded in reopening climate provisions in Congress' Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which is expected to pass this week, but the bill contains poison pills that offset the beneficial sections. Jean Su, an attorney and director of the Energy Justice Program with the Center for Biological Diversity joined Clearing the FOG to explain what the President could do, the problems with IRA and what we can do to protect our chances for a livable future. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_8_1_22.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 4:13pm EDT

July 30 will be the 57th anniversary of the passage of Medicare, widely celebrated as Medicare's birthday. People are taking action across the country this week in support of a National Improved Medicare for All single payer healthcare system culminating in a national march and rally in Washington, DC on Saturday (find info at M4M4All.org). Clearing the FOG speaks with Dr. Ana Malinow, a leader of the group National Single Payer, about the growing privatization and corporatization of the US healthcare system and how people are organizing to fight back and win a system in which everyone in the US will have the care they need without fear of financial ruin. She also discusses how American Exceptionalism is an obstacle to changing the system. For more information, visit Popular Resistance.

Direct download: Ctf_Show_7_25_22.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 5:26pm EDT

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) recently met in Madrid, Spain where they launched their new strategy to go global, extending what Chris Hedges calls "the most dangerous military alliance on the planet" into Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Clearing the FOG speaks with Joe Lombardo and Pippa Bartolotti of the United National Antiwar Coalition, who were in Madrid for the anti-NATO protests and counter summit, about NATO's plans and the growing global resistance to it. Pippa explains that NATO is openly siding with the fossil fuel corporations to defend their interests even as the climate crisis accelerates. NATO is a tool of western imperialism. Our hopes for a livable future depend upon stopping NATO. For more information, visit  PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_7_18_22.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 3:17pm EDT

A little known fact, even to those who work there, is that the AFL-CIO organizes in support of US imperialist policies that drive a global race to the bottom in wages and working conditions, negatively impacting US workers too. The AFL-CIO's Solidarity Center is one of the four core components of the National Endowment for Democracy. Clearing the FOG speaks with Kim Scipes, a co-founder of the new Labor Education Project on the AFL-CIO's International Operations (LEPAIO). Scipes describes the long history of labor imperialism and how unions are challenging it. Adrienne Pine provides a brief report on workers protesting the brutal labor practices of the State Department's main contractor, BL Harbert, building the US Embassy in Honduras. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_7_11_22.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 5:00pm EDT

The recent US Supreme Court rulings set legal precedents that will further erode human and civil rights and empower corporations as well as open the door for more cases that will advance Christian and capitalist ideologies. Clearing the FOG speaks with two legal experts, Shahid Buttar and Marjorie Cohn, about the specifics of the recent decisions on abortion, gun rights, school prayer, and the EPA and how they fit into the bigger picture. They also provide guidance on what we need to do to stop growing fascism in the United States. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_7_4_22.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 12:17am EDT

On June 19, Colombians elected the first leftist president and the first Afro-Colombian vice president in history. This was possible, despite being in a repressive state, because of a strong national social movement that organized an effective national strike in the spring of 2021. Clearing the FOG speaks with Charo Mina Rojas, an Afro-Colombian human rights defender and leader in the 2016 peace process, about this victory, the obstacles they faced and how they will counter efforts by the wealthy class to prevent further progress. Activists in the United States have much to learn from the Colombian people's movement and an important role to play in preventing interference by the US government. For more information, visit PopularResistence.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_6_27_22.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 10:34pm EDT

Much attention is being given to the impacts the conflict in Ukraine and the US sanctions on Russia will have on our food supply this year, but farmer Jim Goodman, president of the National Family Farm Coalition, explains why our food system has been in crisis for a long time. Goodman discusses how the causes of the broken food system - corporatization, consolidation, a rigid supply chain and the climate crisis - are all coming together to make farmers consider whether it even makes sense to plant crops. He also explains that farmers could feed the world in ways that are good for our health and for the planet, but this requires returning control to the small farmers and communities throughout the world. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_6_20_22.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 3:04pm EDT

Activists just completed the "Walk for Appalachia's Future" through West Virginia, North Carolina and Virginia to highlight the impacts of fossil fuel extraction on communities and the land. At each stop, they held events with local activists to learn about their struggles and make broader connections. The Appalachian region is a sacrifice zone - rich in mineral wealth that is extracted by large corporations without benefit to the people. West Virginia is the fifth poorest state in the US with low education attainment and high rates of physical and mental diseases. Clearing the FOG speaks with two organizers of the walk, Maury Johnson and Melinda Tuhus, about the conditions that led to organizing the walk and what they have learned along the way as well as the people's vision for the region. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_6_6_22.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 2:46pm EDT

The Biden administration is ratcheting up its provocations of China as part of the National Security Strategy of Great Power Conflict, with the President going so far as to say the United States would intervene militarily over Taiwan. The US is also trying to push another trade agreement that would exclude China. On top of that is a propaganda campaign designed to build political support for the New Cold War. Clearing the FOG speaks with independent journalist and political analyst Daniel Haiphong about the war on China, what is happening with Taiwan and the Solomon Islands, Biden's new trade framework and why China's "Socialism with Chinese Characteristics" threatens the global elites. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_5_30_22.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 2:52pm EDT

From June 6 to 10, the Biden administration will host the 9th 'Summit of the Americas.' The event, organized by the US-dominated Organization of American States (OAS), is turning out to be another huge foreign policy embarrassment for President Biden. In response to the exclusion of Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela, an unprecedented number of Latin American and Caribbean Nations are refusing to attend. Clearing the FOG speaks with Claudia de la Cruz about this new era of solidarity and opposition to US hegemony. Social movements are organizing a counter summit, the People's Summit, in Los Angeles and a Workers' Summit in Tijuana. Countries are beginning to abandon the OAS and meet using CELAC (the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) as an alternative formation. This is another nail in the coffin of the US' unipolar power and a sign that the multipolar world has arrived. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_5_23_22.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 1:55pm EDT

Immediately following the expulsion of the Spanish colonizers in the mid 1970's, Western Sahara was occupied by Moroccan forces. With support from the United States, those occupiers, who treat the indigenous Sahrawi People very similarly to the way the Israeli occupiers treat the Palestinians, have been committing human rights abuses. Clearing the FOG speaks with Ruth McDonough and Tim Pluta, who have been staying with the family of a human rights defender, Sultana Khaya, since March 15. Ruth began a hunger strike on May 4 to demand an end to the violence against the Khaya's and an investigation into the crimes committed against them. Ruth and Tim describe what people can do to show solidarity with the struggle of the Sahrawi People. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_5_16_22.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 12:30am EDT

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued its sixth report in three phases beginning in August, 2021 and concluding in April 2022. The first report declared that the climate crisis is unquestionably due to human activity and called the situation a 'Code Red for Humanity.' The second and third parts indicated that not enough action is being taken not just to mitigate the crisis but also to adapt to it. Clearing the FOG speaks with Professor Benjamin Horton of the Earth Observatory of Singapore about the gravity of the crisis, including that some impacts such as sea level rise are irreversible for the foreseeable future, the importance of activism by scientists to inform the public and push policy makers and how to keep fighting for a more livable future. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_5_9_22.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 3:09pm EDT

This past weekend, workers around the world celebrated May Day, also called Labor Day and International Workers Day. May Day marks the accomplishments and contributions of workers and reminds them of their rights. Clearing the FOG spoke with Stephanie Basile and Brittany Carloni of News Guild, part of the Communications Workers of America, about the many victories they have had in organizing media outlets over the past five years. They use a model that can be replicated everywhere of training member organizers and connecting them with other shops across the country to build a powerful labor movement that is democratic. Stephanie and Brittany talk about this moment and why workers are fighting back. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_5_2_22.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 2:14am EDT

On April 10, Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan was ousted in what is believed to be a US-backed soft coup. One of the likely reasons for the coup is that Khan was taking action to end excessive corporate power bestowed by bilateral trade agreements. Clearing the FOG speaks with Manuel Pérez-Rocha of the Institute for Policy Studies about Khan and how trade agreements function to force countries into allowing corporations to exploit their workers and devastate their environment. Pérez-Rocha explains why ending corporate abuse is essential to addressing the climate crisis and how trade could be structured to uphold human rights and protection of the planet. He also speaks about the risks of extraction for minerals that are required for a green economy. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_4_25_22.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 3:03pm EDT

In follow up to a two-hour webinar hosted by the United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC) with Scott Ritter, a former weapons inspector who blew the whistle on the lack of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) in Iraq, Clearing the FOG continues the conversation on Ukraine. Ritter delves into how Nazis went from being a fringe group in Ukraine to being mainstreamed and treated as heroes. He explains the ways the conflict in Ukraine has ended the United States' era of being a sole dominant global power and has exposed the weaknesses of both the US and NATO militaries. Ritter states that if the current conflict escalates to a nuclear war, it will mean the end of human civilization. Watch the original webinar, co-hosted by Margaret Flowers and Joe Lombardo here. For more information, go to PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_4_18_22.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 3:47pm EDT

Congress recently passed the Postal Service Reform Act - the result of 15 years of organizing to end the mandate to prefund 75 years worth of retirement benefits and other changes that were hurting the people's post office. The new act opens the door to building on the current postal infrastructure to provide more services to people, especially in poor and rural communities. Clearing the FOG speaks with Chuck Zlatkin, the legislative and political director of the largest local postal worker union, about what the new law will do and how it was won. Zlatkin also discusses the fight over making the new postal fleet electric and Biden's new nominees to the Board of Governors. Zlatkin warns us not to underestimate the Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who is playing a long game to privatize the postal service. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_4_4_22.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 4:13pm EDT

On Wednesday, March 23, 2022, the United States announced that it would freeze Russia's access to its gold. Russia has the fifth highest amount of gold in the world. Economist Michael Hudson explains that this action, which follows the US seizing Venezuela and Afghanistan's gold and assets, has effectively ended dollar hegemony, which has been in decline in recent years, and the free ride that the US has enjoyed abroad. Hudson states that we are now in uncharted territory as nothing like this has occurred in modern history. Sanctions on Russia are driving a shortage of fertilizer, which will lower food production and bring famine. Hudson predicts greater inflation, particularly for food and fuel, and shortages, which are all good for Wall Street profits, and more businesses being forced to close. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_3_28_22.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 5:02pm EDT

Unlike Ukraine, Venezuela successfully resisted the violent US-led coup attempt in 2014, and in other years, by right wing forces and the hybrid war being waged against it. Venezuela is recovering despite the ongoing economic blockade. Now, because the United States needs oil, the Biden administration has started talking to the Maduro government and there is hope that relations between the two countries may resume. For an update on this situation, as well as the future of Venezuela's US-based oil company CITGO, the status of Venezuela's gold in the Bank of London, the demise of Juan Guaido, and the kidnapping of Venezuelan diplomat, Alex Saab, Clearing the FOG speaks with Leonardo Flores, the Latin American campaign director for CODEPINK. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_3_21_22.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 10:34pm EDT

Clearing the FOG speaks with political comedian Lee Camp about the sudden de-platforming that happened to him when RT America abruptly shut down after the Russian military intervention in Ukraine last month. Camp lost his program Redacted Tonight that aired weekly for the past eight years, and he was kicked off of other platforms such as Spotify. Camp talks about the big picture of growing censorship, the state of the media and freedom of the press, and the assault on the public's access to information that counters the narrative in the corporate media. Camp also discusses where we go from here to develop a democratized and independent media. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_3_14_22.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 12:22am EDT

This week, Clearing the FOG speaks with Brian Becker, a leader of the Party for Socialism and Liberation and the host of The Socialist Program, for a socialist perspective of the war in Ukraine. Becker discusses why it was a mistake for Russia to invade and how it has shored up support for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) even though Russia has legitimate security concerns and the United States did not appear to be willing to stop provoking an invasion. He also talks about the real racism exposed by this war, the impact of the media misinformation campaign on people on the left and the current state of the extreme right wing fascist movement. Becker offers an important lens for viewing the conflict and understanding what to do about it. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_3_7_22.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 9:20pm EDT

On Feb. 24, Clearing the FOG spoke at length with Dr. Vladimir Kozin, a Russian military and global security expert. That happened to be the day that Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine. Dr. Kozin explains the goals of the mission and the events that led to it. He describes the eight year assault on ethnic Russians living in Eastern Ukraine that caused more than 14,000 deaths. He also describes how the current conflict can be resolved and the risk of a major, and possibly nuclear war, if a diplomatic solution is not achieved. March 1 to 7 is an international week of action to say No Wars! No Sanctions! No NATO! For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_02_28_22.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 9:56pm EDT

For President's Day week, Clearing the FOG brings back this 2020 interview with Margaret Kimberley of Black Agenda Report. She is the author of "Prejudential: Black America and the Presidents" that chronicles how every president, even the 'good ones,' has upheld the white supremacy upon which the United States was founded and how social movements have been the only effective tool to bring about meaningful social change. Kimberley also urges Black America to break with the Democrats in order to build political power. In addition to current news and analysis, this program contains a segment by Paul Tulloch of Ottawa who describes what the trucker convoy is about and who is behind it. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Direct download: CtF_Show_02_21_22.mp3
Category:News Commentary -- posted at: 11:35pm EDT