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.

 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Tens of thousands of teachers and other public workers have taken to the streets of San Juan, Puerto Rico in a March of Indignation to protest a debt restructuring plan given the green light by Judge Taylor Swain of New York. Puerto Ricans call it the "Shakedown Plan" because it will enforce more austerity on a land where disinvestment in education and health care and privatization of the energy system have already caused great hardship. A National Strike has been called for February 18. Clearing the FOG speaks with Monisha Rios, a Puerto Rican social worker and psychologist, about who and what are behind the protests. Rios discusses the PROMESA, an act passed in Congress, that put a financial oversight board in charge of the islands and that has violated the rights of Puerto Ricans to have a say in what is happening. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Clearing the FOG provides excerpts from the speakers at the National Online Rally to stop war with Russia over Ukraine that was held on Feb. 5 as part of the national actions that took place in about 70 cities in Hawaii and coast to coast. The rally and actions were organized based on a unified call to action issued by 12 national and international antiwar organizations, which was endorsed by more than 200 more organizations. The demands include stopping the war with Russia, stopping the supply of weapons to Nazis in Ukraine, ending NATO, de-escalating the threat of nuclear war and resolving the current conflict within the framework of international law. Speakers include Alice Loazia from Task Force on the Americas, David Swanson of World Beyond War, Sara Flounders of International Action Center, Ann Wright of CODEPINK, Rafiki Morris of Black Alliance for Peace, Leela Anand of ANSWER Coalition, Henry Lowendorf of the US Peace Council, Bruce Gagnon of the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space, Susan Schnall of Veterans For Peace and Joe Lombardo of the United National Antiwar Coalition. You can view the entire rally here. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

As the United States, with the aid of Western allies and the corporate media, escalates aggression toward Russia using Ukraine as the vehicle, it is necessary to take time to look at the bigger picture of the United States' disregard for international law and the impact that is having globally as well as the push to expand NATO and how that is causing significant division within the alliance. Clearing the FOG speaks with Ajamu Baraka, a long time international human rights defender and the national organizer of the Black Alliance for Peace, about the United States as a rogue state and what that means for Black America. He also discusses the state of the antiwar movement in the US and the black misleadership class, plus what we need to be doing as US hegemony and the white supremacist-based American Exceptionalism that undergirds are being challenged. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Last week, one of the most important digital rights cases took place in Quito, Ecuador. Ola Bini, a software designer who makes tools for activists to protect their privacy, was arrested at the Quito airport in April, 2019 just hours after Julian Assange was taken from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. Bini has been detained in Quito for almost three years. His prosecution has been fraught with irregularities. Clearing the FOG speaks with Veridiana Alimonti, a human rights lawyer and the Associate Director for Latin American Policy for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, about the case, its connections to the Julian Assange case and the broader assault on our digital freedom. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

A World War II Era underground storage tank containing over 100 million gallons of jet fuel at the Red Hill Fuel Facility has been leaking into the aquifer that provides water to the people of Oahu. Until recently, the Navy denied there were leaks or that the water was unsafe despite multiple complaints of health problems and an oil sheen found in the tap water. Now, the Oahu Water Protectors have gained the Navy's attention and that of local and state elected officials. Wayne Tanaka of the Sierra Club of Hawaii speaks with Clearing the FOG about the fuel facility, what is at stake and how they are organizing to hold the US Navy accountable and shut the facility down. He also discusses the bigger picture of the environmental destruction caused by the US Military and its occupation of Hawai'i. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Food Not Bombs was founded in 1980 to provide direct aid to people while educating about the perversion of spending so much on the Military-Industrial Complex (MIC) while tens of millions of people do not have the basic necessities. It has turned into a global movement to build food sovereignty and organize systems outside the establishment. Clearing the FOG speaks with Keith McHenry, the co-founder of Food Not Bombs, about the criminalization of homelessness, their recent legal victory in Florida and why we must be concerned about increasing homelessness in the United States and the overall direction the country is going. McHenry speaks about his family ties to the founding of the military and the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as well as the violence he and others have experienced because of their activism. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

During the 2020 presidential campaigns, it was common for people who planned to vote for Joe Biden to say that they recognized he was a corporate-friendly candidate but that we just needed to elect him and then he could be pressured to act in the interests of the people. Well, unlike the marches after President Trump was elected, that mass pressure on Biden has not materialized. Now, a coalition of smaller climate justice groups (not the Big Greens) has just completed a weeklong occupation of land close to the President's home with two demands: that he declare a climate emergency and that he stop any new fossil fuel projects. Clearing the FOG speaks with one of the organizers, Karen Igou, about the action and next steps in the campaign to pressure Biden. Igou also speaks about actions we need to be taking outside of the political arena to address the climate crisis. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

For the end of the year, Clearing the FOG speaks with economist Richard Wolff about the current state of United States capitalism. Wolff explains that the United States is experiencing the greatest crisis in its history - a severe economic crisis at the same time as a pandemic, as well as the climate crisis. This is unprecedented. Unlike the great depression in the last century, when the wealth divide shrank, inequality is worsening. On top of that, US empire is in decline. Wolff discusses the current state of inflation and supply chain disruption and the forces behind them. Instead of facing up to these realities and learning from the experiences of other countries, such as China, and even our own past, the ruling class is in denial and continues on the same path that created the current situation. Wolff talks about what we need to focus on going forward. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

A new program is placing Medicare recipients into private health insurance plans without their knowledge or consent in a final effort to fully privatize our national Medicare system. Known as "Direct Contract Entities (DCEs)," this program is putting more of our healthcare system into the hands of private equity to generate enormous profits at the expense of our health. Clearing the FOG speaks about this with Kay Tillow, a long time health care, civil rights and union activist. Tillow explains what these entities are, why they threaten the future of our entire healthcare system and how they block our ability to achieve a national, universal and publicly-financed healthcare system such as national improved Medicare for All. She describes the fight to stop DCEs and win single payer health care. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

If you listen to the corporate media in the United States, you may believe the lies that say Russia is preparing to invade Ukraine. In reality, it is the United States, led by then vice president Joe Biden, that conducted a coup to replace the elected president of Ukraine in 2014 and has been training and arming Nazis to attack the ethnically Russian Donbass Region in eastern Ukraine ever since. There is daily violence against civilians and basic infrastructure. The Biden administration is escalating this aggression and trying to blame Russia with the support of the same corporate media that defended US attacks on Iraq, Libya and Syria. To clear the fog on this misinformation campaign, Bruce Gagnon of the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space speaks about what is actually happening in Ukraine, the role of the US and the growing risk of war with Russia. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

A new study out of York University in Toronto, Canada finds that the US military plays a large role in the spread of diseases globally, including past and present pandemics. Clearing the FOG speaks with one of the lead authors, K J Noh, an expert analyst on the geopolitics of the Asian-Pacific region and health, about the study. Important factors in the spread of disease are Status Agreements that the US military makes with local and national governments that exempt members of the military from being required to follow public health measures and a culture of impunity within the military that leads to members defying all public health restrictions, even those measures imposed by the military. Noh also explains how the weaponization of disease is causing harm to everyone and why the US establishment doesn't want the public to know there are governments designed to serve their populations. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Since achieving independence in 1956, Sudan has had a number of military coup governments and popular revolutions that overthrew them. Most recently, the Sudanese people ousted the thirty year long dictatorship of Omar al-Bashir at the end of 2018 only to replace him with another military-led government and a civilian figure head. Clearing the FOG speaks with Ahmed Kaballo, a British-Sudanese journalist and producer who just released his two-part documentary called "Sudan's Unfinished Revolution," which you can find here and here. Kaballo describes the history of the struggle in Sudan, the dire situation facing Sudan right now and the powers behind the current government. He exposes the lies being told in the corporate media about the fight for democracy in Sudan. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

The United States has tried to control the poor Central American country, Nicaragua, for more than 100 years. John Bolton designated Nicaragua as part of the "Troika of Tyranny" along with Cuba and Venezuela for daring to defend its sovereignty. Since the failed violent coup attempt in 2018, the US foreign policy establishment has focused on preventing President Daniel Ortega's reelection using a variety of tactics. Ben Norton, associate editor of The Grayzone, who is based in Managua, describes those tactics, the complicity of corporate media and social media and how Nicaragua is working to protect its democratic institutions. Norton outlines the US playbook in Nicaragua, including what to expect after the election. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

The COP 26 United Nations climate meeting is underway in Glasgow Scotland. Following the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s recent “Code Red” report that proves urgent action is critical, the world is looking at the corporate-dominated COP 26 to do what is necessary. Clearing the FOG speaks with Anne Petermann, executive director of the Global Justice Ecology Project, who says COP 26 is focused on ‘false solutions’ promoted by large corporations to protect their profits instead of the planet. Petermann describes a new publication, “Hoodwinked in the Hothouse,” that explains what these false solutions are and what is necessary, the real solutions. She also discusses what people can do to save the planet. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

The United States government demonstrates repeatedly that it will do whatever it takes to protect the economic and political interests of the elites, even if it means total disregard for human rights and international law. Two cases that highlight this are the recent kidnapping and prosecution of Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab and the attempts to extradite the Australian Wikileaks publisher and journalist Julian Assange. Clearing the FOG speaks with Roger Harris of Task Force on the Americas who travelled to Cabo Verde where Saab was detained and tortured for over a year before his rendition to Miami and with Joe Lauria, the editor of Consortium News, who has covered the case of Julian Assange extensively. Canadian economist Paul Tulloch provides some insight into the upcoming COP26 meeting in Glasgow, Scotland. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

The current US Postmaster General, Louis DeJoy, and the head of the Board of Governors, Ron Bloom, launched a ten year plan that will slow mail service and raise prices. This is the final blow to defund and destroy the US Postal Service so it will be ripe for privatization. DeJoy and Bloom have financial stakes in this happening. Clearing the FOG speaks with Chuck Zlatkin, legislative and political director for the largest postal union local in the US about the plan and the devastating impact it will have on everyone who relies on the post office. Zlatkin also exposes the blatant corruption, explains how the Biden administration could save the postal service and critiques the new postal baking pilot. We have reached a point where we must act to save the postal service, or we are going to lose it. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

The US Out of Africa Network, which is coordinated by the Black Alliance for Peace, launched a month of action on October 1, the 13th anniversary of the launch of AFRICOM (the US' Africa command) to educate the public about what AFRICOM is doing and to build the movement against US imperialism on the African continent. Clearing the FOG speaks with Tunde Osazua, who organizes the network, about the harm the US is doing on the continent such as the increase in violence and terrorist acts against the people as well as supporting coups and an economic war. What the US is doing in Africa is largely in violation of international law and it is creating a growing sentiment in opposition to the United States. AFRICOM is just one of eleven commands around the world that are run by the United States. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

In his recent article, "America's Fate: Oligarchy or Autocracy," Chris Hedges writes that bankrupt liberals have sold out to the oligarchic class to try to prevent an autocracy from rising but that is actually creating the conditions for autocracy. Hedges speaks with Clearing the FOG about the lessons from the Occupy movement - he was involved in the Occupy Wall Street movement in New York City and the occupation of Freedom Plaza in Washington, DC in 2011 - and why we must build a militant movement now to confront and hold power accountable. He explains how power works, including the role of politicians such as Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden in protecting the interests of the wealthy classes. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Ten years ago, prominent activists and a variety of organizations came together early in the year to organize the October2011 Movement, styled on the occupations of space that were occurring during the Arab Spring and in capitals across the United States. That movement merged with the Occupy Movement when it was announced later that year. Clearing the FOG speaks with Bill Moyer of the Backbone Campaign, one of the organizers of October2011, about what was happening at the time, the occupation of Freedom Plaza in Washington, DC and the impact the Occupy Movement had on activism in the United States. Moyer discusses the lessons learned and the movements and victories that came after Occupy. Plus a segment by Paul Tulloch on the 2008-09 financial crash and the current precarious global economy. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

One of President Biden's first statements included an intention to review the United States' sanctions, which are actually unilateral coercive measures, to determine if they 'unduly hinder' the ability of targeted countries to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. That review, to be conducted by the US Treasury and State Department, has not been made public, if it has been done at all. The Sanctions Kill coalition conducted its own report on "The Impact and Consequences of US Sanctions," which was released last week. Clearing the FOG speaks with two of the authors, John Philpot and David Paul, about what sanctions are, why they are illegal and the findings of the report. They explain that the US' sanctions are not just impacting the 39 targeted countries but are also restraining countries and companies that do business with those countries. Given the growing backlash against the US' overreach, Philpot, an international lawyer, predicts the US will be held accountable for its crimes and required to pay reparations. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

A new report finds that almost one-third of people living in the United States have been directly impacted by the climate crisis so far this year. This includes fires, floods and extreme heat. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that the climate crisis is undoubtedly being caused by human behavior. We must stop emitting carbon now but pipelines for oil and gas are still being built across the country. Clearing the FOG speaks with Deborah Kushner of Appalachians Against Pipelines about her work to stop the Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley Pipelines. Deborah and two others shut down construction of the MVP in June. Their trial took place last week. She talks about pipeline resistance and how she found the courage to take action. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Drones are being used as weapons of terror and oppression throughout the world. Not only do they make it possible for the United States to colonize and occupy other countries, but police departments in the US have access to surveillance and weaponized drones to target civilians. As the technology evolves, drones have the potential to lead to greater wars, including a war between major powers. To prevent this dystopian future, anti-drone activists are organizing an international campaign to ban drones. Clearing the FOG speaks with Nick Mottern, one of the founders of the Ban Killer Drones campaign, about the impact of drones on communities and the work to end them. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Col. Ann Wright was in Afghanistan to open the US Embassy in 2001. She recounts how the recommendation then was to get the US military out as quickly as possible. Instead, the Pentagon spent 20 years lying to the public and causing great suffering to the Afghan people. Wright exposes the truth about why the US stayed in for so long and explains the politics of the country. She has started a campaign to push for maintaining diplomatic relations with the new Taliban government and is calling for the CIA to cease involvement with local militias that could evolve into a civil war. Despite withdrawing the military, the US will continue to cause damage to Afghanistan if it doesn't change course. That is unlikely to happen though unless the peace movement takes action to demand diplomacy, not war. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Abby Martin and Mike Prysner of The Empire Files are producing a new feature-length documentary that exposes the US military as "Earth's Greatest Enemy." Left out of the conversation about the climate crisis is the fact that even if every person, vehicle and factory stopped emitting carbon, as long as the US military continues on as it is, the earth will still be headed for disaster. Clearing the FOG speaks with war and climate journalist Dahr Jamail and Mike Prysner about the state of the climate crisis, the extent of environmental destruction caused by the military both in the United States and abroad and the new film project. You can learn more at earthsgreatestenemy.com. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Glen Ford, a brilliant and powerful force in the media throughout his life, died recently at the age of 71. In this century, Glen was the founder of the Black Commentator in 2002 and then Black Agenda Report in 2006. He was an activist as well on a range of issues, part of the Black is Back Coalition. In this program, Clearing the FOG compiles a few previous conversations with Glen about the state of Black America, systemic racial injustice, how power is organized and how to confront power. In the final interview, from November of 2018, Glen describes fascism in the United States and the lack of resistance to it. The interviews were conducted prior to the death of Clearing the FOG co-host Kevin Zeese.  Clearing the FOG extends its condolences to the family and friends of Glen Ford. His wit and wisdom are deeply missed. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

The Pentagon has started closing military bases and pulling troops out of Afghanistan but confusion over what this means for the United States' longest war exists. For clarification, Clearing the FOG speaks with retired US army major, author and activist, Danny Sjursen. He calls the Afghanistan War a disaster and says the United States would have been better off if it had buried all of the trillions spent to invade and occupy Afghanistan in the ground instead. Sjursen discusses what the withdrawal means for the people of Afghanistan and the countries in that region. He also advises us on what to watch out for as the war hawks push Biden to continue to have a presence there. We also talk about his newest book on US history and empire through the lens of American exceptionalism. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

The United States has waged war on Cuba since it dared to revolt and chart its own path more than 60 years ago. The US' illegal economic blockade is devastating Cuba's ability to meet the basic needs of its people right now, which is even more deadly during the pandemic. On top of that, the US is funding a small opposition within Cuba and is using the crisis it created to foment unrest. The corporate media is playing right along. Clearing the FOG speaks with Bill Hackwell of Resumen-English and the International Committee for Peace, Justice and Dignity to set the record straight about the history of US intervention in Cuba, the current situation and what people are doing to organize to stop the blockade. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

More knowledge is being gained about and more attention is being given to the harm caused to our health and the planet by plastics, from the start of their production to their disposal as waste that doesn't ever go away. Clearing the FOG speaks with Yvette Arellano, the founder and director of Fenceline Watch, an environmental justice organization based in Houston, Texas. Yvette explains that the Gulf Coast is not only the home of the oil and gas industries, but also the plastic industries that use petroleum, and how they impact mostly Vietnamese and Spanish-speaking communities. They describe the global effects of plastics, how we can best stop them and the work to create alternatives. Once you know about the problems with plastics, you will understand that stopping their production is imperative for a livable future. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

This week, Clearing the FOG speaks with artist and activist Eleanor Goldfield about her new EP, "No Solo." This is her first solo production and it is her most personal and political piece. Goldfield talks about the struggles of artists during the pandemic as they have been left out of the rescue plans. She discusses the role of the arts, particularly in activism, and her involvement in direct action, mutual aid and supporting campaigns to save the forests. Goldfield is journalist, podcaster, documentarian, photographer and more. Her work, as well as her new music video, "Pyre," can be found at ArtKillingApathy.com. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Due in part to Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the horrific truths about what children and their families endured and the graves of the children who were murdered in the residential schools are being uncovered. The residential schools originated in the United States, which has yet to recognize their existence and what happened in them. That may be starting to change after many decades of activism to raise awareness and now an initiative by Secretary of the Interior Haaland. Clearing the FOG speaks with Matt Remle, an indigenous human rights activist about the history of the boarding schools, their purpose to enable the exploitation of resources and how they are connected into the bigger picture of genocide and colonization. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Venezuelan diplomat, Alex Saab, who is a businessman born in Colombia, has been held for over a year now in the small African island nation of Cabo Verde at the request of the United States, which is seeking his extradition. Saab has not committed any crimes other than trying to thwart the United States' illegal economic blockade of Venezuela by buying food and medicines for the people. Clearing the FOG speaks with Roger Harris, one of the members of a recent delegation that traveled to Cabo Verde to free Alex Saab. Harris speaks about the brutal conditions in which Saab is being held, the results of the delegation and what Saab will face if extradited to the US as well as how this case fits into the bigger picture of US defiance of international law and what people can do about it. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

Julian Assange's father and brother, John and Gabriel Shipton, are currently on tour in the United States to help organize a unified US movement in support of freeing Julian Assange and protecting press freedom. Clearing the FOG speaks with Gabriel Shipton about the tour, about Julian and about the reasons why it is critical that the Biden administration reverse the Trump era position of prosecuting Assange. It would be very simple for the Biden Department of Justice to cancel the appeal of the United Kingdom judge's decision not to extradite Assange and he would be free. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

There is a struggle right now to push the World Trade Organization to waive patent protections for medicines, vaccines and technology used for the COVID-19 pandemic. James Love of Knowledge Ecology International explains why that would be an important but not sufficient step to increase access to medicines and vaccines. There are steps governments could take right now to share critical information and expertise to lessen the disparities between rich and poor nations in access to vaccines. Love goes on to explain how there could be greater openness in sharing information in general and how pharmaceutical research and production could be done in ways that improve innovation and make access more equitable. He points the way to where activists can best focus their energy on this issue.  For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

For Memorial Day week, Clearing the FOG speaks with David Swanson, the cofounder and executive director of World Beyond War, an international organization that is working to abolish all war. World Beyond War will hold its annual conference virtually from June 4 to 6. The conference, called "From Weapons Fairs to War Zones: Unraveling the War Machine," will bring activists together to share how they are stopping weapons corporation exhibitions, divesting from war, closing foreign bases and more. They will discuss what type of world they are working to create. David also speaks about his recent book, "Leaving World War II Behind," that debunks the myth of that as "the last good war." For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

A case brought before the United States Supreme Court by three Native American women, who have been representing themselves, may decide the future of the 1975 Indian Self Determination Act. Clearing the FOG speaks with Charmaine White Face, a petitioner in the case, about her fight to stop the privatization of an Indian Health Service facility, Sioux San Hospital in Rapid City South Dakota, that serves 325 tribes in the area. She describes how the privatization is harming the health of the people who use this historic hospital. To her knowledge, this is the first effort to privatize an Indian Health Service hospital. If the privatization is allowed to continue, which has been done without the consent of the people who are impacted, it will set a dangerous precedent for all tribes and allow any federal agency to take a similar illegal action.

Read more and support their effort here.

Colombians have been on a national strike since April 28 with protests in 500 cities and blockades that have shut down the major highway. The protests were sparked by a proposed bill that would place the burden of financing the country's debt on the people while cutting taxes for the wealthy, but economic conditions for most people have been in decline for a long time. The government has responded to the protests with violent repression by its militarized police that is funded and trained by the United States. Clearing the FOG speaks with Charo Mina-Rojas, a human rights defender in Colombia who was a leader in the 2016 peace agreement, about the protests, the conditions, and the political environment in Colombia. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.

The Biden administration claims to care about the climate crisis but it is currently allowing a dredging project to proceed in the Matagorda shipping channel to open the way for crude oil exports in Texas. Not only will this drive a surge in oil extraction, but it will also increase mercury pollution by digging in a Superfund site left by the aluminum company, Alcoa. The project will decimate the struggling local fishing industry. To stop this project, veteran activist and shrimper, Diane Wilson has been on a hunger strike since April 7. Clearing the FOG speaks with Diane about her current hunger strike and her long fight to protect the waters in her area. For more information, visit PopularResistanceorg.

The United States' drone assassination program is illegal under international law, but the whistleblower who exposed it, Daniel Hale, is being prosecuted under the Espionage Act. Chip Gibbons of Defending Rights and Dissent describes who Daniel Hale is and why his act of leaking information about the program to a journalist is akin to Daniel Ellsberg leaking the Pentagon Papers. Gibbons also places Hale's action in the broader context of FBI surveillance, the war on whistleblowers and other truthtellers, such as Julian Assange, and the assault on our right to know. For more information, visit PopularResistance.org.