Clearing The Fog With Co-hosts Margaret Flowers And Kevin Zeese

As President Obama completes his final term in office, his administration is working closely with Big Business and Big Finance to sneak the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) through Congress during the lame duck session after the November election. The TPP is an international agreement that was negotiated in secret with the help of hundreds of corporate advisers. If ratified, it will rig the political system even more to benefit multinational corporations at the expense of our sovereignty and our ability to protect our communities and the planet. Bill Waren of Friends of the Earth will join us to discuss the close ties between the financial industry and the office of the US Trade Representative and why it is critical that we stop the TPP. Gillian Locascio  of the Washington Fair Trade Coalition will speak with us about how people are organizing to stop the TPP. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.  

Three members of the Corean Alliance for Independent Reunification and Democracy (CAIRD) are in the United States on a peace expedition. They speak with us about the brutal history of the US’ involvement in Korea and their work to end the Korean War, bring reunification and build democracy. Their work builds on decades of work by Korean activists. Under the current leader, this work is being made even more challenging by the application of a National Security Law. We also discuss the impact of trade agreements on Korean farmers and workers. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

May has been a month of escalated resistance to fossil fuel industries and a call for a rapid transition to clean renewable sources of energy. The month began with Break Free: two weeks of direct action targeting coal, oil and gas around the world. That was followed by a week of action called the Rubber Stamp Rebellion protesting the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for its approval of new fossil fuel infrastructure without adequate consideration of the impacts new projects will have on the health and safety of communities, harm to the environment or worsening of the climate crisis. We speak with three advocates who are working to stop dangerous fossil fuel projects. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

We discuss the current election environment in the context of the movement: how the movement and the Sanders campaign have impacted the campaigns and the political parties and what a political revolution means.  Our guests discuss their ideas for continuing the momentum beyond this election season and for having an impact on whomever is elected. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

We speak with Joe Guinan and Dana Brown of the Next System Project about their ambitious work to draw from new economic institutions that are being used in the United States and around the world to build real alternatives that solve the crises of economic, racial and environmental injustice. They just completed a series of teach-ins across the country. They share with us what they've learned so far and what exciting new initiatives are developing out of the teach-ins. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

On the day after May Day, we focus on the current situation forworkers and how they are building power to lift up wages and workerrights. We speak with Professor Richard Wolff of Democracy at Workand Mike Somers, President of CWA Local 2100. Nearly 40,000 CWAmembers have been on strike against Verizon since April 13. Theyare calling for a national day of action on May 5. For moreinformation, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

On the one year anniversary after the uprising in Baltimore over the murder of Freddie Gray, we broadcast a two-hour special live from Baltimore. We speak with people who are directly impacted by police violence and those who are working to stop the injustices. Joshua Harris is a leader and visionary who advocates on behalf of the community. He is dedicated to creating attainable solutions for the challenges Baltimore faces. He is currently running for Mayor of Baltimore seeking the Green Party nomination. For more information, visit www.clearingthefogradio.org.

On the one year anniversary after the uprising in Baltimore over the murder of Freddie Gray, we broadcast a two-hour special live from Baltimore. We speak with people who are directly impacted by police violence and those who are working to stop the injustices. Derrick Chase was born and raised in Baltimore. He is currently the president of the Coalition for the Transformation and Betterment of Baltimore, known as Stand Up Bmore. For more information, visit www.clearingthefogradio.org.

On the one year anniversary after the uprising in Baltimore over the murder of Freddie Gray, we broadcast a two-hour special live from Baltimore. We speak with people who are directly impacted by police violence and those who are working to stop the injustices. Kelly Holsey is a paraeducator for the Baltimore County Public School system. She is the fiancee of Keith Davis, Jr. who remains in jail after being chased and shot by Baltimore City Police in June, 2015 for a crime that he did not commit. For more information, visit www.clearingthefogradio.org. To support Keith and Kelly, visit https://fundrazr.com/b16kK3.

On the one year anniversary after the uprising in Baltimore over the murder of Freddie Gray, we broadcast a two-hour special live from Baltimore. We speak with people who are directly impacted by police violence and those who are working to stop the injustices. Abdul Salaam is a Baltimore resident and father who works in as a mental health provider. He was brutally beaten during a July 1, 2013, traffic stop in Northeast Baltimore. The same officers beat and killed another Baltimorean, Tyrone West, during a traffic stop a few weeks later. Salaam was recently awarded $70,000 in a case related to the beating. The officers continue to work for the police force and have been promoted. For more information, visit www.clearingthefogradio.org.

We speak with two Refusers from Israel, Yasmin Yablonko and Khaled Farrag, who are on tour in the United States to raise awareness about the conditions that youth face in Israel. Yasmin and Khaled are part of a coalition of organizations called the Refuser Solidarity Network that supports teenagers who decide not to serve in the Israeli Defense Force. Then we speak with Ramah Kudaimi of End the Occupation and Chip Gibbons of Freedom to Boycott - Maryland about the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement to end Israeli Apartheid and the push back against it in the United States. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

The release of the 'Panama Papers' reveal the secret world of shell companies used by the rich to hide their wealth and avoid paying taxes on it. While it appears that the release of information was intended as a tool to demonize Russian President Vladimir Putin, it has backfired and instead led to a probing of who in the US is involved in this type of scheme. McClatchy News is publishing investigative pieces revealing the same activity taking place in states such as Nevada and Wyoming. The list of people involved connects directly to government figures such as US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker. It has also led to massive upheaval in Iceland where protesters are calling for the resignation of the government and new elections. We explore what's going on with James Henry of the Tax Justice Network and Chuck Collins of the Institute for Policy Studies. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

On the heels of Obama’s Nuclear Security Summit, we speak with Greg Mello of the Los Alamos Study Group and Lillyanne Daigle and John Qua of Global Zero to cut through the propaganda about nuclear weapons, discuss which countries pose the greatest threat and what activists are doing to push for nuclear disarmament. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

We speak with Dr. Michael E. Mann, esteemed climate scientist, about the latest science regarding the climate crisis - the rise in global temperature, sea level rise, the impact of glacier melting on ocean currents and weather and what we can expect in the next few decades. Then we speak with Dr. Mark Z. Jacobson who has developed a 50-state plan for 100% renewable energy in the United States. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

Farm workers in the United States and Mexico are uniting to protest working conditions. From March 17 to 20, workers marched North in Mexico and South in the United States to meet at the border, at Playas de Tijuana. They are commemorating a march and strike one year ago and they are calling for the right to organize and demand fair wages, overtime pay and more. We speak with Rosalinda Guillen and Edgar Franks of Food Justice. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

We speak with two educators, Stephen Krashen and Timothy Slekar, about the newest federal legislation on education, the so-called “Every Student Succeeds Act.” Hidden in the more than 1,000 pages are provisions that will undercut the profession of teaching. We discuss why and how education is under attack, not just in the United States but globally, and what teachers are doing to fight back and create the high quality education that children deserve. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

We speak with Vijay Prashad and Raed Jarrar about the politics of Saudi Arabia, its ties to the United States and its role in the Middle East. We also discuss the rise of ISIS and what steps to take to weaken it and end the war on Syria. Both Vijay and Raed will speak at the upcoming Summit on Saudi Arabia being organized by CODEPINK on March 5 and 6 in Washington, DC. A thread that ties this all together and that is not discussed enough is how the conflicts in this region reflect the U.S. foreign policy of hegemony, which is designed by and for the benefit of the wealthy. We ask: what would a foreign policy for the 99% look like? For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

We speak with Neill Franklin from Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) about the failed drug war, the damage it has done and alternatives to it that are working to create healthy and safe communities. We also speak with Yohanan EliYah of Move to Abolish 21st Century Slavery about the growing movement to amend the 13th Amendment and take the profit out of incarceration.For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org,

We speak with activists who are fighting to protect their homes from new fossil fuel projects. Cherri Foytlin from South Louisiana has been working constantly since the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico to protect the people of that region and their livelihoods. She is currently organizing a mass action to peacefully protest an auction of more oil drilling leases in the Gulf on March 23. Megan Holleran is a landowner in Northeast Pennsylvania who is physically blocking Williams, the company that wants to build the Constitution gas pipeline, from cutting down more than 100 trees on her property. Williams has not yet been granted all of the permits required to build the pipeline. The Holleran family and supporters are maintaining a vigil on their property to stop any tree cutting. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.

When the 2008 financial crisis hit, Iceland had a very different response than the United States. Iceland let the big banks fail, nationalized them and prosecuted the bankers, sending 26 of the bank executives to jail for fraud and market manipulation. In the US, no high level bankers were prosecuted and the big banks were bailed out. The weak response in the US means that fraud and corruption by big finance continue and we are facing an unstable market which many people predict will crash again within the year. We speak with Bill Black of the newly formed Bank Whistleblowers United about the plan they have outlined to instill the rule of law on Wall Street and end fraud with the hope of mitigating the effects of the next financial crisis. And we speak with Randall Wray, an expert in financial instability and macroeconomics, about alternatives to the current financial system that would bring greater stability. For more information, visit www.ClearingtheFOGRadio.org.