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

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

The World Economic Forum and Gates Foundation are convening a food summit through the United Nations on September 23. Global farmer, peasant and fishing coalitions have called a boycott of the summit for its pro-corporate agenda, refusal to include the human right to food and exclusion of the intergovernmental body, the Committee on World Food Security, that has created an inclusive and democratized international structure. Clearing the FOG speaks with Patti Naylor, a family farmer in Iowa who works on agroecology and food sovereignty. She is on the board of Family Farm Defenders and a member of the US Food Sovereignty Alliance. Naylor describes the failures of the current global food system, how it is unprepared for the crises we are experiencing and that will occur and why it is headed in a dangerous direction. She talks about the global fight to change the food system to one that is flexible enough to respond to crises and that protects and restores the environment. For more information, visit PopularResis

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.