CIA Sponsored Terror, Civil Liberties, Criminalizing Dissent, Human Rights, Prison Industry, Supreme Court, Surveillance, Torture, Truth to Power
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Basic Legal Rights For Animals: Activists and Advocates
Discussions over whether animals are sentient beings, capable of feeling pain, pleasure or suffering, date back as far as ancient thinkers such as Plutarch, Hippocrates and Pythagoras. They all advocated for the fair treatment of animals. The term animal rights stands for the proposition that non-human animals have the right to be treated, not as property, but rather as the individuals they are, with their own desires and needs.
Animal law is now widely taught in law schools across North America. There are 167 law schools in the U.S. and Canada, and 11 in Australia and New Zealand, teaching courses in animal law. Several legal scholars support extending basic legal rights and to personhood to non-human animals.
Critics of animal rights argue that nonhuman animals are unable to enter into a social contract, and thus cannot have rights. Another argument is that animals may be used as resources as long as they don’t undergo unnecessary suffering.
Certain forms of animal rights activism, such as the destruction of fur farms and animal labs by the ALF or Animal Liberation Front, have also attracted criticism, and prompted Congressional reaction by enacting of harsh laws allowing these activities to be prosecuted as terrorism. These laws include the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act.
Guest – Attorney Tamara Bedic, chairperson of the National Lawyers Guild Animal Rights Project. She is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law and a masters degree from Columbia University-NY University. Tamara practices employment law with a focus on women and harassment in the workplace.
Guest – Phillip Murphy, Philip Murphy is a writer and social justice activist based in the Greater New York City area. He is a co-founder of the Buddhist Action Coalition NYC, a pan-Buddhist social justice organization, and is also a co-founder of the New York chapter of UK-based Animal Rebellion, a global climate and animal justice movement. His recent article, Why Animal Justice is Crucial in Addressing the Climate Emergency was published at the independent global media platform openDemocracy.net. SHAC 7 Documentary
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CIA Sponsored Terror, Civil Liberties, Criminalizing Dissent, Gaza, Human Rights, Targeting Muslims, Truth to Power
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The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917–2017
There has been a century of war on the Palestinians by Zionists whose goal was to establish a Jewish state on their land.
More than 100 years ago, a Zionist Congress meeting in Vienna sent a delegation of several rabbis to Palestine to report back on what they saw. The rabbis telegraphed: “The bride is beautiful but she is married to another man.“
That is to say, Palestine was already settled by Palestinians who have been there for centuries. Thus the project of the Zionists was to ethnically cleanse Palestine by any means necessary.
It has taken 100 years and six declarations of war and the settler colonial project of the Zionists has been largely successful, so far. Three years ago President Donald Trump put his young son-in-law Jared Kushner in charge of American policy towards the Palestinians. Without consulting them last month Trump announced what he called “the deal of the century“.
The “deal” gave Israel large parts of the west bank of the Jordan River which embraced territory illegally conquered by Israel in the war they started in 1967 and where 600,000 Israelis have been settled since then.
The Palestinians were given several non-contiguous enclaves in the West Bank plus the Gaza Strip and told that those who were displaced in the 1947-48 War and the 1967 war could never come back to the land the Zionists claim was given to their ancestors by a God thousands of years ago. They were told they have four years to accept the offer.
We speak with Rashid Khalidi about his just published landmark history
Guest – Rashid Khalidi, Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies at Columbia University. He is also the author of Under Siege: PLO Decision Making During the 1982 War, Brokers of Deceit: How the US Has Undermined Peace in the Middle East and recently The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917–2017. Professor Khalidi’s article on the Sabra and Shatila massacre in The Nation magazine.
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Venezuelan Embassy Protection Collective Update 2020
In a violation of international law, on May 16, 2019 more than 100 police, many with military gear, invaded the embassy of Venezuela in Washington, DC and arrested four Embassy Protectors who were in the embassy with the permission of the Venezuelan government to protect it from takeover as part of a US coup against the elected Venezuelan government of Nicolas Maduro.
The United States had at that time attempted to install Juan Guida as the president of Venezuela and Guida’s right wing supporters attempted to take over the Venezuelan embassy in Washington DC. Under international law, the embassy is the property of Venezuelan government and is considered untouchable.
The US had attempted to install Juan Guaida as the president of Venezuela and on May 30th right wing coup supporters attempted to take over the Venezuelan embassy in Washington DC. This coincided with another attempted coup by Juan Guaida in Venezuela. Guaido failed in his coup attempt.
The embassy in Washington, DC is the property of Venezuela and under international law the United States must protect and is not allowed to enter it.
A group of Americans known as the Embassy Protection Collective moved into the embassy to prevent its hostile takeover. Up to 70 people were sleeping in the embassy as embassy protectors.
The State Department, Secret Service, and the Metropolitan police force allowed a pro-coup mob to lay siege on the embassy. People were blocked from entering the embassy. Food was prevented from being brought in. The electricity and water were cut off.
Although the coup against the Maduro government failed, the Embassy Protectors were arrested when the US government raided the Venezuelan embassy. The final four Embassy Protectors, Kevin Zeese, Margaret Flowers., Adrian Pine, and David Paul were arrested and face federal prosecution. If convicted they could be imprisoned up to one year and fined up to $100,000 each.
Guest – Kevin Zeese is a US lawyer and political activist. He helped organize the 2011 Occupy encampment in Washington DC. Kevin Zeese is currently the co-director of The Organization Popular Resistance.
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CIA Sponsored Terror, Civil Liberties, Criminalizing Dissent, Habeas Corpus, Human Rights, Iran, Supreme Court, Truth to Power, War Resister
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Human Rights Attorney Michael Tigar
As we enter into the new decade we look back at where we have been, legally speaking, and where we are headed.
2020 began with President Donald Trump illegally and recklessly ordering the assassination of top Iranian general Qassem Suleimani who was on a peace mission in Iraq at the time he was killed by a US drone.
Although assassination has been secretly used by the US government since the formation of the CIA in 1947, Barack Obama, Trump’s predecessor, began the illegal extra-judicial open assassination of people in what was called “targeted killings.“ This included American citizens.
With regard to deportations, the Obama administration set a record by deporting more than 3 million people. Trump has continued massive deportations but also has illegally frustrated and prevented people fleeing political repression from seeking asylum in America, separating children from families and caging them in a process that continues.
The Authorization for the Use of Military Force was voted on shortly after 9/11 to justify the bombing and invasion of Afghanistan. The AUMF has been used illegally to justify the presence of American troops in the Middle East since then. It was recently renewed.
The Patriot Act has also been renewed, allowing for massive US government surveillance of American citizens in the illegal derogation of their Fourth Amendment right to privacy democratic rights and the rule of law are in obvious, unprecedented, serious jeopardy.
Truth telling whistle blowing Australian journalist Julian Assange, in the most important first amendment civil liberty case, is about to be extradited from London to Virginia where he faces espionage charges. The issue is his right to be a journalist and our right to know. If convicted he will go to prison for life destroying investigative journalism in areas the government deems “national security.“
The peoples’ constitutional right to impeach a president is also in jeopardy. The Democratic party’s attempt to remove Donald Trump from office is sure to fail because of Trump and the Republicans’ refusal to honor the constitution and allow for a fair trial in the Senate.
Trump has appointed hundreds of reactionary judges to the federal trial and appellate benches. A woman’s right to control her own body, decided in the famous case of “Roe vs Wade”, will be decided by the Supreme Court whose ranks have been bolstered by two additional reactionary judges, Gorsuch and Kavanaugh.
The separation of church and state and the separation of powers are also in jeopardy.
Guest – Human rights attorney Michael Tigar, a veteran of 1960s activism. He’s appeared many times before the Supreme Court, taught law at three schools and has written numerous books including the now classic, Law and the Rise of Capitalism and most recently Mythologies of State and Monopoly Power.
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CIA Sponsored Terror, Civil Liberties, Criminalizing Dissent, Human Rights, Iran, Iraq War, Truth to Power, War Resister
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Assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani: Geopolitical Discussion
An assassination is a political murder. Last week, President Donald Trump assassinated General Qasem Soleimani when he was at the airport in Baghdad, Iraq. Soleimani was the second most important leader of Iran. This action is in violation of both American and international law.
Trump ordered the illegal assassination without advising Congress, which is also illegal in violation of the War Powers Act. President Trump however did first advise Israel, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates, countries which have long favored provoking a war with Iran.
Currently the United States has imposed harsh economic sanctions on the Iranian people hoping they will turn against their government. President Trump called Soleimani a terrorist with the blood of hundreds of Americans on his hands and that he was planning an imminent attack. If Iran should respond to the murder Trump has threatened, in violation of international law, to destroy 52 of Iran’s ancient cultural heritage sites. The US President has sent 3000 additional troops to a wreck because he was sick and threatened to impose sanctions on Iraq if they expel American troops.
Listen To May 27, 2019 Interview With Phyllis On Threats Against Iran.
Guest – Phyllis Bennis is a fellow of the Institute for Policy Studies, where she works on anti-war, US foreign policy and Palestinian rights issues. She has worked as an informal adviser to several key UN officials on Palestinian issues. Her books including Calling the Shots: How Washington Dominates Today’s UN, and Understanding the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict.
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Disrupt, Discredit, and Divide: How the New FBI Damages Democracy
The FBI is suffering a crisis of credibility, making news headlines not for solving crimes but for agency shortfalls and blunders. From Bureau officials lying to cover up leaks, to retaliation against Internal whistle-blowers, to agents facing criminal charges on obstruction to leaking classified material, something is clearly amiss inside the nation’s top law enforcement agency. There have also been several public failures—overlooked warnings in the Parkland, Florida school killings, delays in Olympic doctor Larry Nassar’s sexual misconduct probe, and misconduct by agents after armed militia standoffs in Nevada and Oregon.
That’s why Mike German’s new book, Disrupt, Discredit, and Divide: How the New FBI Damages Democracy, feels especially timely. German is a former FBI undercover special agent whose assignments included infiltrating white nationalist organizations.
Disrupt, Discredit and Divide focuses on how the Bureau transformed after the attacks of September 11, 2001. It went, German asserts, from being a law enforcement agency to a covert domestic intelligence agency, unparalleled in U.S. history. He discusses how leaders took advantage of fears of terrorism to remove longstanding legal checks and balances on agents. By focusing on national security over law enforcement, the Bureau has in fact undermined public confidence in justice and the rule of law.
Guest – Mike German is a fellow with the Liberty and National Security program at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law School. He has worked at the ACLU and served 16 years as an FBI special agent. He is also the author of Thinking Like a Terrorist.
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CIA Sponsored Terror, Civil Liberties, Criminalizing Dissent, Cuba, Guantanamo, Habeas Corpus, Human Rights, Political Prisoner, Prison Industry, Surveillance, Truth to Power
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- Michael Smith and Guest Host Natasha Bannan Discuss 61st Anniversary of Cuban Revolution
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Venezuelan Embassy Protectors Could Face Fines And Prison
The first week of January 2020 marks the 61st anniversary of the Cuban revolution. The Cuban people now have some of the best healthcare in the world, free education through college, adequate housing, and a high-level of culture.
The attitude of the American government has been one of almost unrelieved hostility including violence and an ongoing economic, financial, and commercial blockade.
Unable to reverse the Cuban revolution United States sought from the beginning to contain its influence. From the 1960s the governments of Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Uruguay and recently Bolivia were overthrown by American sponsored coups because of their friendly position towards Cuba. As of today the Venezuelan government is being targeted by the United States.
In violation of international law in May of 2019, the United States government attempted but failed to overthrow the democratically elected government of Nicolas Madura in Venezuela.
The United States had at that time attempted to install Juan Guida as the president of Venezuela and Guida’s right wing supporters attempted to take over the Venezuelan embassy in Washington DC. Under international law, the embassy is the property of Venezuelan government and is considered untouchable.
A number of Americans, known as the Embassy Protectors, moved in to the embassy to prevent its hostile takeover. The State Department, Secret Service, and the Metropolitan Police force laid seize to the embassy. Electricity and water were cut off. No food was allowed in.
Although the coup against the Maduro government failed the Embassy Protectors were arrested when the US government raided the Venezuelan embassy. Four of the protectors including today’s Law And Disorder guest Attorney Kevin Zeese were arrested and face trial. If convicted they could be fined up to $250,000 and given a one year prison term. Embassy Protectors
Guest – Kevin Zeese is a US lawyer and political activist. He helped organize the 2011 Occupy encampment in Washington DC. Kevin Zeese is currently the co-director of The Organization Popular Resistance.
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U.S. Anti-Immigration and Just Futures Law
Anti-immigrant discourse and policy has defined a large part of the Trump Administration since 2016. We take a look into attacks against immigrants in the United States and related rule making in the last few months.
Guest – Paromita Shah is the Executive Director of Just Futures Law, a new movement lawyering organization dedicated to ending the deportation and mass incarceration industrial complexes. Paromita has spent over 20 years in providing innovative legal and advocacy support to lawyers and legal advocates, grassroots groups and organizers, in the fight against criminalization and immigration enforcement. She has worked to support immigrant communities impacted by policing and immigration enforcement and has worked on issues like immigration detainers, gangs, and technology surveillance.
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CIA Sponsored Terror, Civil Liberties, Criminalizing Dissent, Human Rights, Truth to Power, War Resister
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British Election Analysis and Political Parallels
On December 12, 2019 British Conservative party leader Boris Johnson won the election over Jeremy Corbyn‘s Labour Party by 43.6% to 32%.
British voters were less moved by Corbyn’s economic and social programs than they were by Johnson’s nationalist positions, particularly by his promise to “get Brext done” and pull Great Britain out of the European Union. This promised exit, known as Brexit, gave Johnson’s nationalism a major boost. Brexit became the central issue of the campaign. It was looked upon by many voters as a blow to the system.
Former Labour party voters, particularly in the deindustrialized rustbelt of England’s north, which had been Labour’s historic base, voted Conservative hoping that Boris Johnson would shake things up.
The Labour party program which put forward the idea of a working class party that taxes the rich to pay for redistribution and public services was novel and attracted young people, but not enough to overcome Boris Johnson’s appeal.
There are many parallels between Bernie Sanders and Jeremy Corbyn and between Donald Trump and Boris Johnson.
Guest – Colin Robinson, a longtime member of the Labour party and splits his time between England and New York, where he is a journalist and the co-publisher of OR books.
Guest – Doug Henwood an economic analyst, financial trader and journalist. His recent book My Turn, analysed the Hillary Clinton campaign of 2016. His recent article in Jacobin magazine is titled Why Impeachment is a Waste of Time.
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In Defense of Julian Assange
Whistle-blowing truth telling journalist and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange now sits in solitary confinement in London‘s infamous Belmarsh prison. The Trump administration has asked that he be extradited to Virginia for trial as a spy. Today we interview Margaret Kunstler and Tariq Ali who edited and introduce the just published book titled In Defense of Julian Assange. The book demonstrates convincingly what is at stake in his upcoming trial is the future of free journalism, here and abroad.
Julian faces a 175 year sentence under the century old Espionage Act, passed during World War I to be used against spies. He is charged with conspiring with Chelsea Manning to publish the Iraq war logs, the Afghanistan war logs, and State Department cables.
Former CIA director and current Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has called WikiLeaks a “non-state intelligence service.“ Hillary Clinton wanted him assassinated by drone. The United Nations special rapporteur on torture Nils Melzer recently visited him in prison and concluded that indeed he was being tortured. When he last appeared in court he was incoherent and couldn’t remember his name or date of birth.
WikiLeaks was launched by Julian Assange in 2006, three years after Bush and Cheney commenced the illegal catastrophic war against Iraq in 2003.
Julian is a computer genius. He invented a way for publishers like WikiLeaks to receive truth telling information anonymously. The first bombshell he published in 2006 was “The Iraqi war logs.“ He got them from whistle-blower Chelsea Manning who was then in the military. They showed a video of American soldiers in a helicopter committing a war crime by gunning down and executing a number of Iraqi civilians, two Reuter’s journalists, and several children. Then they chuckled about it. A photo of the murders is shown on the book’s cover. This leak, furnished by Chelsea Manning, was devastating to the United States. Other whistle-blower leaks followed. The government became relentless in trying to close down WikiLeaks.
Guest – Margaret Kunstler – a civil rights attorney who has spent her career providing movement support and protecting the rights of activists. A powerful speaker on human rights issues, Kunstler is a consultant to the emerging voices of Occupy Wall Street protesters and Anonymous supporters. Kunstler’s Hell No: Your Right to Dissent in Twenty-First Century America, co-authored with Michael Ratner of the Center for Constitutional Rights, is the leading handbook for activists today.
Guest – Tariq Ali, writer, journalist and film-maker, born in Lahore and educated at Oxford University. He writes regularly for a range of publications including The Guardian and The London Review of Books. He has written more than a dozen books including non-fiction as well as scripts for both stage and screen.
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