This week I am joined once again my good friend Lizzy to discuss her work in Palestine. Lizzy began by talking about her own personal journey which has led her to live and work full time in Ramallah. We discussed her work with Al Kamandjati, a non-profit which offers world-class music lessons for Palestinian children. We talked about the mission of Al Kamandjati and its founder Ramzi Aburedwan. Lizzy talked about Aburedwan’s life growing up in the Al Amari refugee camp and how this led him to create the organization. Lizzy touched on the day to day struggles that Palestinians face including night raids, checkpoints, and violence at the hands of the IDF. She talked about her own personal experiences dealing with this trauma. Lizzy and I talked about several people she knew who were murdered by the IDF and the psychological toll on the families involved. Later we discussed ways for people to get involved. Lizzy talked about the need for people to simply educate themselves about the reality of the situation. We also talked about simple ways for people to organize here in the US. Later we touched on the complacency and apathy in the US when it comes to the plight of the Palestinians, and how we can overcome this.
In the second hour, I change gears and talked about the recent news that international fixer, Trump transition team member, and convicted pedophile, George Nader, was arrested in JFK Airport for possession of child pornography. I talk about the roots of this case which stemmed from his 2018 arrest in Dulles Airport. I touched on his cooperation with Robert Mueller and the strange way he was “let go” and allowed to return to the UAE. I discussed some of the truly heinous charges against Nader. I also talked about what this may mean in the larger context of Trump World.
This week research Jon Gold joined me to talk about some of recent revelations regarding the 9/11 coverup. We started off with some breaking news out of Guantanamo regarding the trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and others, and alleged recordings of them speaking about the 9/11 attacks months before they happened. Jon and I discussed the significance of these recordings and why they have been hidden from the public and defense lawyers at the military tribunal. Jon talks about some of the possible government agencies who could have made the recordings and the larger issue of a continued coverup. We also touched on the recent reporting out of Sarasota, Florida regarding Prince Turki al Faisal’s connections to the 9/11 attacks. Jon and I shifted gears a bit and talked about the Mueller Report and Russiagate. We discussed the way the media has obsessed over this story. Jon touched on the journalists who have made a name out of Russiagate and yet turn their backs to issues such as 9/11. Later we touched on Israel and the rise of the right wing in the Middle Eastern country. Jon and I talked about Trump’s recent decision to recognize the stolen Golan Heights as well as the recent focus on AIPAC. We finished off by talking about the recent de-funding of the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund. Jon talked about the ongoing health crisis affecting tens of thousands who were exposed to the World Trade Center dust.
This Tuesday night we decode the current mosaic of geopolitical scattershot that is the New World Landscape. The Iran deal is still part of the calculus as Israel continues to justify it’s response to Palestine. Does Trump know what is happening all around him? Mike Swanson talks about the latest version of Neo-cons thoughtless tanks. At the end of the first hour, Chuck and Mike agree that it is tough to prognosticate the many outcomes. Pearse Redmond joins us in hour 2; The conversation seems to continue where it left off before the break. Is The Ochelli Effect good for your mental health? Seems to work for Pearse. What about North Korea? Why is Ollie North the new showrunner at the NRA.? Have we as a nation faced the issue of torture? Fatigue seems to be setting in as people normalize the man of no principles that occupies the White House at the moment. Pre-tense no longer required in the newest abnormal under POTUS Agent Orange.
Aaron Franz of TheAgeofTransistions.com joins us for the first hour. We begin by talking about Aaron’s new live version of Trans Resister Radio and Uncle the podcast. Aaron and I then discuss the topic of the imagined dividing line between the real and the fantastic, the objective and the subjective. We talk about how reality and fantasy have begun to blur increasingly over the past several years. Using Elon Musk as an example we discuss how Musk’s increasingly bizarre pronouncements illustrate this concept. We also touch on statements made by leading scientists that claim we are living in a computer simulation. Aaron and I talk about the deeper occult meaning behind this as well. We also talk about the idea of fake news and how this fits into this paradigm. Later Aaron and I look at a recent study by UCLA which claims that memories are really genetic. We talk about a recent experiment which claimed that memories could be implanted within sea slugs. Aaron and I discuss the dangers of this, including the idea of erasing bad memories from ones mind.
In the second hour I go it alone. I start by talking about the amazing Dingle Record Shop and it’s proprietor Mazz O’Flaherty. I then go on an extended rant about how much I despise the endless news cycle of death and trauma. I focus mainly on the recent massacre in Gaza and my disgust at the way many people seem to be celebrating this. I also talk about the idiocy of reneging on the Iran deal and how this is most likely being orchestrated by the neocons. Later I touch on how everything seems to be reverting back to the Bush years, or possibly even worse. I also talk about how this has effected me on a personal level.
For today’s podcast we had the great pleasure of speaking with Ryan Dawson of Anti-Neocons Report. We had a wide ranging discussion about Iran, the death of Ariel Sharon, 9/11, JFK, and much more.
16 Egyptian border guards were killed Monday by militants operating in Sinai. This is the latest in a string of incidents involving militants and disenfranchised communities in the peninsula. This latest attack was perhaps the most brazen though. After killing the border guards the militants drove stolen armored cars into the Israeli side of the border before being killed by the Israelis. Israel was quick to exploit the situation in Sinai to their advantage by calling the attack a “wake up call” for the Egyptians. As of recently Israel has been pointing its finger at Egypt and Gaza anytime an attack of this nature happens. The Israelis claim that the security vacuum is the fault of Egypt and is being exploited by Hamas and other Palestinian factions. Many political commentators in Israel also chalk up this violence to President Morsi’s “close” ties to Hamas. While this may play well for the Israeli public and western governments it’s simply not true.
Sinai has always been a region plagued by violence and militancy. In 2004 a 400 pound car bomb exploded outside the Hilton Hotel in Taba killing 34 people. A year later three bombs would go off in a coordinated attack that would claim the lives of 83 people in the resort town of Sharm al-Sheikh. And in 2011 the Egyptian oil pipeline connected to Israel and Jordan was attacked a whopping 12 times. All of this violence stemmed from Egypt’s close ties to Israel, something most if not all Egyptians loath, and the abysmal living conditions of the Bedouin communities living in the Sinai peninsula. These are attacks perpetrated by groups that are fed up with the oppressive Israeli occupation of the Palestinian people and the cooperation they receive from the Egyptian political elite, as well as by groups who historically have been neglected by the Egyptian government. The Israeli narrative that this is somehow the work of Hamas or some form of Palestinian resistance group doesn’t hold up. The biggest net loser from this recent attack is Gaza. The Rafah crossing which Morsi promised to fully open is now closed. Politically speaking Israel and it’s supporters are able to use this as further evidence of a global terror campaign directed at the Jewish state. Also keep in mind that Hamas directs their attacks against Israel and not Egypt.
The biggest net winner is of course Israel. Netanyahu and his partner in crime Barak can now blame Egypt and Gaza for all their foreign policy failures. The two of them can present this to other western nations as further evidence of how weak and ineffectual Morsi is as a leader. How can Israel expect to work with Egypt if it’s president can’t control his own people? This is the same tactic that the Israelis have used time and time again. The pro-Israel warmongers here in America will start screaming bloody murder soon enough, claiming that Morsi shouldn’t be president because poor defenseless Israel who never hurt anybody might be attacked.
This recent attack is a wake up call to Egypt as much as it is to Israel. Morsi has to address the Bedouin situation in the Sinai. He can not solve the militancy problem the way Mubarak did; round up and torture every Bedouin and man with a long beard. The Egyptian military must also come to understand that they are a catalyst for much of this violence. The breif love affair that those in Tahrir Square had for the military is now over. The military’s domination of the economy must cease so that those at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder can have a chance to get ahead. President Morsi may also have to examine whether a close relationship with the Jewish state is really in Egypt’s national interest. This doesn’t mean tearing up Camp David or going to war, but it may mean asking the Israelis to put their money were their mouth is on the question of peace with the Palestinians. For Israel this should be the wake up call that they can no longer expect to do whatever they please to Arab peoples and not expect a response. Israel can no longer rely on their dear friend Mubarak to slaughter his own population; which of course was the major cause of discontent amongst Egyptians critical of Israel. The Arab world is changing and Israel needs to catch up. Gone are the days of relying on secular dictators like Mubarak to help imprison the Palestine’s in the Gaza Strip. For too long Israel has relied on the fact that Arab dictators are as afraid of Arab democracy as they are. Israel never really had to make peace with the Palestinians because no Arab leader actually cared about the plight of their Palestinian brothers and sisters. And the populations living in Arab countries had no real voice or means to press their unelected leaders. For the first time now those in Gaza have a real ally in Egypt. It is time for Israel to wake up and see that their hegemony over the Middle East is slowly ending. The easiest way to prevent violence spilling over into Israel is to stop implementing a foreign policy doctrine that oppresses Arabs. And the first step in this process is to begin a real dialogue with those nations neighboring Israel. As more leaders are democratically elected in the Arab world the less leeway Israel has to do whatever they want in the region with out serious repercussions.
Porkins Policy Review 