Home

Archive 15: 2022

Pirate Television is a weekly 58 min television program nationally syndicated on Free Speech TV.  In addition it is broadcast on several  Public Access stations in the US.  Pirate TV challenges the Media Blockade by bringing you alternative information and independent programming that is unavailable on the Corporate Sponsor-Ship.  The show features talks, interviews and documentaries.  The purpose of Pirate TV is to put back what corporate media filter out.

These links are to the online version of these programs which are usually longer than the broadcast versions. Some of the material seen on Pirate TV is obtained from other sources but most of it is locally produced and owned by us.  We are offering to sell copies of this material to support the operation.  If you would like to support the Pirate Television project you can obtain a copy of any of these discs for a $20 donation (includes postage) in advance.  Many shows more than 10 years old were uploaded to the server as WMV files.  Due to the outragious cost of storing these, I have had to remove them from the server.  So if you click on the thumbnail and get "File Not Found", you can copy the show name and search on Archive.org.  It might be there.  If not, I will send you the WMV file by email for $2.00.  To obtain media, contact me by email:

PirateTVSeattle(at)gmail.com

Snail mail: Ed Mays, 308 E Republican # 708, Seattle, WA 98102

We like to expand Pirate Television to other broadcast venues.  If you would like to get on the Pirate Television schedule notification list-serve, or if you have questions, drop us a line.

Shows are listed in reverse chronological order:

The Real Path to Peace in Ukraine part 2, Monday 12/26/22, 8pm PST, premieres on YouTube 12/22 2pm PST

NEGOTIATIONS- YES! ESCALATION- NO! 

This is the second part of the historic assembly that happened November 19th 2022 at the People’s Forum in New York City, edited for TV, calling for a people’s movement to rise up for a negotiated settlement in Ukraine. The event was hosted by Manolo De Los Santos of The People’s Forum and featured many extraordinary speakers such as Medea Benjamin, Noam Chomsky, Jill Stein, Brian Becker, Vijay Prashad, & Eugene Puryear. We are broadcasting excerpts of the event in multiple parts.

"The moment is now to inaugurate a new, multi-national, grassroots movement to advocate for the end to the current war in Ukraine. The stakes are too real and the dangers too great for the peoples of the word to remain on the sidelines. Anti-war forces in the United States and across the world may have different analyses of Russia, Ukraine, and this tragic war, but we can unite around one thing: there is no road to peace if US government policy remains to obstruct negotiations and send endless weapons into the war zone. We, people of conscience, are coming together to demand that there be a radical shift in the direction of US military and foreign policy. NATO expansion must end. Money must be spent on education, healthcare, and housing, not the war machine. We demand peace, not war. Join us!" 

Speakers in this episode include: 

Claudia De La Cruz, The People's Forum 

Brian Becker, ANSWER Coalition

Thanks to the Co-Hosts: THE PEOPLE'S FORUM: https://peoplesforum.org and The ANSWER Coalition: www.answercoalition.org You can watch the entire event at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asndac1ETFk

The Real Path to Peace in Ukraine part 1, Monday 12/19/22, 8pm PST, premieres on YouTube 12/15 2pm PST

NEGOTIATIONS- YES! ESCALATION- NO!

This is an edited for TV version of a historic assembly that happened November 19th, 2022 at the People's Forum in New York City calling for a people's movement to rise up for a negotiated settlement in Ukraine. The event was hosted by Manolo De Los Santos of The People's Forum and featured many extraordinary speakers such as Medea Benjamin, Noam Chomsky, Jill Stein, Brian Becker, Vijay Prashad, & Eugene Puryear. We will be broadcasting excerpts of the event in multiple parts.

"The moment is now to inaugurate a new, multi-national, grassroots movement to advocate for the end to the current war in Ukraine. The stakes are too real and the dangers too great for the peoples of the word to remain on the sidelines. Anti-war forces in the United States and across the world may have different analyses of Russia, Ukraine, and this tragic war, but we can unite around one thing: there is no road to peace if US government policy remains to obstruct negotiations and send endless weapons into the war zone. We, people of conscience, are coming together to demand that there be a radical shift in the direction of US military and foreign policy. NATO expansion must end. Money must be spent on education, healthcare, and housing, not the war machine. We demand peace, not war. Join us!"

Speakers in this episode include:

Medea Benjamin, CODEPINK author of "War in Ukraine : Making Sense of a Senseless Conflict"
Noam Chomsky, Theoretical Linguist, author of "Manufacturing Consent"
Jill Stein, Former Green Party Presidential Nominee

Thanks to the Co-Hosts: THE PEOPLE'S FORUM: https://peoplesforum.org and The ANSWER Coalition: www.answercoalition.org You can watch the entire event at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asndac1ETFk

Cold War Truth Commission part 8: Cold War or Barbaric Imperialism?, Monday 11/28/22, 8pm PST, premieres on YouTube 11/24 2pm PST

The Cold War Truth Commission exposes U.S. illegal and immoral actions in the name of Anti-communism at home and abroad. And shows how today's pervasive violence and injustice-both at home and abroad-is intimately tied up to the perpetration of the Cold War. Without truth about the U.S. Cold War, there can be no true Reconciliation for our times. This week, the eighth installment- Cold War or Barbaric Imperialism? features:

* Ann Wright -Inside and Outside the Military Industrial Complex

* Jodie Evans -Historical and Current US Cold War Against China

* John Parker -The Cold War and Continued Conflict with Syria

* Miguel Angel -The Ongoing US Cold War Against Honduras

The program hosts are Rachel Bruhnke of Witness For Peace Southwest and Frank Dorrel of ADDICTED To WAR.

Endorsers: CODEPINK, WORLD BEYOND WAR, ROOTSACTION, KPFK 90.7 FM Radio, Veterans For Peace, CovertAction Magazine, Media Freedom Foundation, Project Censored, PeaceWorkers, Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power In Space, School of The Americas Watch, Harriet Tubman Center For Social Justice, Anti-Racist Action, COVID-19 Global Solidarity Coalition, Women Against Military Madness & ADDICTED To WAR

Thanks to Witness For Peace Southwest, CODEPINK & Addicted To War.
Recorded March 21st 2021

Ralph Engelman and Carey Shenkman: A Century of Repression, Monday 11/21/22, 8pm PST, premieres on YouTube 11/17 2pm PST

Journalism professor Ralph Engelman joins civil rights and constitutional law litigator Carey Shenkman to talk about their new book A Century of Repression at this book launch event. This book offers an unprecedented and panoramic history of the use of the Espionage Act of 1917, pointing to it as the most important yet least understood law in modern American history that threatens freedom of the press. From the two World Wars, to the Cold War, to the War on Terror, the Act serves to control information about U.S. military and foreign policy, providing cover for the settling of political scores, illegal break-ins, and prosecutorial misconduct. The cases of Eugene Debs, John S. Service, Daniel Ellsberg, Chelsea Manning, Edward Snowden, and Julian Assange, among others, reveal the threat posed to whistleblowers, government critics, and journalists alike. As the authors meticulously illustrate, the Espionage Act was always about quashing political dissent, and persecuting whistleblowers and journalists and never about catching spies. The treatment of the Act’s trajectory also offers new perspectives on American liberalism as well as the evolution of the FBI and the civil liberties movement in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. 

This is an edited for TV version of an event recorded at The People’s Forum in NY on Oct 26, 2022. 

Thanks to The People’s Forum [peoplesforum.org] 

Support independent bookstores [1804books.com]

Tom Rogers: Nuclear Weapons from Opposition to Abolition, Monday 11/14/22, 8pm PST, premieres on YouTube 11/10 2pm PST

Tom Rogers was a career Submarine officer who rose to be captain of a nuclear sub. He later began to raise his voice against what he saw as a national security strategy flawed by its reliance on weapons that would cause a global holocaust. After he retired, he became an advocate for nuclear weapons abolition, and has been arrested at least 10 times blocking the gates at the Trident submarine base in Bangor, Washington, site of the largest concentration of deployed U.S. nuclear weapons. In this presentation Tom lays out how a procedure for elimination of nuclear weapons to comply with the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (now international law), could be implemented. 

Recorded 10/22/22 at the Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action in Poulsbo, WA

Dennis Kucinich: What Happened to the Party of Peace?, Monday 11/07/22, 8pm PST, premieres on YouTube 11/03 2pm PST

Dennis Kucinich, is incensed over the Congressional Progressive Caucus being forced to retract a letter calling for peace negotiations with Russia. The letter signed by 30 members of the Progressive Caucus and submitted by caucus chair Pramila Jayapal was withdrawn the next day following an uproar from other Democrats. Dennis Kucinich is a former Congressmember (D-Ohio) and former Mayor of Cleveland. He was also a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in 2004 and 2008. He advocated for a Department of Peace when he was in Congress and led the opposition to US wars of choice in Iraq, Syria, and Libya. We talk to Dennis about the implications of the withdrawal and his book which came out last year, The Division of Light and Power.

Jeffery Sachs and Scott Ritter: The Pathway to Peace, Monday 10/24/22, 8pm PST, premieres on YouTube 10/20 2pm PST

This program features a talk by Jeffrey Sachs presented by Brooklyn for Peace titled "The Pathway to a Negotiated Peace in Ukraine" given October 6, 2022. The talk lasts about 35 minutes. After that we broadcast the remainder of Joe Lombardo's interview with Scott Ritter presented by UNAC- The United National Antiwar Coalition recorded September 30, 2022. 

Sachs talks about why he thinks the crisis in Ukraine is really a reckless US proxy war on Russia perpetrated by a small handful of people at the top of the US power structure (neocons) and why he believes it has little chance of success and a big chance of triggering nuclear war. See: Jeffrey Sachs- Ukraine is the Latest Neocon Disaster. This is why he believes it necessary for active intervention by organized popular resistance to demand Congress stop the war. 

Then, in the remaining portion of the interview with Scott Ritter, the discussion turns to the information war. Lombardo asks about Ritter being labeled an "information terrorist" and targeted for assassination along with a number of other journalists and whistleblowers on the Ukrainian hit list- Mirotvorets. Ritter commented that this wasn't his "first rodeo" and hearkened back to when he was exposing that the United Nations weapons inspection team he ran found no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. He was targeted by the US government. Ritter said that he fully knew what it's like when "truth has been deemed to be the enemy". 

Professor Jeffrey Sachs is a world-renowned economics professor, bestselling author, innovative educator, and global leader in sustainable development. 

He is widely recognized for bold and effective strategies to address complex challenges including the escape from extreme poverty, the global battle against human-induced climate change, international debt and financial crises, national economic reforms, and the control of pandemic and epidemic diseases. 

Sachs serves as the Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, where he holds the rank of University Professor. Sachs held the position of Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University from 2002 to 2016. He is President of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, Chair of the Lancet COVID-19 Commission, Co-Chair of the UN Council of Engineers for the Energy Transition, Commissioner of the UN Broadband Commission for Development, Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah Honorary Distinguished Professor of Sustainable Development at Sunway University, academician of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences at the Vatican, and an SDG Advocate for UN Secretary-General António Guterres. From 2001-18, Sachs served as Special Advisor to UN Secretaries-General Kofi Annan (2001-7), Ban Ki-moon (2008-16), and António Guterres (2017-18). 

Sachs has authored and edited numerous books, including three New York Times bestsellers: The End of Poverty (2005), Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet (2008), and The Price of Civilization (2011). Sachs was the co-recipient of the 2015 Blue Planet Prize, the leading global prize for environmental leadership. Read his full bio. https://www.jeffsachs.org/ 

Scott Ritter is an author and pundit and a former United States Marine Corps intelligence officer and United Nations weapons inspector. He served as a junior military analyst during Operation Desert Storm[3] and then as a member of the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) overseeing the disarmament of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in Iraq from 1991 to 1998, from which he resigned in protest and became a critic of United States foreign policy in the Middle East. Prior to the U.S. invasion of Iraq in March 2003, Ritter stated that Iraq possessed no significant weapons of mass destruction (WMD) capabilities. He became a popular anti-war figure and talk show commentator as a result of his stance. 

Thanks to Brooklyn for Peace (brooklynpeace.org) and The United National Antiwar Coalition (unacpeace.org)

Scott Ritter: Ukraine - The Developing Situation, Monday 10/10/22, 8pm PST, premieres on YouTube 10/6 2pm PST

This is an edited for television version of an extraordinary interview with former Marine Corps Colonel turned whistleblower Scott Ritter. Pirate TV has been featuring Scott Ritter going back to the days when as the former officer in charge of intelligence operations for the United Nations from 1991 to 1998 for (UNSCOM) United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) he exposed that contrary to Bush Administration propaganda, the UN found no Weapons of Mass Destruction or WMD manufacturing facilities in Iraq- the Administration's chief pretext for war. A war that killed over a million people and destabilized the Middle East. The necessity of conscience has thrust Ritter back in the limelight once again exposing the lies being perpetrated to justify the current proxy war on Russia.
With the help of Joe Lombardo - Coordinator of the United National Antiwar Coalition speaking from London, they give us an analysis of the developing events of recent weeks that you are not likely to hear anywhere else. They discuss the four territories in the Eastern and Southern part of the Ukraine where the people choose to become part of Russia, the partial mobilization of reserve forces in Russia, the Ukrainian offensive in Kherson and economic fallout from the US/EU imposed sanctions that seem to be sinking the economies, especially of NATO countries as well as the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines. Join us for an analysis of what it all means, what we can expect in the coming days and how we get peace in the region.
Watch the entire webinar here: https://www.unacpeace.org/
Recorded 9/30/22 Thanks to UNAC the United National Antiwar Coalition

David Swanson: A Call for the Universal Abolition of Nuclear Weapons, Monday 10/3/22, 8pm PST, premieres on YouTube 9/29 2pm PST

On Saturday, September 24, 2022 a rally was held to call for the universal abolition of nuclear weapons In Seattle WA. The event was organized by volunteers from the Citizens for the Universal Abolition of Nuclear Weapons with collaboration from Veterans for Peace, Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action, WorldBeyondWar.org and other activists working on nuclear disarmament. The event kicked off at Cal Anderson Park in Seattle and featured a march to and rally at the Henry M. Jackson Federal Building where are David Swanson of World Beyond War gave his keynote speech. Pirate TV was there. In addition to David Swanson's powerful talk, this video features several others:

Kathy Railsback is a practicing immigration lawyer and activist in residence at the Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action located on the border of the Kitsap submarine base, the largest stockpile of nuclear weapons in the Western Hemisphere. She talks a little bit about Ground Zero and the campaign for nuclear disarmament.

Tom Rogers has been a member of Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action in Poulsbo since 2004. A retired Navy Captain, he served in various capacities in the US Submarine Force from 1967 to 1998, including command of a nuclear fast attack submarine from 1988 to 1991. Since coming to Ground Zero he has provided a combination of operational experience with nuclear weapons and the willingness to use that expertise as a nuclear weapons abolitionist.

Rachel Hoffman is the granddaughter of nuclear testing survivors from the Marshall Islands. Stories of nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands have been blanketed in secrecy. Rachel wants to unveil the secrecy and plead for nuclear peace in our world. The entire livelihoods of Marshallese have shifted culturally and economically because of the nuclear testing and imperialism in their islands. Marshallese living in the United States do not have a complete set of rights like that of U.S. citizens. Advocacy for the people of the Marshall Islands is needed in all spheres of life. Rachel is providing this advocacy as an Elementary School teacher and spokesperson for Marshallese students and families in Snohomish County. She also serves as a Program Director with Marshallese Association of North Puget Sound which seeks to meet families' basic needs, to revitalize the Marshallese culture, and to create a network of support so that the people of the Marshall Islands may thrive.

David Swanson is an author, activist, journalist, and radio host. He is executive director of WorldBeyondWar.org and campaign coordinator for RootsAction.org. Swanson's books include War Is A Lie. He blogs at DavidSwanson.org and WarIsACrime.org. He hosts Talk World Radio. He is a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, and U.S. Peace Prize recipient.

Thanks to Glen Milner for recording assistance. Recorded September 24th 2022
See also: abolishnuclearweapons.org

Roger Waters: War, Peace, Art and Activism, Monday 8/22/22, 8pm PST, premieres on YouTube 6/23 2pm PST

Pink Floyd cofounder Roger Waters joins David Swanson, Executive Director of World Beyond War and historian Todd Pierce in a rousing discussion of current events including the proxy war in Ukraine, the case of Julian Assange, Palestine, the media, and the role of art and music in activism.

The 78 year old music icon, Waters is currently on a tour that he has dubbed the "This Is Not A Drill" tour which he says is intended to be part of a "global movement" driving home themes of war, poverty and injustice. The concerts are tantamount to a series of spectacular political rallies with tabling from Vets For Peace and other social justice groups. Originally scheduled just prior to the US presidential elections in 2020, the tour was postponed due to the pandemic. In a video announcing the tour, Waters said "This tour will be part of a global movement by people who are concerned by others to affect the change that is necessary. That’s why we’re going on the road." His passion comes through loud and clear in this discussion.

Roger Waters co-founded the progressive rock band Pink Floyd in 1965 which he played with until 1985 after which he embarked on a solo career releasing several more albums. Roger is one of the highest grossing performers of all time.

David Swanson is an American anti-war activist, blogger and prolific author. He is the Executive Director of World Beyond War which he co-founded with long time anti war tax organizer, David Hartsough.

Major Todd Pierce (Retired) was with the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General Corp and his job was to defend three of the detainees at Guantanamo Bay. He is a military historian and activist.

Thanks to:
Project for the Study of American Militarism,
World BEYOND War,
Women Against Military Madness,
CODE PINK,
Veterans For Peace,
Andy Worthington,
Mondoweiss,
Just Peace Advocates/Mouvement Pour Une Paix Juste,
Antiwar.com,
RootsAction.org,
Canadian BDS Coalition,
UNAC,
Twin Cities Assange Defense,
Canadian Foreign Policy Institute,
DC Action for Assange.

To see the entire unedited for a TV webinar go to: https://worldbeyondwar.org/roger-waters-on-war-peace-and-music/
Recorded Aug 8, 2022

Cold War Truth Commission part 7: War and the Global Power Elite, Monday 6/27/22, 8pm PST, premieres on YouTube 6/23 2pm PST

The Cold War Truth Commission exposes U.S. illegal and immoral actions in the name of Anti-communism at home and abroad. And shows how today's pervasive violence and injustice-both at home and abroad-is intimately tied up to the perpetration of the Cold War. Without truth about the U.S. Cold War, there can be no true Reconciliation for our times. This week, the seventh installment- War and the Global Power Elite, features: 

* Carl Boggs- The Environmental Catastrophe of Militarism and the US Cold War 

* Medea Benjamin- The US Cold War vs African Liberation Struggles 

* Father Roy Bourgeois- School of Assassins (Video) 

* Nuri Ronaghy- Origins of US Iranian Tension 

* Peter Phillips- The NSA and CIA Protects Concentrated Global Capitalism 

The program hosts are Rachel Bruhnke of Witness For Peace Southwest and Frank Dorrel of ADDICTED To WAR. 

Endorsers: CODEPINK, WORLD BEYOND WAR, ROOTSACTION, KPFK 90.7 FM Radio, Veterans For Peace, CovertAction Magazine, Media Freedom Foundation, Project Censored, PeaceWorkers, Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power In Space, School of The Americas Watch, Harriet Tubman Center For Social Justice, Anti-Racist Action, COVID-19 Global Solidarity Coalition, Women Against Military Madness & ADDICTED To WAR 

Thanks to Witness For Peace Southwest, CODEPINK & Addicted To War. 

Recorded March 21st 2021 

Where is the War in Ukraine Going and What Should be the Response of the Peace Movement? Part one, Monday 6/13/22, 8pm PST, premieres on YouTube 6/9 2pm PST


Where is the War in Ukraine Going and What Should be the Response of the Peace Movement? Part two, Monday 6/20/22, 8pm PST, premieres on YouTube 6/9 2pm PST

This is an edited for television version of a discussion convened by the United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC) on May 23rd 2022. This will be broadcast in two parts. Speakers include: 

Scott Ritter – Former UN Weapons Inspector, 
Ajamu Baraka – Black Alliance for Peace, 
Sara Flounders – International Action Center, 
Alan Freeman – International Manifesto Group, 
Moderator – Joe Lombardo, UNAC Coordinator 

There is much disagreement among peace activists and in general on the left concerning the role of the peace movement and whether they should be supporting US policy in Ukraine. This dispute has gotten increasingly heated. Our movement has been affected by the massive propaganda and censorship that we are experiencing in the US. Peace activist Bruce Gagnon, co-founder of Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space said on a recent panel that he thought the dispute was between “Liberal Democrats” and “Anti-imperialists”. I certainly understand what he is getting at. This panel would definitely fit in to the “Anti-Imperialist” faction. 

Part One- This discussion of the present situation in Ukraine includes the opening statements of the panelists and opens with a skillful breakdown of the “dominant narrative” unanimously perpetrated by the western corporate press, followed by an excellent summary of the historical context and facts that the press and giant social media conglomerates [in war-drum mode] are filtering out or actively censoring. The Panelists then elaborate with their analysis of the historical, geopolitical and economic implications as well as positions the peace movement might take. -Since this war brings the US in direct confrontation with Russia, a major nuclear power. 

Part Two recaps some of the most important points and then launches into a discussion of how the media is suddenly soft pedaling and playing down the use of neo-fascist elements such as the Asov Battalion and the Right Sector in the government of Ukraine and as a major component of the war effort. The discussion goes on to further examine the position of the peace movement in regards to ending the war. 

Thanks to United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC)
Watch the unedited version on the UNAC website: 
https://www.unacpeace.org/

Bruce Gagnon: Ukraine: Tracing the Roots of the Conflict, Monday 6/6/22, 8pm PST, premieres on YouTube 5/26 2pm PST

Joe Manchin, told the World Economic Forum on the day this was recorded [5/24/22] that he opposes any kind of peace agreement in Ukraine and only wants total victory with the ultimate goal of regime change in Russia. Mansion called the war an "opportunity." “I believe strongly that I have never seen, and the people I talk strategically have never seen, an opportunity more than this, to do what needs to be done." On March 26th Joe Biden admitted that the war was about regime change in Russia when he said, Vladimir Putin "cannot remain in power," and then walked it back a few days later. Then in late April, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin let loose that the U.S.'s 'goal' in Ukraine is to see Russia 'weakened'. The corporate media is spinning this as a "policy shift". Needless to say, ending the war and saving lives doesn't appear to be on the agenda.

Well, if you haven't yet figured out that the current crisis in Ukraine is a proxy war on Russia engineered by the United States in order to bring about regime change, keep an ear, the neocons running the foreign policy are just arrogant and careless enough to tell you. One person who has been making the case for this analogy all along is Bruce Gagnon. He laid this all out for us a year ago. This week we bring him back to give us an update and a little bit of history of how the US and NATO have been deliberately stoking this war for decades. 

Bruce Gagnon is co-founder and coordinator of the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space, he fights the reach of corporate greed into space, which pits him against most Washington officials. 

See: https://space4peace.blogspot.com Recorded 5/24/22

Ray McGovern: The Growing Possibility of Nuclear War over Ukraine, Monday 5/23/22, 8pm PST, premieres on YouTube 5/19 2pm PST

Ray McGovern says US officials are being illogical and nonchalant about the likelihood that Russia will use nuclear weapons to deter a military defeat in Ukraine.

See: US Counting On Putin To Signal Before Using Nuclear Weapons 

Former Central Intelligence Agency officer turned political activist, McGovern was a CIA analyst from 1963 to 1990, and in the 1980s chaired National Intelligence Estimates and prepared the President's Daily Brief. Ray McGovern is an activist who writes and lectures about, among other issues, war and the role of CIA.

He holds an M.A. in Russian Studies from Fordham University, a certificate in Theological Studies from Georgetown University, and is a graduate of Harvard Business School's Advanced Management Program. Ray co-founded Veterans Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) in 2003.

Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) is a group of former officers of the United States Intelligence Community which formed in January 2003. In February 2003, the group issued a statement accusing the Bush administration of misrepresenting U.S. national intelligence information in order to push the US and its allies toward that year's US-led invasion of Iraq. The group issued a letter stating that intelligence analysts were not being heeded by policy makers. The group initially numbered 25, mostly retired analysts.

Thanks to: Nuclear Abolition Working Group, Veterans For Peace

Recorded Friday, May 13, 2022

Nancy MacLean: The Pre-History and Likely Sequels of the Insurrection at the US Capitol, Monday 5/9/22, 8pm PST, premieres on YouTube 5/5 2pm PST

The attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, was the most violent assault on democracy in modern American history, with three rings of activity: a large outer circle of avid supporters who believed the Big Lie, a smaller number of resolute white-power radicals, and a suited inner circle that strategized to overthrow the election, exploiting federalism to achieve its ends. Nancy MacLean, author of "Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right's Stealth Plan for America" explains how each of these three elements is the product of decades of intentional cultivation.

Thanks to the National Humanities Center https://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/ Recorded 3/2/22

Cuba's Life Task: Combatting Climate Change, Monday 5/2/22, 8pm PST, premieres on YouTube 4/28 2pm PST

We talk to Dr Helen Yaffe who shares her new documentary with us.

Climate change is among the world's greatest challenges. As a small Caribbean island, Cuba is disproportionately affected by climate change through extreme weather events. Up to 10% of Cuban territory could be submerged by the end of the century, wiping out coastal towns, polluting water supplies, destroying agricultural lands and forcing one million people to relocate. Finding solutions is now essential.

In this documentary, Dr Helen Yaffe goes to Cuba to find out about 'Tarea Vida' (Life Task), a long-term state plan to protect the population, environment and the economy from climate change. The Cuban approach combines environmental science, natural solutions and community participation in strategies for adaptation and mitigation.

Produced by DaniFilms with Dr Helen Yaffe from the University of Glasgow for the COP26 conference in Glasgow.

Helen Yaffe is a Visiting Fellow at the Latin America and Caribbean Centre and a Lecturer in Economic and Social History in the University of Glasgow. Helen is an economic historian specializing in Cuba and Latin America, the history of economics, and the political economy of late development. She is the author of several books including: "We Are Cuba! How a revolutionary people survived in post-Soviet world."

Thanks to DaniFilms

 
Scott Ritter: A Conversation About Ukraine Part 1 , Monday 4/18/22, 8pm PST, premieres on YouTube 4/14 2pm PST

Scott Ritter: A Conversation About Ukraine Part 2 , Monday 4/25/22, 8pm PST, premieres on YouTube 4/14 2pm PST

This is an interview with Scott Ritter hosted by Margaret Flowers and Joe Lombardo of the United National AntiWar Coalition. The interview was recorded on April 6th and will be broadcast in two parts. 

Scott Ritter was the UN weapons inspector who, during the Iraq War told the truth that we found no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. He became outspoken about this, which undercut the main reason the US used to invade and occupy Iraq. As with the Iraq War, Scott Ritter is outspoken about the present war in Ukraine, in which we are again hearing US lies about the reasons for, and the events happening in the Ukraine War. His vast experience and knowledge working in the military and with various international agencies helps expose the truth about what is happening in Ukraine. Thanks to the United National AntiWar Coalition to see the original version of this talk or donate, go to: www.unacpeace.org vast experience and knowledge working in the military and with various international agencies helps expose the truth about what is happening in Ukraine.

Thanks to the United National AntiWar Coalition to see the original version of this talk or donate, go to: www.unacpeace.org

 
Harvey Wasserman: Stop Russian Roulette!, Monday 4/10/22, 8pm PST, premieres on YouTube 4/7 2pm PST

This week we talk with world renown nuke expert Harvey Wasserman. 

With 50 years of experience writing and researching nuclear power, author/expert/activist Harvey Wasserman warns that even a “conventional” war in Ukraine could lead to Apocalyptic radiation releases, killing millions and costing trillions. Wasserman warns that even minor disruptions, sabotage or explosions could lead to Chernobyl-sized disasters at any one of the 15 reactors now operating in Ukraine. Radiation releases from Chernobyl itself, he says, killed more than a million humans worldwide, irradiated thousands of square miles of land and water, and cost trillions in destroyed property. 

Wasserman began researching and writing on atomic power in 1973. Among very few journalists, he investigated the health impacts of Three Mile Island up close and personal. He co-authored KILLING OUR OWN: The Disaster of America’s Experience with Atomic Radiation, with ensuing media appearances on TODAY, NIGHTLINE, PHIL DONAHUE, DEMOCRACY NOW, THOM HARTMANN, CHARLIE ROSE and numerous other major outlets. He is the author of 21 books. 

He writes regularly for a wide internet readership through Ecowatch, solartopia.org, freepress.org and nukefree.org, which he edits. His article have also appeared at Commondreams, CounterPunch, HuffingtonPost, Buzzflash and others. He hosts the Solartopia Green Power & Wellness Show at https://greenpowerwellnessshow.podbean.com/. 

In 2004 Harvey and Bob Fitrakis broke many of the major stories on the theft of the 2004 presidential election in Ohio. Called “the Woodward and Bernstein” of election protection by Rev. Jackson Jackson, Bob and Harvey have published six books on the American art of vote counting and curtailment. We'll talk about his work with Freepress.org and the organization he co-founded the Grassroots Election Protection Coalition which has a Zoom conference every Monday 5 P.M. ET 2 P.M. See: https://grassrootsep.org/. 

Recorded 4/1/22

 
Media Censorship of Voices for Peace , Monday 4/3/22, 8pm PST, premieres on YouTube 3/20 2pm PST

As U.S. media reports a narrow narrative on the war in Ukraine, social media platforms is increasingly censoring critical voices for peace. Join us for a discussion between Abby Martin, Lee Camp, Chris Hedges, and Jodie Evans on the impacts and implications of this censorship.

Featured Guests:

Lee Camp is an American writer and television host.

Abby Martin is an American journalist, TV presenter, filmmaker, and activist. She founded Empire Files and co-found the citizen journalism website Media Roots and serves on the board of directors for the Media Freedom Foundation which manages Project Censored.

Chris Hedges is an American journalist, Presbyterian minister, and author. A former reporter for The New York Times, Hedges is a progressive commentator, activist, and critic of American liberalism.

All these voices have been censored, as they are voices that speak for peace and don’t carry the imperialist narrative.

Thanks to CODEPINK www.codepink.org

This is an edited for TV version. See the original at https://www.codepink.org/u_s_media_censorship_of_voices_for_peace

Statement from Chris Hedges:  "I received no inquiry or notice from YouTube. I vanished. In totalitarian systems you exist, then you don’t. I suppose this was done in the name of censoring Russian propaganda, although I have a hard time seeing how a detailed discussion of “Ulysses” or the biographies of Susan Sontag and J. Robert Oppenheimer had any connection in the eyes of the most obtuse censors in Silicon Valley with Vladimir Putin. Indeed, there is not one show that dealt with Russia. I was on RT because, as a critic of US imperialism, militarism, the corporate control of the two ruling parties, and especially because I support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel, I was blacklisted.  I was on RT for the same reason the dissident Vaclav Havel, who I knew, was on Voice of America during the communist regime in Czechoslovakia. It was that or not be heard. Havel had no more love for the policies of Washington than I have for those of Moscow.

Are we a more informed and better society because of this censorship? Is this a world we want to inhabit where those who know everything about us and about whom we know nothing can instantly erase us? If this happens to me, it can happen to you, to any critic anywhere who challenges the dominant narrative. And that is where we are headed as the ruling elites refuse to respond to the disenfranchisement and suffering of the working class, opting not for social and political change or the curbing of the rapacious power and obscene wealth of our oligarchic rulers, but instead imposing iron control over information, as if that will solve the mounting social unrest and vast political and social divides.  

The most vocal cheerleaders for this censorship are the liberal class."

Recorded March 21, 2022

 
Ted Postol: The Ukraine Conflict and the Danger of Accidental Nuclear War, Monday 3/28/22, 8pm PST, premieres on YouTube 3/21 2pm PST

Ted Postol joined the VFP Nuclear Abolition Working Group meeting to discuss the possibility of accidental nuclear war, especially considering the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the increasing support for Ukraine by the US and Nato. In this extended show, Ted, who has been working on these issues at the highest levels on US government with interactions with colleagues in Russia, explains the US nuclear potential, the devastation possible, and the corner that Putin finds himself in. So does Putin escalate to hopefully deescalate? What might give Putin an off-ramp to end this?

Ted Postol is Professor Emeritus at MIT and former Senior Advisor to the Chief of Naval Operations on Nuclear Issues and Policy.

Thanks to the VFP Nuclear Abolition Working Group

Recorded 3/12/22

Ray McGovern Sheds Light on the Ukraine Showdown, Monday 2/21/22, 8pm PST, premieres on YouTube 2/17 2pm PST

On Friday, February 12, Ray McGovern spoke with the Veterans For Peace Nuclear Abolition Working Group about the showdown between the US/NATO and Russia over Ukraine.

Ray McGovern is a former CIA analyst who was the branch chief for Soviet foreign policy in the 60s. In the 80s he chaired National Intelligence Estimates and prepared the President's Daily Brief. He speaks fluent Russian. He is the co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) and an Advisory Board member of Veterans For Peace.

Thanks to Veterans For Peace
2/12/22

Jim Freeman: How the Filthy Rich Profit From Racism, Monday 2/14/21, 8pm PST, premieres on YouTube 1/10 2pm PST

S. Brian Willson: Election Meddling, Covert-Ops, and Propaganda, Monday 1/24/21 8pm PST, premieres on YouTube 1/20 2pm PST

The Cold War Truth Commission part 6: The Cold War on the Mind, Monday 1/10/21 8pm PST, premieres on YouTube 1/6 2pm PST

The Cold War Truth Commission exposes U.S. illegal and immoral actions in the name of Anti-communism at home and abroad. And shows how today's pervasive violence and injustice-both at home and abroad-is intimately tied up to the perpetration of the Cold War. Without truth about the U.S. Cold War, there can be no true Reconciliation for our times.
This week, the sixth installment- The Cold War on the Mind, features:

*Jeff Cohen- U.S. News Media: The Enduring Cold War Legacy
*Peter McLaren- The US Cold War Against Liberation Theology
*Gail Walker- Lucius Walker: The Legacy of a Visionary Pastor for Peace
*Emily Dorrel- TikTok: A Warning on American Hypocrisy
*Alma Bruhnke- The Pledge of Allegiance, “God” and the US Cold War
*Marcy Winograd- The Cold War in the US Classroom  
*Eric Mann Combating Anti-Communism in the 1960s

The program hosts are Rachel Bruhnke of Witness For Peace Southwest and Frank Dorrel of ADDICTED To WAR.

Endorsers: CODEPINK, WORLD BEYOND WAR, ROOTSACTION, KPFK 90.7 FM Radio, Veterans For Peace, CovertAction Magazine, Media Freedom Foundation, Project Censored, PeaceWorkers, Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power In Space, School of The Americas Watch, Harriet Tubman Center For Social Justice, Anti-Racist Action, COVID-19 Global Solidarity Coalition, Women Against Military Madness & ADDICTED To WAR

Thanks to Witness For Peace Southwest, CODEPINK & Addicted To War. Recorded March 21st 2021