Political satirist, civil rights activist, and journalist Randy Credico interviews artists, activists, intellectuals and politicians about the imprisonment and persecution of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.
John Shipton, the father of persecuted journalist Julian Assange , continues his fierce and fearless advocacy in defense of his son. Mr Shipton blasts the UK and US governments for the abominable, torturous treatment of the Wikileaks founder and laments the ominous , kafkaedque show trial that has dragged on for more than 2 years.Rebecca Vincent is the Director of International Campaigns for Reporters Without Borders, known internationally as Reporters sans frontières (RSF), which works to promote and defend press freedom around the world. She is an American-British human rights campaigner, writer and former diplomat with an expertise in freedom of expression. Rebecca has coordinated a number of high profile international human rights campaigns. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, holds an MA in Human Rights from University College London and has published widely.
On the eve of the preliminary hearing of the US' appeal in a UK High re Assange, Professor Nils Melzer, the esteemed UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, returns to Countdown for an informative and lively discussion revolving around the upcoming English version of his critically acclaimed blockbuster bestseller The Trial of Julian Assange. Prof. Melzer spends the last portion of the interview analyzing, dissecting and speculating on the lower court's narrow decision not to extradite Assange and what it may auger during the appeals process.Prof. Nils Melzer is the Human Rights Chair of the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights. He is also Professor of International Law at the University of Glasgow. On 1 November 2016, he took up the function of UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.Prof. Melzer has served for 12 years with the International Committee of the Red Cross as a Legal Adviser, Delegate and Deputy Head of Delegation in various zones of conflict and violence. After leaving the ICRC in 2011, he held academic positions as Research Director of the Swiss Competence Centre on Human Rights (University of Zürich), as Swiss Chair for International Humanitarian Law (Geneva Academy) and as Senior Fellow for Emerging Security Challenges (Geneva Centre for Security Policy), and has represented civil society in the Steering Committee of the International Code of Conduct for Private Security Service Providers.In the course of his career, Prof. Melzer has also served as Senior Security Policy Adviser to the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, has carried out advisory mandates for influential institutions such as the United Nations, the European Union, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Swiss Federal Department of Defense, and has regularly been invited to provide expert testimonies, including to the UN First Committee, the UN CCW, the UNSG Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters, and various Parliamentary Commissions of the European Union, Germany and Switzerland.Prof. Melzer has authored award-winning and widely translated books, including: "Targeted Killing in International Law" (Oxford, 2008, Guggenheim Prize 2009), the ICRC's "Interpretive Guidance on the Notion of Direct Participation in Hostilities" (2009) and the ICRC's official handbook "International Humanitarian Law - a Comprehensive Introduction" (2016), as well as numerous other publications in the field of international law. In view of his expertise in new technologies, Prof. Melzer has been mandated by the EU Parliament to author a legal and policy study on "Human Rights Implications of the Usage of Drones and Robots in Warfare" (2013) and has also co-authored the NATO CCDCOE "Tallinn Manual on the International Law applicable to Cyber Warfare" (Cambridge, 2013), and the NATO MCDC "Policy Guidance Autonomy in Defence Systems", (NATO ACT, 2014).Throughout his career, Prof. Melzer has fought to preserve human dignity and the rule of law through the relentless promotion, reaffirmation and clarification of international legal standards offering protection to those exposed to armed conflicts and other situations of violence.
Thomas Drake is a former senior executive at the National Security Agency, where he blew the whistle on massive multi-billion dollar fraud, the widespread violations of the rights of citizens through secret mass surveillance programs after 9/11, and critical 9/11 intelligence failures. In 2010, he was charged under the draconian Espionage Act for his oath to support and defend the US Constitution. In 2011, the government's case against him collapsed and he went free in a plea deal. He is featured in the “Silenced” documentary as well as the US PBS Frontline special “The United States of Secrets”.In 2017, Drake received his PhD in public policy and administration. His dissertation “Eyewitness to History in Devolution of Democracy and Constitutional Rights Following 9/11” focused on the centrality of the post-9/11 security driven world and the price paid by those who speak truth about the abuse of power and the erosion of our rights and freedoms. He speaks widely on privacy and security issues and the critical need to protect our inalienable human rights. Mr. Drake has a varied career background that includes teaching, information technology, systems and software engineering, code analysis and military and intelligence experience. He is now dedicated to the defense of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Courageous former British Ambassador (and about-to-be-jailed whistleblower) Craig Murray grants a rare interview in order to expose the shocking insider cheating and twisting of British and US law being used to silence and perhaps even kill Julian Assange by keeping him locked up in grim Belmarsh prison while he waits for the British High Court to rule on whether or not to extradite him to the United States, where he would face a kangaroo court trial and almost certain imprisonment for the rest of his life.
John Pilger, the award winning filmmaker/author/journalist , looks back at the last 10 years of captivity of political prisoner Julian Assange on the wikleakeaks founder's 50th birthday—spent for the 3 straight year in isolation inside a small, dank cell in the notorious and squalid Belmarsh "dungeon."Pilger, a longtime close friend and fervent, tireless defender of Mr. Assange, looks back at the persecuted journalist's moral commitment to truth transparency.Pilger, whose 61 documentaries are archived in the British Library, bemoans the toll the past 2 years of confinement have had Mr. Assange and his family.Pilger also excoriates the Biden administration for appealing the UK court's decision to deny the Trump DOJ extradition request and describes the "Assange Effect,” which has prompted other so-called democratic governments, notably the UK and Australian suppress free speech and press."If Assange is extradited to the US, it will be the end of democracy..this is the most important case of the 21st century...we must do everything we can to prevent this from happening,” Pilger concludes ominously.
We examine the politically motivated prosecution of former UK Ambassador, author and human rights crusader Craig Murray who was recently convicted and sentenced to eight months in prison for his dispatches during the controversial trial of his fellow pro Scottish independence activist and ex First Minister Alex Salmons.Investigative journalist Mohamed Elmaazi, who reported extensively on the Murray case , methodically walks us through the proceedings from start to finish.Labor rights activist Dr Deepa Driver shares her experiences working with Murray on a variety of causes.John Shipton, the father of Julian Assange, expresses his admiration and gratitude for the 10 years Murray has worked on behalf of his persecuted son.
UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer shares his thoughts on the verdict in the Chauvin trial for the George Floyd murder and the broader challenges & root causes for Police Brutality in the US & worldwide. Professor Melzer also provides a glimpse at his new bestselling book The Case Of Assange: The Story of a Persecution.
Veteran civil rights attorneys Margaret Ratner Kunstler discuss the extreme importance in the case of Julian Assange, why Attica matters 50 years after the rebellion and their long association and work with the legendary National Lawyers Guild, both of whom are past recipients of NLG's prestigious award.
Sunday, April 11, will mark the two year anniversary of the kidnapping, incarceration, and torture of journalist and publisher Julian Assange.Coincidentally April 11, 2017 marks the four year anniversary of the launch of Assange Countdown to Freedom. That initial show featured both Julian Assange and legendary filmmaker, author and war correspondent John Pilger.Four years since the start of Countdown to Freedom, Pilger returns for his 12th significant appearance and typically pulls no punches in his scorching critique of the US and UK governments' unrelenting ten year persecution of the courageous Wikileaks founder. In addition Mr. Pilger condemns, in no uncertain terms, the traitorous MSM shameless complicity with the powers that be in its continuous sinister attempts to destroy Julian Assange.The multi award winning John Pilger, whose 61 critically important documentaries have been included on the archives of the British Library, categorically expounds on every incident and aspect of the kafkaesque treatment of Assange with his unequalled passion, knowledge and eloquence.In addition, Nathan Fuller, executive director of the Courage Foundation, close the program with an update on Assange's current legal status and upcoming events revolving around the two year arrest anniversary April 11.
Investigative journalist Max Blumenthal returns to Assange Countdown and gives new details on the UC Global spying scandal, details the groundbreaking innovative and influential and history o of Wikileaks brand of journalism.The Grayzone editor also pulls no punches in his biting critique of the MSM who profited off of Assange's revelations and have now cowardly left the courageous persecuted journalist in the foxhole.
Julian Assange's father, John Shipton, joins Randy from NYC. He & Assange's brother, Gabriel Shipton, traveled to the US to garner more public support for Assange and to urge President Trump to pardon Assange during his final days in office. In the end Trump failed to grant a pardon to Assange, Mr. Shipton cited the growing international movement as a vital element in his tireless crusade to free his journalist son. He discusses how it is now up to President Biden to drop the charges against Assange and end the persecution and prosecution of the only journalist ever indicted under the Espionage Act.
Craig Murray and Randy Credico have a more relaxed and hopeful discussion than heretofore. Julian Assange wins this round as the judge ruled against his extradition and finally the possibility of Assange getting out of jail is real. The two explained the otherwise dreadful decision made by the judge who accepted all the retrograde arguments of the prosecution without discussion or even recognition of the defense arguments. A good day for Assange, a bad one for journalism.
Our final 2020 episode, focusing on the kafksesque trial of Julian Assange, is one of the most important, informative and compelling programs of the year, if not of the past 4. We discuss everything from A(ssange) to Z(imbabwe). The combo of the dynamic Sam Adams Award recipients Thomas Drake and Jesselyn Radack is a tour de force. Together, the two are the whistleblower community's Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers or William Powell and Myrna Loy. Jesselyn Radack heads the Whistleblower and Source Protection Program (WHISPeR) at ExposeFacts. As National Security & Human Rights Director of WHISPeR, her work focuses on the issues of secrecy, surveillance, torture and drones, where she has been at the forefront of challenging the government's unprecedented war on whistleblowers, which has become a war journalists, hacktivists, and those who reveal information that the public has right to know but the government wants kept secret.Among her clients are national security and intelligence community employees who have been investigated, charged, or prosecuted under the Espionage Act for allegedly mishandling classified information, including drone whistleblower Brandon Bryant, NSA whistleblowers Edward Snowden, Thomas Drake and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou. She also represents clients bringing whistleblower retaliation complaints in federal court and other administrative bodies. Previously, she headed the National Security and Human Rights program at the Government Accountability Project, a whistleblower protection organization, served on the DC Bar Legal Ethics Committee and worked at the Justice Department for seven years, first as a trial attorney and later as a legal ethics advisor.Thomas Drake is a former senior executive at the National Security Agency, where he blew the whistle on massive multi-billion dollar fraud, the widespread violations of the rights of citizens through secret mass surveillance programs after 9/11, and critical 9/11 intelligence failures. In 2010, he was charged under the draconian Espionage Act for his oath to support and defend the US Constitution. In 2011, the government's case against him collapsed and he went free in a plea deal. He is featured in the “Silenced” documentary as well as the US PBS Frontline special “The United States of Secrets”.In 2017, Drake received his PhD in public policy and administration. His dissertation “Eyewitness to History in Devolution of Democracy and Constitutional Rights Following 9/11” focused on the centrality of the post-9/11 security driven world and the price paid by those who speak truth about the abuse of power and the erosion of our rights and freedoms. He speaks widely on privacy and security issues and the critical need to protect our inalienable human rights. Mr. Drake has a varied career background that includes teaching, information technology, systems and software engineering, code analysis and military and intelligence experience. He is now dedicated to the defense of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Former CIA officer turned whistleblower, award winning best selling author John Kiriakou discloses a riveting account of his kafkaesque prosecution and conviction under the 1917 espionage act and sets out it's eerie parallels with the current persecution of Julian Assange. Kiriakou describes the tortuous, solitary life that Assange will faces if he is extradited to the US. He derides the disgraced CIA director John Brennan and faults the mainstream media for leaving behind Brennans dark, deceitful, deadly history and going To the opposite extreme of providing him with a regular platform. In sum, Kiriakou praises Assange for his courage and unparalleled contribution as a journalist and editor of Wikileaks. Rebecca Vincent, director of international campaigns for Reporter Without Borders (WRB) shares a disturbing first-hand account of both phases of the Assange extradition hearings and the intervening legal proceedings. Ms Vincent sets out the many outrageous authoritarian obstacles encountered by RWB and other NGOs in their attempts to monitor the show trial.
UN special rapporteur on torture Dr. Nils Melzer debunks the treacherous smear and disinformation campaign against Julian Assange (he often terms “mobbing”) an assault orchestrated by the U.S. and aided by the U.K., Sweden and Ecuador. Defining the state actions as torture and unjust imprisonment under international law, Melzer sets out the immoral and illegal extradition attempts by the U.S. Moreover, Professor Melzer describes the outrageous disparity between the inhumane treatment and conditions imposed on the Wikileaks founder at Covid plagued Belmarsh high security prison and the luxurious conditions afforded General Augusto Pinochet when the former dictator was living under UK house arrest in a private villa while awaiting Spain's (ultimately failed) extradition request for serious crimes committed during his rule in Chile. Melzer's cogent analysis and urgent appeals to the authorities have been all but silenced by major media sources—adding yet another weapon in the kafkaesque case against Mr. Assange.
Longtime friend and defender of journalist Julian Assange, George Galloway returns to our Countdown series to deliver another passionate, potent and personal plea in support of the persecuted Wikileaks founderMr. Galloway, the charismatic and colorful ex UK MP expounds on his meteoric rise from Dickensian poverty in Dundee to becoming one of the most admired, feared and effective members of the British House Of Commons.Mr. Galloway, the veteran host of the vastly popular MOATS radio broadcast, shares with us his thoughts on why the left and progressive media outlets have been such a dismal failure in communicating and relating with the general population.
On December 2nd , the 161 yr anniversary of the execution of Abolitionist John Brown. special guest Dr. Cornel West dazzled host Randy Credico with his wide and profound understanding and knowledge of the Revolutionary Christian Brown, the history of the Abolition movement, the individuals whose lives Brown touched and the individuals whose lives touched Brown's life.
In the debut program of Season 5 of Assange Countdown To Freedom, legendary filmmaker, author and war correspondent, John Pilger provides insight on the future and fate of the Assange prosecution under a Joe Biden administration. Mr. Pilger also reminds us of the profound and unparalleled importance of the trailblazing WikiLeaks founder's contribution to the world of journalism.Pilger recounts the history of the US' unrelenting and vindictive campaign against the journalism of Julian Assange for his revelations of the government's criminal activities. He elso exposes the complicity of British prosecutors in the frame up of Assange and the ominous nature of the ongoing show trial.Mr Pilger also examines Biden's deplorable multi-decade hawkish record on foreign policy and predicts what we can expect in the future.Pilger also takes a moment to acknowledge the work of the courageous journalist Robert Fisk on the occasion of his death.
Award winning veteran investigative journalist Stefania Maurizi (Il Fatto) discusses her 12 year relationship as a media partner with Wikileaks, her 5 year legal battle with British prosecutors over FOIA requests , her personal experience of being a target of the UC Global spying operation, the significance of cable-gate, the war logs, Vault 7 and other Wikileaks publications , and much more on the season finale of Assange Countdown to Freedom.
Continuing where we left off in February, Ex UK Diplomat, author and human rights activist Craig Murray summed up his daily unique, lively and colorful dispatches from the Assange extradition hearing public gallery—rife with sharp commentary and ironic analysis of the cruel and malicious prosecution of award winning journalist and publisher Julian Assange. In this exclusive fast paced one hour interview Murray provides a dazzling overview of 17 days of the Kafka show trial now underway at the notorious medieval Old Bailey. The FCO whistleblower Murray with his rapier like aim takes on the ongoing machinations , deceit and complicity of the UK legal system with the immoral and vengeful US DOJ.
In our ongoing series on the bombshell revelations of the CIA's illegal spying on US citizens, investigative journalist Max Blumenthal discusses his latest report on UC Global's spying on Assange, new evidence of its ties to the CIA, and the curious silence of reporters who were spied on by the apparent US intelligence contractor.
Legendary filmmaker, author, and war correspondent John Pilger on the history of the US' unrelenting and vindictive campaign against the journalism of Julian Assange for his revelations of the government's criminal activities. He also exposes the complicity of British prosecutors.not circling its wagons in defense of the internationally acclaimed Wikileaks founder and editor.
Journalist Aaron Maté, a leading critic of the 4-year Russiagate affair, dissects the Senate Intel committee's final report on its inquiry into the subject.Maté is especially critical of what he calls, the "farcical" conclusion that Roger Stone and Jerome Corsi—not only had advance knowledge of the explosive Wikileaks publication of the Podesta emails—but directed its founder Julian Assange on the timing of its release. He decries some of progressive media personalities who have subscribed to and promoted the contrived and wild Stone-Corsi-Assange nexus conspiracy theory. In addition, Mr. Maté blasts the committee for its conscious decision not0 to interview Mr Assange as an essential witness.In the second half of the interview, Maté laments the missed opportunity of the democratic party to focus on the economy, health care and education, rather than investing its future success on its obsession with the Russiagate investigation. He also challenges Joe Biden's reactionary, neo conservative foreign policy record and the Democratic party's presidential nominee's defense of his son Hunter's lucrative lobbying contract with a Ukrainian oil company suspiciously achieved after the then VP's key role in a Ukraine coup. However, in Maté, like other leftists Cornel West, Angela Davis and Noam Chomsky, , makes it clear that he supports voting for Biden in order to avoid the disaster that another 4 years of a Trump presidency would wreak on the U.S. Throughout the interview Maté, a longtime defender supporter of Assange, excoriates the MSM for not circling its wagons in defense of the internationally acclaimed Wikileaks founder and editor.
Historian Dr. Clifford Conner talks about John Paul Marat's unparalleled and unacknowledged influence on the causes and success of the French Revolution—an event Conner describes as arguably the most significant chapter in human history. Conner shares an updated account of his vivid and colorful 1997 book, Jean Paul Marat, only the second English-language biography in the last hundred years of the controversial and often misunderstood French revolutionary.During the program. Dr. Conner compares Marat to persecuted journalist Julian Assange. Like the Wikileaks founder, Marat, the popular and charismatic truth teller, was falsely smeared and accused and arrested. He was forced underground for 3 years until the insurrection of August 10, 1792—the second of the four most significant turning points of the Revolution.Other celebrated and key figures of the French Revolution—Danton, Robespierre, Desmoulins, Hebert, Mirabeau, Freron, Paine, Lafayette—are included in Conner's reflections on Marat's life during this turbulent, world changing epoch. His story concludes with a moment by moment retelling of Charlotte Corday's ghastly murder of the heroic figure.
On location from Nicaragua, Grayzone News' investigative journalist, Ben Norton offers his perspective on the current state of affairs in Nicaragua 41 years after the historic 1979 Sandinista revolution. Norton, who has traveled and reported extensively from throughout Central and South America, excoriates US reactionary policy towards Cuba, Venezuala and Bolivia. He also describes the horrific economic and political conditions in the US controlled failed states that surround Nicaragua. At the outset of this in depth interview Mr Norton slams the mainstream media for not circling the wagons around persecuted award winning, Nobel prize nominated journalist Julian Assange, as his life and liberty are threatened by fraudulent, kafkaesque espionage act charges issued by Bill Barr's DOJ.
Stephen Kinzer, award winning veteran NYT war correspondent, historian and best selling author excoriates the US government's persecution of journalist Julian Assange and laments the MSM abandoning of the Wikileaks founder and editor. He warns that if Assange is extradited and convicted it will have irreversible and treacherous consequences for the right of free speech and press. Kinzer also discusses his fond admiration for the 19th century Black journalist Ida B Wells. Mr. Kinzer strongly condemns the authoritarian government of Turkey for its sweeping repression of dissent including the arbitrary arrest and detention of his close friend Osman Kavala, the courageous outspoken critic of the Erdogan dictatorship.In the second half of the interview, Mr Kinzer teaches a crash course on the grim history of US imperialism and the dark and lurid legacy of the CIA featuring the sadistic career of crank scientist Sidney Gottlieb—the subject of his latest gripping and chilling biography, Poisoner in Chief.
In this in depth interview with Alejandro Bendaña, is noted professor and historian and the foremost expert on the modern history of Nicaragua, he walks US through the political, social, cultural and economic history of Nicaragua from the time of Christopher Columbus landing there in 1502 through its centuries of Spanish colonial rule and and its independence in 1821. In the second half of the interview Dr. Bendaña gives us a fascinating insight into the turbulent political chaos, repression and struggles the ensues the fledgling republic throughout the 19th and 20th century all the way up to the successful triumph of the Sandinista revolution on July 19, 1979.Bendaña, who served as that Nicaragua's revolutionary Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations and Secretary General of the Foreign Ministry during the first Sandinista Government (1979-1990), points out the great achievements of the post Somoza government and its failures. He is harshly critical of the direction the current president of the ruling Ortega family has taken the fragile Central American republic and what needs to be done to restore the historic accomplishments of the revolutionAlejandro Bendaña is also the founder of the Centro de Estudios Internacionales in Managua. Holding a Harvard university PhD, Dr. Bendaña was Tinker Professor of Latin America History at the University of Chicago. He worked for the United Nations and in peace-building programs in Africa, Asia, and Latin America and served as Senior Mediation Advisor in the UN Department of Political Affairs. Bendaña is the author of Power Lines: US Hegemony in the New Global Order (Interlink, New York, 1996); Sandino, Patria y Libertad (Anama, Managua, 2016), and most recently, Buenas al pleito, mujeres en la rebelión de Sandino (Anama, Managua, 2019)
In this first of a 2 part series, with award winning author and investigative journalist Greg Palast, we discuss at length the extreme importance of all journalist to rigorously defend Assange against the ominous and unprecedented espionage act charges indictment facing the Wikileaks founder and editor. Palast scoffs at the notion that Assange 2016 DNC and Podesta revelations were responsible for the victory by Donald Trump. In Palast latest book, How Trump Stole 2020, he conclusively proves that massive election fraud cost the democratic nominee the 2016 election. Palast also documents how the GOP is using the same fraudulent techniques to secure Trump's 2020 reelection.
Live on the Fly host Randy Credico & Afshin Rattansi, host of Going Underground on RT and 2002 SONY WINNER: OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO INTERNATIONAL JOURNALISM, discuss the Julian Assange case & how power uses the law, evident in the show trial hearings of the Wikileaks founder. Randy & Afshin also discuss the current state of journalism and why so few follow in the footsteps of truth tellers like John Pilger or Seymour Hersh. Afshin's fearless style & commitment to uncovering the truth makes his interviews with Oliver Stone, Rafael Correa, Julian Assange, Nils Melzer, John Pilger, Seymour Hersh, Bashar al Assad & more the most riveting & informative broadcasts available. Randy & Afshin also discuss William Kunstler, Ralph Nader, & Governor Cuomo's handling of COVID.
In the finale of our series on Thomas Paine, historian and professor Harvey J Kaye tells the story of "Tom Paine's Bones." Kaye also explains how Thomas Paine has made an impact on many important historical figures and movements: Elizabeth Cady-Stanton and the women's movement, Emerson, Whitman, Twain, and Eleanor Roosevelt. Paine's writings have never been out of print and they remain relevant, resurfacing every generation and inspiring others to fight for democracy.
In Part 3 of our special series on Thomas Paine, historian Harvey Kaye continues to zero in on Paine's precarious life shuttling back and forth between England and Revolutionary France and both the admiration and enmity he receives over the publication of Rights of Man, Age of Reason and Agrarian Justice.Kaye also ruminates on the motivation of Paine's inflammatory open letter to George Washington which led to the dissolution of their 20 year friendship.
Part 2 of our series on revolutionary journalist Tom Paine, award-winning historian Harvey J. Kaye continues expounding on the profound, widespread influence of Paine's inspirational and incendiary pamphlet Common Sense. Kaye also delves deeply into Paine's series of These are the times that try men's souls "American Crisis" pamphlets and how those galvanizing works radically changed the fortunes of the colonial insurrectionists.Professor Kaye, in his unique and colorful style, walks us through Paine's time in the Continental Army, his role as a whistleblower and his trips to Paris to secure funding to finance the war effort.We also discuss Paine's post-war years in the nascent US republic - most notably his plans for an iron bridge. Indeed, iron bridges that would serve as a means of uniting the new thirteen states all the more firmly. We end our part 2 discussion on Paine's return to London and Paris and his writing of the revolutionary "Rights of Man" pamphlets that offered a biting, but cogent response to Edmund Burke's pamphlet, "Reflections on the Revolution in France."
Renowned historian and political writer Harvey J. Kaye walks us, in a most compelling and colorful fashion, through the life, times, inspiration and influence of the most significant figure of the American rebellion and beyond - revolutionary journalist Thomas Paine. In the first of this 3-part series, Professor Kaye expounds on Paine's early working class background in England, his serendipitous friendship with Benjamin Franklin, his work as a magazine editor in Philadelphia, his controversial anti-slavery pamphlet and his incendiary publication Common Sense - the catalyst for a revolution against the British Crown in favor of not only independence, but also the making of a democratic republic!
Lee Camp, political satirist, author and activist is not only a great host, as can be seen from his interviews on Redacted Tonight, Camp is also a sterling guest. During this show he expounds on the persecution and prosecution of Julian Assange, a man he considers the most important and accurate journalist in modern history. He also slams mainstream media for not enthusiastically defending Mr. Assange. He rails against the selective US government's arbitrary censorship of RT and other foreign media outlets. And finally, Mr. Camp excoriates the racist criminal justice system in general while riffing on the failed drug war. Nathan Fuller, executive director of the Courage Foundation, provides an update on the upcoming extradition hearing and the events leading up to it.
Three recovered long lost 15 minute interviews with the legendary NYPD whistleblower Detective Frank Serpico: 2017 Assange Countdown to Freedom episode 4, a powerful and passionate defense of fellow whistleblower Julian Assange; a 2016 interview on the documentary “Frank Serpico” and why he decided to reveal the culture of corruption in the NYPD, and a 2017 Trump inauguration day special.
Host of the Mother of All Talk Shows (MOATS), politician, leading founder of the Workers Party, voice of opposition to Blairism and friend of Julian Assange, George Galloway condemns the inhumane, Kafkaesque treatment of the Wikileaks founder and blasts Assange's UK/US persecutors. Galloway also covers topics from Western revisionism of WW II to the killing of Harry Dunn by the wife of an US diplomat to the power of right wing radio to the defense of Craig Murray, and intervention in Iraq, Syria , Iran and Venezuela. The breathe and scope of his knowledge and understanding of politics and history make this a very powerful program.
Anthony Slide is one of the most important filmographers and archivists in the history of cinema. Ben Wizner is a noted first amendment lawyer who represents Edward Snowden, a fugitive famously charged under the espionage act. He is the Director of ACLU Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project Anthony Slide and Randy share their love of film and Slide displays his encyclopedic knowledge of film history. Central to the show is a discussion of one of the most interesting and painful stories of film history—the case of the prosecution of the producer Robert Goldman, who like Julian Assange and Edward Snowden was charged under the espionage act. Goldman's story is of a filmmaker caught in a political morass because of the timing of the film's release. Ben Wizner presents a clear and frightening history of the Espionage Act and its political underpinning as a tool to silence dissent.
Martin Stolar is a criminal defense attorney who has led the Mass Defense Project of the National Lawyers Guild New York City chapter for decades. Robert Boyle is a criminal and civil rights lawyer who specializes in appellate work and is an expert on U.S. federal grand juries. They discuss their careers representing protesters and political activists and prisoners and recollections of working with their mentor William Kunstler. Julian Assange's prosecution under U.S. law is featured. Boyle also explains aspects of the grand jury proceedings against Chelsea Manning. Nathan Fuller, the head of the Courage Foundation and a Live on the Fly regular, provides an update on upcoming Assange support events.
Exclusive Interview supporting U.S. Intelligence supervision of UC Global's surveillance of Assange at Ecuadoran Embassy. Max Blumenthal, editor of The Grayzone, reveals the identity of the Sheldon Adelson's Las Vegas Sands employee who supervised the UC Global spying of Assange at the Embassy on behalf of U.S. interests. Stefania Maurizi, investigative reporter working for the Italian daily Il Fatto Quotidiano discusses the surveillance by UC Global at the embassy and the intense surveillance techniques used against her because of her coverage of Assange and Wikileaks.
David Reynolds, historian and biographer of John Brown and Harriet Beecher Stowe and author of the forthcoming, “Abe: Abraham Lincoln in His Times” talks about the making of John Brown the revolutionary on the the anniversary of his 220th birthday on May 9, 1800. He lights on the contemporary contributions of journalists, writers, publishers and activists under fire, including Elijah Lovejoy, William Lloyd Garrison, Fredrick Douglass, David Walker, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Reverend Theodore Parker, Henry David Thoreau, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Herman Melville and Richard Hildreth.
Interviews with dedicated Julian Assange activists around the globe: in London, Emily Butlin, famous for coordinating embassy vigils and grassroots organizing since 2011, and Deepa Driver, a London union organizer, academic and lecturer who has brought together a diverse network of international experts and grassroots actors to campaign against the extradition of Julian Assange; in New York, Nathan Fuller, who leads the Courage Foundation's efforts in the US to build a nationwide movement, and Chuck Zlatkin and Bernadette Evangelist, founding members of the Big Apple Coffee Party and NYC Free Assange who in 2019 began a weekly vigil to free Assange and continue in grass roots efforts in his behalf; and in New Zealand, Alex Hills, artist, musician and creator of “Candles for Assange” which grew into regular old fashioned street protests is 50 cities worldwide.
On the 50th Anniversary of the massacre at Kent State, Laurel Krause, Director of the Kent State Truth Tribunal, talks about that fateful day when her sister Allison was among the four students murdered and the work that she has supervised over the last fifty years in search of truth and reconciliation. A brief comment by Julian Assange on Kent State. Nathan Fuller describes court hearing in the Assange case that occurred on May 4, 2020.
Ralph Nader, author, lecturer and noted consumer protection and environmental activist discusses his long political and activist career and the importance and necessity of whistleblowers. Nader slams Pompeo, explains the importance of resistance and warns of the fascist dictatorial tendencies of Trump. He speaks out about Julian Assange for the first time. Steve Skrovam, the multiple Emmy-winner, talks about the making of his documentary on Ralph Nader, An Unresolvable Man. Nathan Fuller, executive director of the Courage Foundation, updates us on coming events in relation to Julian Assange
William Binney Ex-CIA crypto mathematician and whistleblower, and Tim Canova activist law professor and political critic are interviewed, and as a special treat Rafi D'lugoff pianist and composer provides the show's music. Binney provides a more technical understanding of Julian Assange's journalism with an in-depth discussion of the Vault 7 release while Tim Canova talks about his 2016 run for Congress in Florida's 23rd congressional district against Debbie Wasserman-Schultz and the WikiLeaks disclosure of her role in corrupting the Democratic Primary. Two London cab drivers speak out about their support of Assange.
Craig Murray, ex UK ambassador, human rights activist and political blogger and his wife Nadira Alieva Murray, writer, actress, producer and filmmaker get together with Randy to talk about their personal memories of their decade-long close friendship with Julian Assange, his persecution and his separation from his family.
Anya Parampil, investigative journalist with The Grayzone on the profound impact Julian Assange and WikiLeaks has had on the new generation of journalists who are deeply inspired by his courage and sacrifice; Sergio Kiernan, Editor of Argentina's crusading daily Pagina12 on Cablegate's exposure of US attempts to corrupt the government of Argentina; Ray McGovern, retired CIA official and founder of the Sam Adams Association on the nefarious players in the judicial pantomime under the guise of an extradition hearing.
In-depth interviews with investigative journalist Aaron Mate and Courage Foundation Executive Director Nathan Fuller