Podcast appearances and mentions of alan macleod

Subscribe to Bad Faith on Patreon to instantly unlock this episode and our entire premium episode library: http://patreon.com/badfaithpodcast MintPress News reporter Alan MacLeod returns to Bad Faith to tell the story of how Elon Musk was mentored by his CIA handler to become the ultimate insider: a defense contractor for the US government who is now involved in a project to double the number of nuclear bombs in existence, and build an "iron dome" for America which would end the era of "mutually assured destruction" and nuclear peace. How did Mike Griffin, the COO of In-Q-Tel, a private enterprise funded by the CIA, come to have such a close relationship with Musk that Musk named his favorite child Griffin? What is the end goal of Musk's involvement in the defense sector? And how are conservatives like Musk and Tulsi Gabbard negotiating the "America First" anti-interventionism of the base now that they've gone full insider? Subscribe to Bad Faith on YouTube for video of this episode. Find Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod) and Instagram (@badfaithpod). Produced by Armand Aviram. Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands).

While the destruction in the Middle East has been fierce, the media war surrounding who controls the narrative of events has been no less intense. And MintPress News has been caught up in it. Our investigations into Israeli attempts to manipulate public understanding of the genocide in Gaza have drawn the ire of The Jerusalem Post, who recently attempted to cancel us, labeling MintPress as part of a network of Iranian, Russian and Syrian-backed extremist websites pushing antisemitism.Alan MacLeod, senior staff writer and podcast producer at MintPress News, will join the MintCast host to discuss this. Alan's investigations, which revealed a network of former Israeli spies and lobbyists working in newsrooms across America, went viral and were read by hundreds of thousands of people.His report, entitled: “Revealed: The Israeli Spies Writing America's News,” discussed how former agents from Israeli spying group Unit 8200 have found a home in some of the corporate media's most prominent outlets, including Axios and CNN.Unit 8200 is the centerpiece of Israel's surveillance state and has been the source of many of the most controversial spying and hacking scandals of the last decade. Former Unit 8200 agents developed the Pegasus spyware, which was used to snoop on activists, journalists, world leaders and royals around the world.His second investigation cataloged hundreds of ex-Israel lobbyists who went on to work in newsrooms across the country. One example of this is the NBCUniversal network. CNBC's lead work report was, until 2011, a commander in the Israeli Defense Forces before moving back to America to work for the Friends of the IDF. This group raises money for supplies and support for Israeli soldiers, as well as encouraging Americans to enlist in the Israeli military. This pro-Israel bias goes straight to the top. MSNBC's executive producer, Moshe Arenstein, is a former IDF intelligence commander.The traction that these groundbreaking stories were receiving clearly put MintPress in the Jerusalem Post's crosshairs, the Israeli newspaper publishing an attack against us.Support the showMintPress News is a fiercely independent. You can support us by becoming a member on Patreon, bookmarking and whitelisting us, and by subscribing to our social media channels, including Twitch, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram. Subscribe to MintCast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and SoundCloud. Also, be sure to check out the new Behind the Headlines channel on YouTube and subscribe to rapper Lowkey's new video interview/podcast series, The Watchdog.

In this podcast, Alan MacLeod discusses his recent books and journalism. Dr. Macleod completed his PhD in Sociology at Glasgow University  focusing on research interests of social media, Internet subcultures, propaganda, fake news, and Latin American politics. He is a prolific journalist and has contributed to FAIR.org, The Guardian, Salon, The Grayzone, Jacobin Magazine, and MintPress News. His most recent books include: “Bad News from Venezuela: Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting,” which examines how Western media has reported on Venezuela since the election of President Hugo Chavez in 1998 including coverage that is often distorted and contributes to the spread of misinformation and "fake news" in support or the US imperialism and hegemony.   "Propaganda in the Information Age: Still Manufacturing Consent"  is a collaborative volume that updates Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky's propaganda model for the modern media landscape. The book explores how the original ideas from their 1988 book, "Manufacturing Consent," remain relevant today.   Order the books: Bad News from Venezuela https://www.kingsbookstore.com/book/9781032178752 Propaganda in the Information Age https://www.kingsbookstore.com/book/9781138366404 Alan MacLeods Social Media: Instagram: @alan.r.macleod X: @AlanRMacLeod MintPress News: https://www.mintpressnews.com/author/alan-macleod/   Greg's Blog: http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/ Pat's Substack: https://patcummings.substack.com/about   AlanMacLeod#MintPressNews#BadNewsfromVenezuela#PropagandaInformationAge#Venezuela#FakeNews#Misreporting#MediaBias#HugoChavez#Neoliberalism#WesternMedia#Journalism#PropagandaModel#Chavismo#MediaStudies#LatinAmerican#NoamChomsky#EdwardHerman#Disinformation#Cambridge#Analytica#SyrianCivilWar#Russiagate#MediaFilters#egirls#LunchBagLujan#Jolani#PhillipCross#8200#PatCummings#PatrickCummings#GregGodels#ZZBlog#ComingFromLeftField#ComingFromLeftFieldPodcast#zzblog#mltoday

Full audio segment of Episode 177 with Massachusetts Youth Rugby Organization's Alan MacLeod and Rhode Island Youth Rugby's Jeff CaresThis is our third annual pre-season fundraiser to raise money for our incoming new Free Jacks players. The funds raised will be going to buy bulk household items to fill their cabinets before they arrive for the 2025 season. Please donate any amount that you can - any support is appreciated. Thank you and HUZZAH!Donate here:gofund.me/b0777eccThis Episode of TJRS is brought to you by The Rowdy Rangers Club on Patreon. The Rowdy Rangers Club offers all access to TJRS content including this episode - club members get the YouTube video, podcast audio and memes before its released to the general public. Additionally, club members get Patreon exclusives such as first priority interview questions to ask guests, and MLR rumors from time to time as well! Head on over to patreon.com/jacksrangers to join today!Join the Rowdy Rangers Club on Patreon: / jacksrangersTJRS has new video content often so make sure you're subscribed: https://tinyurl.com/jackstube (https://www.youtube.com/redirect?even...)Subscribe to TJRS, the best Free Jacks' podcast on the internet: https://tinyurl.com/jacksspot (https://www.youtube.com/redirect?even...)X: / jacksrangersInstagram: / jacksrangersFacebook: / jacksrangersPodcast: https://tinyurl.com/jacksspotSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/jacksrangers/donations

Subscribe to Bad Faith on Patreon to instantly unlock this episode and our entire premium episode library: http://patreon.com/badfaithpodcast Senior staff writer at MintPress News Alan MacLeod joins Bad Faith to discuss an explosive report on the huge number of former Israeli intelligence officers currently working in U.S. media & tech, and how they influence U.S. news coverage of Israel's occupation of Palestine. Subscribe to Bad Faith on YouTube for video of this episode. Find Bad Faith on Twitter (@badfaithpod) and Instagram (@badfaithpod). Produced by Armand Aviram. Theme by Nick Thorburn (@nickfromislands).

Most people don't know the extraordinary methods used to influence and shape a pro-Israeli narrative in the corporate owned mainstream media. Practices like banning the use of the word genocide allows U.S. policy makers to normalize imperialism and Israel's killing spree in Gaza and Lebanon. Brian Becker is joined by Alan MacLeod, a journalist with a PhD in Sociology, senior staff writer for MintPress News, and author of several books including 'Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age: Still Manufacturing Consent.' He recently published the article 'Revealed: The Israeli Spies Writing America's News' (https://www.mintpressnews.com/revealed-israel-unit-8200-spies-american-media/288457/ ) Please make an urgently-needed contribution to The Socialist Program by joining our Patreon community at patreon.com/thesocialistprogram. We rely on the generous support of our listeners to keep bringing you consistent, high-quality shows. All Patreon donors of $5 a month or more are invited to join the monthly Q&A seminar with Brian.

On Sunday, July 28th, President Nicolas Maduro won reelection there. According to the country's national electoral council, he took 51% of votes over 44% for his rival Edmundo González Urrutia.But the opposition called fraud, claiming that they actually won the vote. Most international media have been on board with that narrative. In fact, the United States, and several other right-wing led Latin American countries have now recognized the opposition candidate as the victory. At the same time, more than 40 other countries have recognized Maduro.To make sense of it all, and the media spin that's influencing this story, we speak with Alan MacLeod, a journalist and the senior staff writer at Mint Press News, with a PhD focused on media coverage of Venezuela.Under the Shadow is an investigative narrative podcast series that walks back in time, telling the story of the past by visiting momentous places in the present.In each episode, host Michael Fox takes us to a location where something historic happened—a landmark of revolutionary struggle or foreign intervention. Today, it might look like a random street corner, a church, a mall, a monument, or a museum. But every place he takes us was once the site of history-making events that shook countries, impacted lives, and left deep marks on the world.Hosted by Latin America-based journalist Michael Fox.Additional links: This podcast is produced in partnership between The Real News Network and NACLA.You can listen to the first episode of Michael Fox's new podcast, Panamerican Dispatch, here.Follow and support him and Under the Shadow at https://www.patreon.com/mfoxYou can find Michael Fox's book, Venezuela Speaks!, that's mentioned in the podcast, here.Here is the link to a thread by Michael Fox about the Venezuelan elections.You can follow Alan MacLeod on Twitter for ongoing media analysis and coverage.Theme music by Monte Perdido.Monte Perdido's new album Ofrenda is out now. You can listen to the full album on Spotify, Deezer, Apple Music, YouTube, or wherever you listen to music.Other music from Blue Dot Sessions.Help us continue producing Under the Shadow by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Sign up for our newsletterLike us on FacebookFollow us on TwitterDonate to support this podcast

The British public has spoken, and they have collectively let out a sigh of apathy. The latest election results might have produced a landslide for Sir Keir Starmer's Labour Party. But going beneath the surface, Britons appeared less than pleased with the options they were given. Turnout was among the lowest seen since the 1880s when women (and most men) could not vote.The notorious British press relentlessly promoted the far-right Reform U.K. party, but to little avail: Reform U.K. ended up with only five seats. Chief amongst those outlets were those of Rupert Murdoch's empire. The Australian billionaire – described by former prime minister Tony Blair as one of Britain's four most powerful people and an unofficial member of his cabinet – has worked for decades to push a reactionary agenda into British public life. This has included near-total support for the Israeli government and its expansionist project.Today, “Watchdog” host Lowkey is joined by Alan MacLeod to discuss the U.K. media's relentless support for Israel. Alan MacLeod is a senior staff writer and podcast producer for MintPress News. After completing his PhD in 2017, he published two books on media and propaganda and regularly teaches media studies at universities. He has recently published investigations into Murdoch's close connections to the Israeli government and on Cyabra, an Israeli intelligence cutout organization posing as a neutral fact-checking group.While Israel has failed to defeat Hamas militarily, it has been able to rely on the support of corporate media in the West, and most of all from Murdoch, who has extensive economic and ideological ties to the state of Israel. Earlier this year, conservative British newspaper The Daily Telegraph went after Lowkey, claiming that a network of Russian, Chinese and Iranian bots was artificially inflating his online pro-Palestine messaging. The basis for this extraordinary claim was an intelligence report from private firm Cyabra.Yet Cyabra is far from a neutral organization. It was co-founded by Israeli military intelligence veterans and continues to work hand-in-glove with the Israeli government. Moreover, around fifty percent of its employees are military reservists who have been called up to serve in Gaza. Support the Show.The MintPress podcast, “The Watchdog,” hosted by British-Iraqi hip hop artist Lowkey, closely examines organizations about which it is in the public interest to know – including intelligence, lobby and special interest groups influencing policies that infringe on free speech and target dissent. The Watchdog goes against the grain by casting a light on stories largely ignored by the mainstream, corporate media.Lowkey is a British-Iraqi hip-hop artist, academic and political campaigner. As a musician, he has collaborated with the Arctic Monkeys, Wretch 32, Immortal Technique and Akala. He is a patron of Stop The War Coalition, Palestine Solidarity Campaign, the Racial Justice Network and The Peace and Justice Project, founded by Jeremy Corbyn. He has spoken and performed on platforms from the Oxford Union to the Royal Albert Hall and Glastonbury. His latest album, Soundtrack To The Struggle 2, featured Noam Chomsky and Frankie Boyle and has been streamed millions of times.

Welcome to The Daily Wrap Up, a concise show dedicated to bringing you the most relevant independent news, as we see it, from the last 24 hours (6/25/24). As always, take the information discussed in the video below and research it for yourself, and come to your own conclusions. Anyone telling you what the truth is, or claiming they have the answer, is likely leading you astray, for one reason or another. Stay Vigilant. !function(r,u,m,b,l,e){r._Rumble=b,r[b]||(r[b]=function(){(r[b]._=r[b]._||[]).push(arguments);if(r[b]._.length==1){l=u.createElement(m),e=u.getElementsByTagName(m)[0],l.async=1,l.src="https://rumble.com/embedJS/u2q643"+(arguments[1].video?'.'+arguments[1].video:'')+"/?url="+encodeURIComponent(location.href)+"&args="+encodeURIComponent(JSON.stringify([].slice.apply(arguments))),e.parentNode.insertBefore(l,e)}})}(window, document, "script", "Rumble");   Rumble("play", {"video":"v51cob6","div":"rumble_v51cob6"}); Video Source Links (In Chronological Order): Julian Assange leaves jail on his way to enter plea deal with the U.S. (25) Sam Husseini on X: "Some are saying there's no legal precedent with Assange plea. Prof. Francis Boyle responds: "With all due respect: It is still a terrible blow to Freedom of the Press that he had to plead guilty to one count of espionage in order to get his freedom. It does set a terrible…" / X (18) ☀️

Since 9/11, the United States has launched a series of attacks on sovereign nations, from Afghanistan and Iraq to Libya, Syria and beyond. These wars have left the region beleaguered and broken. But recently, as American power wanes, a new set of forces has emerged. An axis led by Iran, Syria and Yemen has emerged to counter U.S.-Israeli dominance and global giants, such as China and Russia, are increasingly being drawn into the region.Could this lead to a new and even brighter future for West Asia?Tim Anderson joins the show to discuss all things West Asia. Tim is a writer, academic, and director of the Center for Counter Hegemonic Studies. His latest book, “West Asia After Washington: Dismantling the Colonized Middle East,” explores this topic.“It is quite obvious that the U.S.' influence in this region [West Asia] is in decline,” Anderson told MintCast host Alan MacLeod, laying out several factors in said decline, including the embarrassing American withdrawal from Afghanistan, the unanimous demands from Iraq that the U.S. leave the country, the growing importance of Russia and China in the region the increasing importance of the BRICS economic bloc, the successful Russian operation to keep Assad in power in Syria; the Yemeni blockade of the Red Sea; the failure of the U.S. in Syria and the nosedive in global public opinion of the United States.Anderson joined the show from Damascus, Syria – something that would have been nearly impossible until recently. He noted the tremendous destruction that the civil war had wrought upon the country, much of which is still occupied by the United States, Israel, and other actors. Nevertheless, despite American unilateral coercive measures (i.e., sanctions), life in the major cities is approaching normality again.Anderson identifies Iran as a critical player in the formation of a counter-hegemonic axis. It has found allies in Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and, crucially, China and Russia. This grand alliance of powers opposing U.S. policy in the region was something that American planners in the 1990s considered their greatest fear.Nevertheless, a wounded animal is a dangerous one, and the U.S. is far from a spent force. And so, while American power wanes, the people of West Asia should still be on high alert.Support the Show.MintPress News is a fiercely independent. You can support us by becoming a member on Patreon, bookmarking and whitelisting us, and by subscribing to our social media channels, including Twitch, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram. Subscribe to MintCast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and SoundCloud. Also, be sure to check out the new Behind the Headlines channel on YouTube and subscribe to rapper Lowkey's new video interview/podcast series, The Watchdog.

CONSUME MERCH: https://deprogramshop.comYou are listening to this episode 1 week after it was released. To get episodes on time check out our Patreon!  Episode 133 - BOY BOY is already available there: https://www.patreon.com/TheDeprogramPlease check out Alan's work here:Mintpress News :https://www.mintpressnews.com/author/alan-macleod/ His Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlanRMacLeod/His Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/alan.r.macleodHis Telegram: https://t.me/alanmacleodSupport the Show.Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheDeprogramFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDeprogramPod

This episode is already available early for Patrons over at: https://www.patreon.com/TheDeprogramSupport the Podcast and get early as well as bonus episodes by donating. Help us stay 100% independent.Support the Show.Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheDeprogramFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDeprogramPod

Haiti is in crisis. As armed groups come together and storm the island nation's institutions, leading to mass prison breaks, U.S.-backed Prime Minister Ariel Henry – who was abroad at the time, desperately trying to negotiate some kind of foreign intervention – has resigned.Henry's departure has left a power vacuum on the island. Will an alliance of armed groups seize power in a revolution? Will factions of the old government hang on? Or will the United States intervene to reassert control over the Caribbean nation?On today's MintCast, Jake Johnston joins Alan MacLeod to discuss the turbulent situation in Haiti. Johnston is Senior Research Associate at the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) in Washington, D.C. He is the lead author for CEPR's Haiti: Relief and Reconstruction Watch blog and author of the book, “Aid State: Elite Panic, Disaster Capitalism, and the Battle to Control Haiti.”Henry, Johnston said, has faced a “legitimacy crisis from day one.” Firstly, he was named prime minister in July 2021, just two days before the assassination of dictatorial president Jovenel Moïse. Secondly, many Haitians have never accepted the way he came to rule, either. Many in the West are now openly calling for another U.S.-led intervention on the Caribbean island nation. “This time, Haiti really is on the brink. The US and UN must act to restore order,” wrote the influential think tank Chatham House. Meanwhile, The Washington Post called for a more “robust” and “broader” intervention than the one the UN has suggested, which could see American boots on the ground for the third time in 30 years.But far from paying debts to Haitians, the current government in Washington D.C. is concentrating on stopping Haitian immigration and is reportedly even considering using its notorious detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, to lock up Haitian migrants and refugees.The United States has an extremely long history of torturing Haiti. From refusing to recognize its independence for decades to invading and occupying it for two decades in the early twentieth century to supporting dictators and organizing coups on the island, Haiti's current predicament is, in no small part, down to Washington.Today, MacLeod and Johnston discuss the history, present and future of American imperialism in Haiti and what Haiti's future looks Support the showMintPress News is a fiercely independent. You can support us by becoming a member on Patreon, bookmarking and whitelisting us, and by subscribing to our social media channels, including Twitch, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram. Subscribe to MintCast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and SoundCloud. Also, be sure to check out the new Behind the Headlines channel on YouTube and subscribe to rapper Lowkey's new video interview/podcast series, The Watchdog.

For all of his power and prestige,  Bill Gates is rarely scrutinized in our media. The Seattle native has been careful to cultivate an image of a well-meaning nerd who uses his wealth for good. Our guest today on the “MintCast” is an exception to that rule, being one of the few investigative journalists to critically examine Gates' power and influence. Tim Schwab is an award-winning investigative journalist based in Washington, D.C. His reporting has been published in outlets such as The Nation, The Columbia Journalism Review, The Baffler and Jacobin magazine. His latest book, “The Bill Gates Problem: Reckoning with the Myth of the Good Billionaire,” was published in November.Today, Schwab joins “MintCast” co-host Alan MacLeod to discuss Gates' origin story, how he uses his enormous wealth to negatively influence public health and education policy, his connections to disgraced child trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, and to ponder whether there is ever such a thing as a good billionaire.Gates' influence on health policy became evident during the COVID-19 pandemic, when he used his funding connections to Oxford University to pressure the institution into their groundbreaking vaccine, telling them that only by partnering with a private corporation could they achieve their goals. Almost as soon as Oxford partnered with AstraZeneca, the latter announced that they would fall dramatically short of the vaccine production figures they had promised, leading to a massive dearth of vaccines for people worldwide, causing untold suffering.Few know about Gates' negative influence on global health, however, partially because the media rarely report on it. This is down in no small part to the hundreds of millions of dollars he and his foundation have lavished upon newsrooms across the United States and around the world. Gates is a major funder of many of the most well-known and influential outlets globally, including The New York Times, CNN, NBC, The Atlantic, NPR, PBS, the BBC, Al-Jazeera, El País and Le Monde. Support the showMintPress News is a fiercely independent. You can support us by becoming a member on Patreon, bookmarking and whitelisting us, and by subscribing to our social media channels, including Twitch, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram. Subscribe to MintCast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and SoundCloud. Also, be sure to check out the new Behind the Headlines channel on YouTube and subscribe to rapper Lowkey's new video interview/podcast series, The Watchdog.

Eleanor Goldfield hosts this week's Project Censored Show. Her first guest, Alan MacLeod, explains how some of the largest media institutions slant their Gaza coverage to favor Israel and even dismiss journalists who don't comply. He also warns of a neocon effort to push the U.S. into attacking Iran. The second half of the show looks at how hazardous uranium mining on and near Native territory in the Southwest is likely to persist and increase, even near the Grand Canyon, owing to various legal loopholes. Alan MacLeod is Senior Staff Writer at Mint Press News, and a frequent guest on the Project Censored Show. He's also the author of the 2018 book “Bad News From Venezuela.” Leona Morgan is a Diné (“Navajo”) anti-nuclear organizer. Information related to the campaign to halt nuclear colonialism in the American Southwest can be found at haulno.com.   The post Big Media's pro-Israel bias / Native people resist uranium mining appeared first on KPFA.

Alan MacLeod of Mintpress News joined Scott to talk about how he and several other prominent critics of Israel's war in Gaza had their X accounts banned last week without notice. The accounts have since been restored, with Elon Musk promising to investigate, but Scott and MacLeod point out that the suppression of voices critical of Washington's preferred geopolitical narrative is nothing new. Discussed on the show: Alan MacLeod Ken Klippenstein Rob Rousseau True Anon Podcast @Zei_Squrill “Several Large Accounts That Criticized Israel and Musk Banned from X” (Libertarian Institute) Alan MacLeod is Senior Staff Writer for MintPress News. After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books: Bad News From Venezuela: Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age: Still Manufacturing Consent, as well as a number of academic articles. Follow him on Twitter @AlanRMacLeod. This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Moon Does Artisan Coffee; Roberts and Robers Brokerage Incorporated; Tom Woods' Liberty Classroom; Libertas Bella; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott. Get Scott's interviews before anyone else! Subscribe to the Substack. Shop Libertarian Institute merch or donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal or Bitcoin: 1DZBZNJrxUhQhEzgDh7k8JXHXRjY Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 Download Episode. Alan MacLeod of Mintpress News joined Scott to talk about how he and several other prominent critics of Israel's war in Gaza had their X accounts banned last week without notice. The accounts have since been restored, with Elon Musk promising to investigate, but Scott and MacLeod point out that the suppression of voices critical of Washington's preferred geopolitical narrative is nothing new. Discussed on the show: Alan MacLeod Ken Klippenstein Rob Rousseau True Anon Podcast @Zei_Squrill “Several Large Accounts That Criticized Israel and Musk Banned from X” (Libertarian Institute) Alan MacLeod is Senior Staff Writer for MintPress News. After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books: Bad News From Venezuela: Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age: Still Manufacturing Consent, as well as a number of academic articles. Follow him on Twitter @AlanRMacLeod. This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Moon Does Artisan Coffee; Roberts and Robers Brokerage Incorporated; Tom Woods' Liberty Classroom; Libertas Bella; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott. Get Scott's interviews before anyone else! Subscribe to the Substack. Shop Libertarian Institute merch or donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal or Bitcoin: 1DZBZNJrxUhQhEzgDh7k8JXHXRjY

In the wake of the October 7 assault, more than 700 celebrities signed an open letter pledging support to the government of Israel. On the other hand, the hip-hop community has displayed solidarity with Gaza, with over 600 artists joining the Musicians for Palestine movement.Joining MintCast host Alan MacLeod today to talk about Gaza and the music industry is Immortal Technique. Immortal Technique is an independent rapper and activist widely regarded as one of his generation's most respected and gifted artists. He has used his platforms on social media to constantly speak out about the situation and educate his huge audience about colonialism, capitalism and imperialism. You can follow him on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.Immortal Technique was keen to see the violence in Gaza as part of a bigger picture. “It is a continuation of the political aspirations of not just the United States, but [also] NATO,” he said. Israel has, for many decades, served as the United States' local cop on the beat, an extension of the U.S. empire, hence the unwavering support in Washington D.C.“There are some beliefs among revolutionaries and the left that need to be challenged,” the Peruvian-born MC told MacLeod today. One of them is the anti-Semitic trope that Israel pulls the strings in the U.S. “In reality,” he said, “it is the United States of America that is pulling all the strings for Israel. The United States uses the government of Israel to do the types of things that it cannot do.”Ultimately, though, Immortal Technique argued that Washington is not making ordinary Israelis safer. “The United States cannot really protect Israel; it can only sell them weapons to brutalize their neighbors,” he said.The pair discussed the huge pressures on artists in the entertainment industry to toe the line on Israel and the penalties that occur if they speak out.Luckily for Immortal Technique, his status as an independent musician with no corporate bosses means he can speak freely.  As he explained:If you take the stairs and you fall down, you only fall down a flight. But if you take the elevator and the cable snaps, you are going to the bottom, motherfucker. You hear me? And that's the difference between independence and being in the mainstream.”Support the showMintPress News is a fiercely independent. You can support us by becoming a member on Patreon, bookmarking and whitelisting us, and by subscribing to our social media channels, including Twitch, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram. Subscribe to MintCast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and SoundCloud. Also, be sure to check out the new Behind the Headlines channel on YouTube and subscribe to rapper Lowkey's new video interview/podcast series, The Watchdog.

Journalists Mnar Adley and Alan MacLeod from Mint Press News join Aaron and Bryce to discuss Israel's brutal siege of Gaza. Check out some of their recent work: The Hannibal Directive: What Really Happened on October 7 Behind Israel's Propaganda Campaign, with Alan Macleod Special thanks to Dana Chavarria for producing the episode!

Welcome to The Daily Wrap Up, a concise show dedicated to bringing you the most relevant independent news, as we see it, from the last 24 hours (11/16/23). As always, take the information discussed in the video below and research it for yourself, and come to your own conclusions. Anyone telling you what the truth is, or claiming they have the answer, is likely leading you astray, for one reason or another. Stay Vigilant. !function(r,u,m,b,l,e){r._Rumble=b,r[b]||(r[b]=function(){(r[b]._=r[b]._||[]).push(arguments);if(r[b]._.length==1){l=u.createElement(m),e=u.getElementsByTagName(m)[0],l.async=1,l.src="https://rumble.com/embedJS/u2q643"+(arguments[1].video?'.'+arguments[1].video:'')+"/?url="+encodeURIComponent(location.href)+"&args="+encodeURIComponent(JSON.stringify([].slice.apply(arguments))),e.parentNode.insertBefore(l,e)}})}(window, document, "script", "Rumble");   Rumble("play", {"video":"v3tlog7","div":"rumble_v3tlog7"}); Video Source Links (In Chronological Order): (40) David J Hermiz MD on X: "Red-faced and looking extremely anxious, Dr. Peter Daszak, President of EcoHealth Alliance, testified today in a closed hearing about the #OriginOfCovid. Following his testimony, the House of Representatives unanimously voted to defund two active grants awarded to him. https://t.co/7CK3pDFTLt" / X (100) An inside job - Alison Morrow's Substack (40) LastAmericanVagabond on X: "@popstarr65 He is the spiritual leader of the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church. Why he is there, I have no idea. https://t.co/TF9gGw1WUm" / X (40) Middle East Observer on X: "⚡️

America is addicted to war. But its citizens rarely see the brutal realities of the U.S. military-industrial complex up close. That is because our pliant media hides the carnage from the public, refusing to report on the victims of the war machine, and uses euphemisms like “surgical strikes” and “enhanced interrogation techniques” to mask the barbarity meted out by Washington around the world. A recent study from the Costs of War Project at Brown University found that the post-9/11 wars have been responsible for some 4.5 million deaths worldwide, with at least 38 million also displaced from their homes. Our guest today has literally written the book on how the harsh realities of America's global empire are blocked from our views. Norman Solomon is a journalist, activist and media critic who co-founded activism website RootsAction.Org. He is the author of the new book, “War Made Invisible: How America Hides the Human Toll of Its Military Machine,” which has been endorsed by a wide range of academics and public figures, from Daniel Ellsberg, Noam Chomsky and Medea Benjamin to Naomi Klein and Amy Goodman. Solomon contended that, while the United States has suffered serious military setbacks and embarrassments in the 21st century, the military-industrial complex driving the war machine has gone from strength to strength, telling “MintCast” host Alan MacLeod that:  “Raytheon, Boeing and other military contractors never lose a war. It is always extremely profitable [for them]. But in terms of geopolitical positioning, it is very difficult to maintain an empire in decline, which is not a bad description of the United States in the last decades.” While the U.S.' “forever wars” in West Asia might finally be dying down, tensions with Russia and China are being consciously ramped up in Washington, leading to an extremely dangerous standoff against two nuclear-armed nations. Russia and China have, between them, thousands of nuclear warheads, and a conflict with either, Solomon told MacLeod, could end the world. As he said: “The U.S. is on a collision course with sanity around the survival of humanity in the nuclear age, ginning up [passions] rather than engaging in diplomacy over the conflict in Ukraine, and the consequences, to put it mildly, are not only horrific in the present, but potentially omnicidal.” Support the showMintPress News is a fiercely independent. You can support us by becoming a member on Patreon, bookmarking and whitelisting us, and by subscribing to our social media channels, including Twitch, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram. Subscribe to MintCast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and SoundCloud. Also, be sure to check out the new Behind the Headlines channel on YouTube and subscribe to rapper Lowkey's new video interview/podcast series, The Watchdog.

South of the border, an entire region is rising, electing radical governments and moving towards integration and genuine independence.Today, “MintPress News” speaks to Ollie Vargas about Latin America and just what is going on in the region President Joe Biden called the U.S.' “front yard.” Ollie Vargas is an award-winning journalist based in Bolivia. He is the co-founder of “Kawsachun News,” an outlet reporting in the English language on Bolivia and Latin America. He has also contributed to “MintPress.”Key to the latest drive towards Latin America has been the role of Brazil and, in particular, President Lula da Silva, who has taken it upon himself to lead the Global South to take a more active role in world politics.Brazil is currently the only Latin American member of the BRICS economic bloc. However, Mexico, Venezuela, Argentina, Cuba, Nicaragua and a host of other countries in the region have expressed interest in joining, which could turn the tables and provide balance to the U.S. “rules-based international order.”Another key figure providing pushback to American dominance of Latin America is Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador. AMLO, as he is known, has refused to kowtow to Washington. Indeed, at President Biden's Summit for Democracy in March, he described the U.S. as nothing more than an “oligarch with a façade of democracy.”AMLO has proven very popular in Mexico, thanks to his pro-people policies. These include massively raising the minimum wage and state pensions, allowing tens of millions to live in dignity. All the while, he has kept inflation low. He holds a televised press conference every morning, in which he talks directly with the people. As Vargas put it, “While previous leaders stood above the population, AMLO stands with the people.”AMLO stands, in Vargas' opinion, in contrast to Chilean President Gabriel Boric. Heralded as a new kind of progressive at the time of his election, Boric has failed to maintain his popularity. Vargas explained that, while Boric has some superficially radical positions, he has changed little about the day-to-day existence of the ordinary people.Vargas also talks about the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on Latin America, about the upcoming elections in Ecuador, and what it was like reporting under the dictatorshSupport the showMintPress News is a fiercely independent. You can support us by becoming a member on Patreon, bookmarking and whitelisting us, and by subscribing to our social media channels, including Twitch, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram. Subscribe to MintCast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and SoundCloud. Also, be sure to check out the new Behind the Headlines channel on YouTube and subscribe to rapper Lowkey's new video interview/podcast series, The Watchdog.

Have you ever wondered just how much of your hard-earned tax dollars go to funding our bloated war machine? On today's episode of “The MintCast,” Lindsay Koshgarian lays out the staggering expense that American taxpayers fork out each year to keep the U.S. empire going.“The average person is paying over $2300 per year for our military, plus another $700 for veterans' [benefits]. So that's over $3000. To put that in some other perspective, that's more than twice what the median rent is for a two-bedroom apartment is in this country... It's a really significant expense for individual taxpayers,” she told “Mintcast” co-host Alan MacLeod.Lindsay Koshgarian is the Program Director of the National Priorities Project at the Institute for Policy Studies. Her work and commentary have been featured in “NPR,” the “BBC,” “CNN” and “The Nation,” among others.Not only does the United States spend vastly more than any other country in the world on its military, the federal budget continues to become increasingly militarized. For the financial year 2023, $1.1 trillion of the $1.8 trillion total went to purchasing weapons or on militarizing the police or prison systems.If you include veterans' benefits, then the government spends more on war than anything else, even healthcare. More than $1000 of the average American's taxes go to Pentagon contractors – four times as much as is spent on K-12 education.Koshgarian's report, “Tax Day 2023: Where Your 2022 Tax Dollars Went,” even notes that weapons giant Lockheed Martin received $106 per American taxpayer this year. This is compared to just $11 on anti-homeless projects or around $6 to develop renewable energy.The National Priorities Project has proposed a modest spending cut to the military, bringing the budget down to 2018 levels. With that $100 billion saving, they calculate that the U.S. could:-  Provide free tuition for 2 out of 3 public college students in the U.S.- Send every household in the U.S. a $700 check to help offset the effects of inflation- Hire 890,000 Registered Nurses to address shortages- Cover medical care for 7 million veterans, or:- Triple current enrollment in Head Start, from 1 million children and families to 3 million.Support the showMintPress News is a fiercely independent. You can support us by becoming a member on Patreon, bookmarking and whitelisting us, and by subscribing to our social media channels, including Twitch, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram. Subscribe to MintCast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and SoundCloud. Also, be sure to check out the new Behind the Headlines channel on YouTube and subscribe to rapper Lowkey's new video interview/podcast series, The Watchdog.

Americans want change. A December poll found that only 38% of the country is satisfied with the way the political system is working, with nearly two-thirds expressing their discontent. Despite this, it appears that very little change is on the horizon; the 2024 election is looking increasingly likely that the two parties will select aging relics in Joe Biden and Donald Trump as their candidates. In this situation, half of Americans say they would consider voting for a third party, despite the clear drawbacks to this in the U.S.' two-party duopoly.One candidate who could shake up this cozy system is activist and public intellectual Dr. Cornel West. West's decades of activism and his natural charisma and speaking abilities could draw large numbers to his message, leaving many in Washington – especially Democrats – worried.West has declared his intention to be the Green Party's presidential candidate for 2024. Here to speak with us today about Dr. West, the Green Party, and the state of U.S. politics is West's campaign manager, Dr. Jill Stein.A physician by trade, Stein has been involved in the Green movement for decades. She first ran for office in 2002, attempting to become the governor of her native Massachusetts. In 2012 and 2016, she was selected as the Green Party's presidential candidate.Democrat-aligned media are already decrying West's run as a sideshow and as something that will ensure a Republican will be elected in 2024. “The Democrats absolutely do fear [West]. And they should!” Stein told MacLeod, noting that support for the Democratic Party is waning and that there are now as many independent voters as Republicans and Democrats put together:There's a huge block that doesn't vote. It's almost 40%. And who is it? It is communities of color, young people, low-income people, and communities who have basically been thrown under the bus. And that is exactly who Dr. West speaks to. And those are the demographics who are wildly excited about his race. So we could see voting really change.”Support the showMintPress News is a fiercely independent. You can support us by becoming a member on Patreon, bookmarking and whitelisting us, and by subscribing to our social media channels, including Twitch, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram. Subscribe to MintCast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and SoundCloud. Also, be sure to check out the new Behind the Headlines channel on YouTube and subscribe to rapper Lowkey's new video interview/podcast series, The Watchdog.

Somebody blew up the Nord Stream II pipeline – that much is certain. Yet, since September last year, when the incident occurred, no one has come forward to take responsibility, and the attack has become the subject of intense international debate.Our guest on “MintCast” is Bryce Greene, a writer, journalist, activist and media critic who has covered the issue extensively in outlets such as “Fairness And Accuracy in Reporting.” Earlier this month, Bryce was invited to speak at the United Nations Security Council to shed light on who is likeliest to have been behind the attack. His full remarks can be read and seen here. Greene was highly critical of the press coverage of the event, telling “MintCast” host Alan MacLeod that the media seem “almost completely incapable of examining the facts in an objective and dispassionate manner.” While the press is happy to denounce Russia for the attack, despite the lack of concrete evidence, Greene said they have, in effect, enforced an “intellectual no-fly zone around entertaining the other obvious suspects” – i.e., the United States.Certainly, the U.S. had a lot to gain from ending Nord Stream. The attack has pushed Europe into the arms of the United States, forcing them to buy expensive American liquified natural gas rather than cheap Russian energy. Before the attack, Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland told the press: “If Russia invades, one way or another, Nord Stream 2 Will. Not. Move. Forward.” President Biden made similar remarks. And after the incident, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken seemed delighted, calling it a “tremendous opportunity” for the U.S.Therefore, it came as little surprise to many when legendary investigative journalist Seymour Hersh released an article claiming that U.S. Navy divers were behind the attack and that President Biden himself had ordered the pipeline be destroyed. Hersh's claims have largely been ignored in the mainstream press, however. A MintPress study of the 20 largest and most influential U.S. news outlets found only four mentions of Hersh's claims in the week after his report made worldwide headlines.Support the showMintPress News is a fiercely independent. You can support us by becoming a member on Patreon, bookmarking and whitelisting us, and by subscribing to our social media channels, including Twitch, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram. Subscribe to MintCast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and SoundCloud. Also, be sure to check out the new Behind the Headlines channel on YouTube and subscribe to rapper Lowkey's new video interview/podcast series, The Watchdog.

As the war in Ukraine continues to take lives, many people worldwide question its legitimacy and demand an end to the violence. Yet even as calls to cease the conflict grow, the Biden administration has announced that it will up the ante by sending cluster munitions to Ukraine – a weapon banned by more than 100 countries worldwide. Today's guest, Medea Benjamin, an anti-war activist and co-founder of the peace group CODEPINK, was shocked by the decision. “The world came together in 2008 to ban cluster munitions for a real reason,” she told “MintCast” host Alan MacLeod. “And that is because of all the unsuspecting children and farmers who step on these bombs and whose limbs are blown off,” she added, noting that wherever these weapons have been used, the consequences and the destruction last for decades.“This is just an example of the desperation of the Biden administration to want to see some success in the Ukraine counteroffensive, which isn't going anywhere,” she concluded. Benjamin recently returned from a trip to Ukraine, where she survived a Russian air raid attack on Lviv. Yet arguably more concerning than the destruction was the mentality of many she met. As she told MacLeod:“The impression I got talking to a number of people in Ukraine is that they are being fed a daily diet – both from the media and from their own politicians – that this war is going in their favor, that this war is winnable (meaning they can get back Crimea and every inch of the Donbas, and they should.) So, I feel that, for many of them, they were really divorced from the reality of the fighting and Russia's ability to keep this battle going.”From there, the pair also talked about the U.S. buildup of troops around China, sanctions on Cuba, and why recent Biden-appointee Elliott Abrams is the neocon par excellence. According to Benjamin, Abrams should be tried for war crimes rather than serve in positions affecting U.S. government policy.MintPress has launched its annual funding drive. Faced with algorithmic censorship, arrests, financial sanctions and more, it is crucial that our readers and viewers support us. Support the showMintPress News is a fiercely independent. You can support us by becoming a member on Patreon, bookmarking and whitelisting us, and by subscribing to our social media channels, including Twitch, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram. Subscribe to MintCast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and SoundCloud. Also, be sure to check out the new Behind the Headlines channel on YouTube and subscribe to rapper Lowkey's new video interview/podcast series, The Watchdog.

Our shining star, Alan, comes back to the show and helps us unveil the State Department's attempt at conquering the next frontier for making American Patriots - Social Media.Episode 89 - FD Signifier is already available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheDeprogramSupport the show and help us grow while staying as independent as possible. Get plenty of bonuses - early episodes, exclusive bonus episodes, Discord community, live monthly hangouts, feeling good about yourself and plenty more.First Thought News: https://www.youtube.com/@firstthoughtnewsThe Deprogram Merch: https://thedeprogram-shop.fourthwall.com/See The Show On Nebula: https://go.nebula.tv/thedeprogramPlease check out Alan's fantastic work here: His Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlanRMacLeod/ His Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alan.r.macleod/ His Recent Articles: https://www.mintpressnews.com/author/alan-macleod/ MintPress News: https://www.mintpressnews.com/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This episode is already available early for Patrons over at: https://www.patreon.com/TheDeprogramSupport the Podcast and get early as well as bonus episodes by donating. Help us stay 100% independent.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Red Pill happens to not be red. The Manosphere happens to not care about men. Join The Manly Men Mensplain Menship in this beautiful episode featuring Noah Samsen.Please check out his work and support him here:Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@NoahSamsen Twitter: https://twitter.com/lmsfortbhEpisode 88 - The Thirst Trapping Military Industrial Complex (Ft. Alan MacLeod) is already available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheDeprogramSupport the show and help us grow while staying as independent as possible. Get plenty of bonuses - early episodes, exclusive bonus episodes, Discord community, live monthly hangouts, feeling good about yourself and plenty more.First Thought News: https://www.youtube.com/@firstthoughtnewsThe Deprogram Merch: https://thedeprogram-shop.fourthwall.com/See The Show On Nebula: https://go.nebula.tv/thedeprogramSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

MintPress speaks to James Rehwald. Thanks to his innovative comedy and razor-sharp wit, James has amassed hundreds of thousands of followers across social media platforms, his viral, darkly satirical videos having been seen by tens of millions of people worldwide. James constantly takes aim at the entire power structure to produce explicitly anti-imperialist, radical shorts that cut deep. A frequent target of his is the CIA. "The CIA are basically gangsters for American capitalism,” he told Alan MacLeod, referencing their history of gunrunning and drug smuggling. “I love the new CIA ads. They really lean into identity politics. It feels like satire is dead when I watch their videos. It's like ‘you too can join the imperialist project, toppling governments!'' he added.James also spoke about how he got into comedy. Growing up in a conservative household, “The Colbert Report” was a favorite of his. “Just seeing somebody do a satirical mock of the right-wing pundits that I grew up around was genius. But then, of course, it is sad when you see a lot of these guys who don't point the target at Democrats. There's no criticism from the left, except from the very obvious ones,” he said.Liberals and liberalism is another primary target of James' content. But, he said, he treads a fine line, not wishing to be seen as a partisan hack and wanting to explicitly note that both parties are part of the same war machine. “I always feel this pressure when I am making fun of liberals or Democrats in my videos that I gotta, in the same sentence, make fun of Republicans, just to let them know that you are [also] part of this problem!” he said. Referencing the handful of conglomerates that control mainstream media, James notes that, “These are big corporations that have their own interests, as well as advertisers that they need to make sure they're creating a media environment that is conducive to their profits.” Their whole model is built on ad revenue. They have to maintain relationships, as broadcasters, with advertisers. And the ones that can spend the most are the biggest companies. And you have everybody from fossil fuels, to insurance companies to whatever. The largest corporations keep these channels afloat, and they gotta play a delicate balance and not ruffle their feathers.”Still, that only leaves the lane even more free for comedians like James to make a name for themselves on social media.Support the showMintPress News is a fiercely independent. You can support us by becoming a member on Patreon, bookmarking and whitelisting us, and by subscribing to our social media channels, including Twitch, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram. Subscribe to MintCast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and SoundCloud. Also, be sure to check out the new Behind the Headlines channel on YouTube and subscribe to rapper Lowkey's new video interview/podcast series, The Watchdog.

It ain't easy being a YouTuber—at least, not a political one. The platform is a giant, Byzantine organization filled with secret rules and algorithms that content creators constantly fall afoul of. This is especially true for radical voices, who are incessantly shadowbanned and suppressed by the Google-owned platform.One person who has broken through the algorithmic barriers better than almost anyone is JT Chapman, host of the Second Thought channel. Chapman makes engaging video essays about some of the most pressing issues of the day, and the quality of his work has drawn 1.6 million subscribers to his main channel. He is also the founder of the YouTube news show First Thought and the co-host of The Deprogram podcast. Today, he discusses his tips for YouTube success, climate change, the economy, and what radicals could learn from Walmart.Having one of the world's largest corporations (Google) own the global town square poses huge problems for freedom of speech, not least because of the company's intimate links to the Central Intelligence Agency. Chapman has to tread a careful line on YouTube because of demonetization, age restriction, and other tactics the platform uses to suppress radical voices. All this, he says, “really disincentivizes people like me to produce radical content.” This leads many well-meaning YouTubers to just start chasing the algorithm and become “toxic little clout goblins,” he told “MintCast” host Alan MacLeod.When asked how useful YouTube is for inspiring people and producing societal change, Chapman said,I think investigative journalism that exposes corruption is useful in moving the needle…but on the other hand, I'd say that a large percentage of people doing what I do on platforms like YouTube really aren't all that useful, unless we are actively driving people to get engaged in organizations and on the ground movements.”On this episode, MacLeod and Chapman also chatted about how we could stop economic recessions entirely if we wanted to, how economies could be planned, and his tips for others wishing to make an impact online.Support the showMintPress News is a fiercely independent. You can support us by becoming a member on Patreon, bookmarking and whitelisting us, and by subscribing to our social media channels, including Twitch, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram. Subscribe to MintCast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and SoundCloud. Also, be sure to check out the new Behind the Headlines channel on YouTube and subscribe to rapper Lowkey's new video interview/podcast series, The Watchdog.

The United States is an empire, even if its citizens don't all realize it. That is the conclusion from historian and political scientist Aaron Good, who joins Alan MacLeod on this week's edition of “MintCast.” Today, Good walks us through the history of how the United States came to dominate the world and the organizations it uses – especially the CIA and NATO – in order to enforce its control over the planet.He notes that as Europe and Asia were destroying themselves in conflict, the U.S. gave the powerful business think tank, the Council on Foreign Relations, the task of planning America's entry into World War II.Enter the war, win it, and establish dominion over global capitalism. They are going to essentially take control of Western imperialism. It's not stated that way, but that's what ends up being the consensus of people at the top of the U.S. And that consensus of the U.S. as the global hegemon of capitalism worldwide is the story of our time.”In this, the U.S. has been very effective dominating the planet for the past 75 years, although Good does later note that China's growing role is loosening the American grip on the world.  Good describes the U.S. as a “paper tiger,” explaining that:In a sense, the U.S. is musclebound to the military, meaning that we may have all these bases and all these billions. But there are two things that the U.S. does not have the ability to do. One is actually using its nuclear arsenal because it would kill everybody. It is a non-starter.”“The other…is fielding a military. When they talk about the U.S. potentially entering a war in Ukraine. Good luck with that!... Who in the world is going to fight in some World War One-style battle?! In Iraq, the U.S. lost fewer than 10,000, and that was very unpopular. By some estimates, 400,000 have died in Ukraine. How could you possibly expect Americans or Europeans to want to die in that way?”Today, Good and MacLeod also chat about the power and purpose of the CIA, how the United States laid the groundwork for Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the use and misuse of the term “the deep state.”Aaron Good is a historian and former political organizer. His book, “American Exception: Empire and the Deep State,” was published in 2022. He is also the host of the American Exception podcast, which can be found on most major podcast platforms.Support the showMintPress News is a fiercely independent. You can support us by becoming a member on Patreon, bookmarking and whitelisting us, and by subscribing to our social media channels, including Twitch, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram. Subscribe to MintCast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and SoundCloud. Also, be sure to check out the new Behind the Headlines channel on YouTube and subscribe to rapper Lowkey's new video interview/podcast series, The Watchdog.

To open the program, Mickey and former Project Censored intern Reagan Haynie speak with writer Alan MacLeod. He's just written about a new phenomenon in U.S. military recruitment: social media posts from “e-girls,” designed to catch the eyes of young males. Also joining the segment is military veteran Rosa del Duca. Then Eleanor Goldfield interviews Dr. Harriet Fraad about the psychology behind mass shootings, a type of crime committed almost exclusively by men, and rare outside the U.S. She finds the roots of these assaults in the unique way that capitalism and patriarchy intersect in the U.S.   Alan MacLeod is Senior Staff Writer at Mint Press News, and a frequent guest on the Project Censored Show. His article on “e-girls” and Army recruitment appears at www.mintpressnews.com/simp-to-soldier-e-girls-military-recuitment-gen-z/284897 Rosa del Duca is an Army National Guard veteran who became a conscientious objector during George W. Bush's Iraq war. She later wrote a memoir, “Breaking Cadence.” Her web site is www.rosadelduca.com. Harriet Fraad is a mental health counselor in private practice in New York. She also writes extensively about social issues. Her web site is www.harrietfraad.com. The post YOUNG WOMEN AS MILITARY-RECRUITMENT BAIT / ROOT CAUSES OF MASS SHOOTINGS – Project Censored – June 23, 2023 appeared first on KPFA.

To open the program, Mickey and former Project Censored intern Reagan Haynie speak with writer Alan MacLeod. He's just written about a new phenomenon in U.S. military recruitment: social media posts from “e-girls,” designed to catch the eyes of young males. Also joining the segment is military veteran Rosa del Duca. Then Eleanor Goldfield interviews Dr. Harriet Fraad about the psychology behind mass shootings, a type of crime committed almost exclusively by men, and rare outside the U.S. She finds the roots of these assaults in the unique way that capitalism and patriarchy intersect in the U.S.   Alan MacLeod is Senior Staff Writer at Mint Press News, and a frequent guest on the Project Censored Show. His article on “e-girls” and Army recruitment appears at www.mintpressnews.com/simp-to-soldier-e-girls-military-recuitment-gen-z/284897 Rosa del Duca is an Army National Guard veteran who became a conscientious objector during George W. Bush's Iraq war. She later wrote a memoir, “Breaking Cadence.” Her web site is www.rosadelduca.com. Harriet Fraad is a mental health counselor in private practice in New York. She also writes extensively about social issues. Her web site is www.harrietfraad.com.     The post YOUNG WOMEN AS MILITARY-RECRUITMENT BAIT / ROOT CAUSES OF MASS SHOOTINGS – Project Censored – June 16, 2023 appeared first on KPFA.

Amid an ongoing crisis in recruitment, the military has found a novel way of enticing teens to enlist: thirst traps. “MintCast” co-host Alan MacLeod joins Mnar Adley for an in-house edition of the podcast to describe how the military is using young teens' horniness against them, utilizing an army of attractive women posting sexually suggestive content on social media – in effect, turning a generation of young men from simps into soldiers.Alan MacLeod is senior staff writer and podcast producer for MintPress News. He has worked at the company since 2019. Before joining MintPress, he was an academic and freelance journalist specializing in Latin America and in analyzing media and propaganda. In recent months, he has specialized in analyzing U.S. military propaganda and exploring the national security state's ties to big social media organizations. His latest investigation, “From Simp to Soldier: How the Military is Using E-Girls To Recruit Gen Z Into Service,” can be read exclusively at MintPress News.Chief amongst these new Army e-girls pushing their followers to join up is 21-year-old Hailey Lujan. In recent months, Lujan's social media profile has exploded, with the young star now boasting nearly three-quarters of a million followers on TikTok alone. In between posting highly sexually suggestive content and zany memes, however, are subtle and not-so-subtle commands to her army of loyal followers to join up. “Don't go to college; become a farmer or a soldier instead,” she says in one recent video.The plot thickens, however, when we look into Lujan's background. She is a member of the Army's psychological operations division, whose job it is to carry out online propaganda and influence operations. Despite constantly hinting that she is a “psyop” herself, Lujan strenuously denies that the Army controls her content.MacLeod told Adley that it is almost a moot point whether the Army is actively directing Lujan, stating:I think if you were [psychology expert and father of modern propaganda] Edward Bernays, you might say that it doesn't really matter whether she is or isn't being supported by the military, because, ultimately, what this is doing is getting people who look at this content – and there are millions of people watching this stuff – to associate lustfulness and horniness with joining the military. It's literally making them horny for war.”Support the showMintPress News is a fiercely independent. You can support us by becoming a member on Patreon, bookmarking and whitelisting us, and by subscribing to our social media channels, including Twitch, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram. Subscribe to MintCast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and SoundCloud. Also, be sure to check out the new Behind the Headlines channel on YouTube and subscribe to rapper Lowkey's new video interview/podcast series, The Watchdog.

You can indict Vladimir Putin over war crimes in Ukraine. But if you do, you'd better indict Joe Biden as well. That is the message that Professor Alfred de Zayas, world-renowned human rights and international law expert, gave “MintCast” host Alan MacLeod on today's episode of the series.  A Swiss-American lawyer, academic and United Nations official with over 50 years' experience in the field of human rights, de Zayas joins us for a wide-ranging discussion about international law and Ukraine, U.S. sanctions, whistleblowers, the successes and failures of the United Nations and its bodies, and the growth of a new and cynical “human rights industry” that weaponizes the concept to attack foreign governments. “The double standards [with regard to Russia] are absolutely breathtaking” de Zayas said, noting how British International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan had discontinued all investigations into NATO war crimes in Afghanistan but continued those into the Taliban against NATO. Now the ICC has issued an arrest warrant against Putin, another one-sided decision that de Zayas claims has made the organization a joke:“There is no question that here, the crime of aggression has been committed, and certainly Russian troops have committed crimes in Ukraine. But you cannot prosecute one side and let the other side off scot-free. If you are going to indict a serving head of state [like Putin], then you would have to indict Joe Biden.”The United States and NATO, he says, have been carrying out dangerous provocations in Ukraine for years, supplying weapons to militias who use them against civilians, while also carrying out similar crimes to Russia in Afghanistan, meaning that anyone with a semblance of balance or neutrality would conclude that American leaders need to be held accountable, too. After graduating from Harvard University in 1970, de Zayas practiced law in New York and Florida. For many years, he served in various human rights organizations and as a senior official at the United Nations. From 2010 to 2013 he was editor-in-chief of Ex Tempore, the United Nations' literary journal. Until 2018, he was UN Independent Expert on the Promotion of a Democratic and Equitable International Order. In addition to this, he has taught law at academic institutions across the world, including the University of Geneva, the University of Trier, the Human Rights Institute at the Irish National University and DePaul University. Support the showMintPress News is a fiercely independent. You can support us by becoming a member on Patreon, bookmarking and whitelisting us, and by subscribing to our social media channels, including Twitch, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram. Subscribe to MintCast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and SoundCloud. Also, be sure to check out the new Behind the Headlines channel on YouTube and subscribe to rapper Lowkey's new video interview/podcast series, The Watchdog.

The war in Ukraine is well into its second year, and the United States is insistent on pumping billions more into the quagmire that has already seen thousands of lives lost and millions displaced.The U.S. has already approved more than $113 billion in aid to Ukraine, most of which is weaponry. This year, President Biden has earmarked a record-breaking $842 billion on the military. Yet much of this is not even directed towards Europe but at China. Seemingly not content with turning Europe into a war zone, Washington now has its sights set on Asia. Joining MintCast hosts Mnar Adley and Alan MacLeod to discuss Washington's permanent drive to war is author and Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Chris Hedges. “[War with China] is a serious threat given the mindset of the warmongers who dominate the Washington establishment,” Hedges says before naming and shaming many of the most callous hawks in the nation. “They never go away; it doesn't matter how wrong they are. They were, of course, all cheerleaders for the war in Iraq. But they represent those interests, and they are creations of the Washington establishment. They don't actually know war or geopolitics,” he added.Hedges spent nearly two decades as a foreign correspondent across the world, including in Central America, Eastern Europe and the Middle East. In 2002, he was part of a New York Times team that won a Pulitzer Prize for their coverage of the global war on terror. After publicly denouncing the Iraq War, however, he was forced out of his job. Since then, he has worked in independent media. A prolific and best-selling author, his latest book, “The Greatest Evil is War” was published last year. You can find his work at ChrisHedges.substack.com/. America is “clearly on the decline,” Hedges told Adley and MacLeod, suggesting that:Anyone who drives through large swathes of the United States will tell you, it is one decayed city after another. All the mechanisms of repression that were tested largely on people of color (the way the Israelis do on Gaza) have migrated back to the homeland. Militarized drones, wholesale surveillance, militarized police, we have the largest prison system in the world; [the U.S. has almost] 25% of the world's prisoners even though we are less than 5% of the world's population. So we are dying the same way any empire dies.” Support the showMintPress News is a fiercely independent. You can support us by becoming a member on Patreon, bookmarking and whitelisting us, and by subscribing to our social media channels, including Twitch, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram. Subscribe to MintCast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and SoundCloud. Also, be sure to check out the new Behind the Headlines channel on YouTube and subscribe to rapper Lowkey's new video interview/podcast series, The Watchdog.

In the first half of this week's show, Mickey and Project Censored intern Reagan Haynie speak with investigative reporter Alan MacLeod of MintPress News. MacLeod explains that a number of former high-ranking US military and security officials are now executives or board members in the video-game industry, notably with the firm that make the “Call of Duty” game, Activision. He also notes that game's portrayals of assassinations of foreign leaders as normal, and concludes that games like these are carefully designed propaganda/recruitment devices. Next, media analyst Nolan Higdon takes the corporate press to task for its refusal to fairly present alternatives to official doctrine about the Covid-19 pandemic and the measures needed to cope with its fallout. Finally, in light of Press Freedom Day, Project Censored associate director Andy Lee Roth explains the multiple ways that journalism truly is the lifeblood of democracy, and journalists serve the cause of human rights, including freedom of expression. Notes: Alan MacLeod is a senior staff writer at MintPress News, and the author of two books on journalism. He writes extensively about media bias, propaganda, and fake news. He discusses his recent article “Call of Duty is a Government Psyop.” Reagan Haynie is a graduating senior at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. She has been Project Censored's academic intern this past year. Nolan Higdon is a lecturer in education at the University of California Santa Cruz campus. He's also the author of the book The Anatomy of Fake News and other works of media analysis. His most recent dispatch on media and politics about the failures of the Fourth Estate using Covid-19 is No Turning Back. Andy Lee Roth is Associate Director of Project Censored, co-editor of the Project's annual volume, and co-coordinator of the Project's Campus Affiliates Program. He has published widely on media issues, including hist most recent article, The Lifeblood of Democracy. The post National Security State Propaganda, the Fourth Estate's Deadly Follies, and Why We Need a Truly Independent Press in Support of Human Rights and Freedom of Expression as we Celebrate Press Freedom Day – Project Censored – May 5, 2023 appeared first on KPFA.

We are joined by Alan MacLeod, Senior Staff Writer for MintPress News to discuss articles he's written on the CIA and the US Establishment: From Georgetown to Langley: The Controversial Connection Between a Prestigious University and the CIA Tucker Carlson: The Elite Pedigree of a Brilliant Cosplaying “Populist” After completing his PhD in 2017, Alan MacLeod published two books: Bad News From Venezuela: Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age: Still Manufacturing Consent, as well as a number of academic articles. He has also contributed to FAIR.org, The Guardian, Salon, The Grayzone, Jacobin Magazine, and Common Dreams. Special thanks to Dana Chavarria for producing the episode! Music: "World of Machines" by Mock Orange

Alan MacLeod's reporting on the influx of former government employees at TikTok, Meta, Twitter and other social media companies helps define the scope of the U.S. censorship regime.

Is your data really safe online? Whether you like it or not, it is likely that much of it is stored by Oracle, a gigantic, U.S.-based company that has become one of the largest and most influential tech corporations in the world.Yet the company's intimate ties to both the Central Intelligence Agency and the Israeli national security state should be cause for enormous concern, our guest today argues. In episode 56 of “The Watchdog” podcast, Lowkey is joined by returning visitor, Alan MacLeod. Alan MacLeod is senior staff writer and podcast producer for MintPress News. He has worked at the company since 2019. Before joining MintPress, he was an academic and a freelance journalist specializing in Latin America and in analyzing media and propaganda. Together with Lowkey, he published an investigation into Oracle's connections, titled, “Openly Pro-Israel Tech Group Now Has Control over UK's Most Sensitive National Security Data.”Together, the pair lay out Oracle's extraordinarily close relationship with the Central Intelligence Agency. The CIA was the company's first customer in the 1970s. Indeed, the name “Oracle” comes from Project Oracle, a CIA operation that Oracle founder and former CEO Larry Ellison worked on. Since then, the relationship has only flourished, as MacLeod explained:Ever since its beginning and even before its beginning in the 1970s, as being fundamentally intertwined with the U.S. national security states, Oracle grew from a very small, fledgling company into a multibillion dollar behemoth that it is today, and it has done that through getting fat off of the huge contracts that Washington hands out.”Former CIA director Leon Panetta is a member of Oracle's board of directors, and, if media reports are to be believed, Ellison personally asked his close friend Benjamin Netanyahu to take a seat at Oracle's highest table as well.The connection to Israel's prime minister is illustrative of a deep collaboration between Oracle and Israel. Indeed, the company sees aiding the Israeli government as equally important as making money. CEO Safra Catz, laid out Oracle's purpose, stating: We are not flexible regarding our mission, and our commitment to Israel is second to none. This is a free world and I love my employees, and if they don't agree with our mission to support the State of Israel, then maybe we aren't the right company for them. Larry [Ellison] and I are publicly commitSupport the showThe MintPress podcast, “The Watchdog,” hosted by British-Iraqi hip hop artist Lowkey, closely examines organizations about which it is in the public interest to know – including intelligence, lobby and special interest groups influencing policies that infringe on free speech and target dissent. The Watchdog goes against the grain by casting a light on stories largely ignored by the mainstream, corporate media.Lowkey is a British-Iraqi hip-hop artist, academic and political campaigner. As a musician, he has collaborated with the Arctic Monkeys, Wretch 32, Immortal Technique and Akala. He is a patron of Stop The War Coalition, Palestine Solidarity Campaign, the Racial Justice Network and The Peace and Justice Project, founded by Jeremy Corbyn. He has spoken and performed on platforms from the Oxford Union to the Royal Albert Hall and Glastonbury. His latest album, Soundtrack To The Struggle 2, featured Noam Chomsky and Frankie Boyle and has been streamed millions of times.

Executive Summary: According to a Feb. 8 article by legendary reporter Seymour Hersh, President Biden ordered the destruction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which was destroyed by a series of explosions that occurred on Sept. 22. If these allegations are true, then it represents an unconstitutional act, a war crime and an act of war against another nuclear armed power, and as such endangers all human life. The Nord Stream 2 was to transport natural gas from Russia to Germany via the Baltic Sea, and was the product of billions of dollars of investment on the part of both Russians and Germans. IN THIS EPISODE, I DRAW FROM THESE SOURCES: - The Charter of the United Nations - The Brookings Institution - The above mentioned article by Seymour Hersh - An article by Alan MacLeod of Mintpress News, about the media response (or lack thereof) - An article from Clean Energy Wire, as to the environmental damage. - A statement from US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, condemning Russia's act of aggression against Ukraine. Charter of the United Nations reads, in part: All Members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered. All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations. https://seymourhersh.substack.com/p/how-america-took-out-the-nord-stream Seymour Hersh Feb. 8. Last June, the Navy divers, operating under the cover of a widely publicized mid-summer NATO exercise known as BALTOPS 22, planted the remotely triggered explosives that, three months later, destroyed three of the four Nord Stream pipelines, according to a source with direct knowledge of the operational planning. Statement from National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on UN Vote To Support Peace in Ukraine Jan. 23, 2023. Nearly one year after Russia launched its brutal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, 141 countries — from every continent and every corner of the world — issued a powerful call for a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in Ukraine in line with the principles of the UN Charter. By overwhelmingly voting in favor of the UN General Assembly resolution today, these nations stood firmly in support of the rules-based international order, and spoke with one voice to demand Russia's full, immediate, and unconditional withdrawal from all of Ukraine's territory. A year into this conflict, the international community remains steadfast in upholding our shared values, including the principles of sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity that are the foundation of the UN Charter, and accountability for violations of international law, including Russia's war of aggression. Today's vote was an overwhelming demonstration of support for Ukraine — and a clear defense or (sic) freedom for people everywhere.

Via the Twitter Files, new Twitter owner Elon Musk has helped to reveal several hair-raising stories about the extent of U.S. national security state operations on social media. However, as today's guest explains, Musk himself is a key cog in the military-industrial and surveillance states being built by Washington.Joining Lowkey today is return guest Alan MacLeod, a Senior Staff Writer for MintPress News. After completing his PhD in 2017, Alan published two books: “Bad News From Venezuela: Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting” and “Propaganda in the Information Age: Still Manufacturing Consent,” as well as a number of academic articles.The podcast begins with Alan discussing Elon Musk's company, SpaceX, a space firm and military contractor with close links to the CIA. He describes how SpaceX's Starlink communications devices are being used by both the Ukrainian military and by anti-government activists in Iran to further Washington's goals in those two countries. As Alan explains, Starlink is “an internet service which allows anyone with a terminal to directly connect to one of many thousands of satellites that are orbiting the earth.”Such channels of communication can prove to be of use towards the CIA and other intelligence services in the region, such as Mossad, which retains an illustrious reputation of purporting misinformation to support the overthrow of democratically elected governments in the Middle East. Stalinks also allow ways for U.S.-backed groups inside the country to remain online and in communication with one another without the knowledge of the government. Since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, Iran has been one of the U.S.' prime targets for regime change. Suspicion towards Musk continued to rocket, as we delved further into his relationship with both NASA and more generally the National Security State. Alan describes how, from the very outset, Musk's company was nurtured by the CIA in with the explicit expectation that it would work closely with Washington and become a key asset once established. SpaceX was also bankrolled by the U.S. government to the tune of billions of dollars. The dialogue then shifts to the revelations discovered from the Twitter Files, the direct involvement of American intelligence personnel in the production of the video game series “Call of Duty,” and later the role played by U.S., Israeli and even German intelligence agencies in carrying out the assassination of Iranian general and statesman, Qassem Soleimani. The pair also discuss the disastrous effects of U.S. militarism, noting that at least 6 million people have died in America's post-9/11 wars, a crusade that has only resulted in destroying the region.Watch the whole interview here, exclusively at MintPress News.Support the showThe MintPress podcast, “The Watchdog,” hosted by British-Iraqi hip hop artist Lowkey, closely examines organizations about which it is in the public interest to know – including intelligence, lobby and special interest groups influencing policies that infringe on free speech and target dissent. The Watchdog goes against the grain by casting a light on stories largely ignored by the mainstream, corporate media.

The talking points have gone out, and journalismers at corporate media outlets are amplifying The Official Narrative. They are smearing the actual journalist reporting on the internal decisions at Twitter to suppress the story about Hunter Biden's laptop before the 2020 election as a "doing PR for the richest man on Earth." David Strom at Hot Air.com highlights the nonsense: Musk is releasing the Twitter files through Taibbi, and the media Elite™ are in full attack mode against Taibbi. Utterly unhinged attacks. Utterly unhinged and totally coordinated attacks. Almost as if there is an official MSM Narrative™ they are trying to push. It's pretty obvious that the word went out about the talking points and the entire MSM and Left Twitter compliantly put out the spin. Taibbi is doing PR work for Elon Musk, not bread and butter reporting. Despite having access to the actual raw data. The attacks on Taibbi are totally ridiculous. 95% of the “news” is repeating what powerful people want out there. Leaks come from powerful people. Press releases come from powerful people. Deep Throat was a powerful person. The media rarely covers anything else. Reporters need not be stenographers for the powerful, but every single one of them utterly depends upon what the powerful tell them. Most of those leaks are utterly unsubstantiated. Many are outright false, but printed verbatim. Taibbi is using the actual raw data and releasing it for the world to see. That is actual reporting, not the kind of stenography most reporters do. Even if nothing of note comes out (and I think lots already has), Taibbi will have done us the service of filling in gaps that everybody wanted filled. People are desperate to know what has been happening at Twitter. Twitter is in the news every single day, near the top of the media agenda. Yet none of these reporters is covering anything besides opinion and insinuations, and they are attacking the sole reporter who has the complete story. Matt Bevin wonders : The stated goal of the Twitter Files project has revolutionary potential, and Musk and Taibbi tell us this is just the beginning. By opening up Twitter's own internal documents, they have the opportunity to detail how Twitter users have been secretly manipulated, managed, and muzzled — for years — around the world — on multiple topics of first-order significance. “Manipulated by whom? And to what end?” Those are important remaining questions, and here too, so far, the Twitter Files come up short. In particular, I want to hear more about the involvement of three-letter security agencies like FBI and CIA in shaping our social media, and by extension our world views. (More on this below, but Alan MacLeod of MintPress News has an excellent overview of the general problem.) “The idea here is to come clean on everything that has happened in the past in order to build public trust for the future,” says Musk. It is an inspiring example to set. There have absolutely been similar shenanigans underway across all social media. When do we get to see the Facebook Files, the YouTube Download, the Snapchat Papers? For the inaugural episode of the Twitter Files, Taibbi could have drilled down into any number of key historical moments. For example, the decision to kick a sitting U.S. president out of an international public discussion forum — the decision to ban the elected U.S. president from a medium otherwise free and open to virtually everyone else around the world — that was crazy and unprecedented. As we continue to open the Twitter Files, it will be fascinating to see how that decision process unfolded to “delete” the president from Twitter.    Get exclusive content here!: https://thepetekalinershow.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alan MacLeod of Mintpress News is back to talk more about the alarming number of former spies working for the largest internet and social media companies. This time MacLeod dug up evidence of numerous former Israeli military intelligence officials with jobs at Google, Microsoft and Facebook. Scott and MacLeod reflect on how powerful these companies have grown and how much influence they have over what's considered true. They also talk about how Russiagate was a huge turning point in the history of the internet.  Discussed on the show: “Revealed: The Former Israeli Spies Working In Top Jobs At Google, Facebook And Microsoft” (Mintpress News) Scott's interview with MacLeod back in July Alan MacLeod is Senior Staff Writer for MintPress News. After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books: Bad News From Venezuela: Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age: Still Manufacturing Consent, as well as a number of academic articles. Follow him on Twitter @AlanRMacLeod. This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: The War State and Why The Vietnam War?, by Mike Swanson; Tom Woods' Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and Thc Hemp Spot. Get Scott's interviews before anyone else! Subscribe to the Substack. Shop Libertarian Institute merch or donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal or Bitcoin: 1DZBZNJrxUhQhEzgDh7k8JXHXRjYu5tZiG. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 Download Episode. Alan MacLeod of Mintpress News is back to talk more about the alarming number of former spies working for the largest internet and social media companies. This time MacLeod dug up evidence of numerous former Israeli military intelligence officials with jobs at Google, Microsoft and Facebook. Scott and MacLeod reflect on how powerful these companies have grown and how much influence they have over what's considered true. They also talk about how Russiagate was a huge turning point in the history of the internet.  Discussed on the show: “Revealed: The Former Israeli Spies Working In Top Jobs At Google, Facebook And Microsoft” (Mintpress News) Scott's interview with MacLeod back in July Alan MacLeod is Senior Staff Writer for MintPress News. After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books: Bad News From Venezuela: Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age: Still Manufacturing Consent, as well as a number of academic articles. Follow him on Twitter @AlanRMacLeod. This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: The War State and Why The Vietnam War?, by Mike Swanson; Tom Woods' Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and Thc Hemp Spot. Get Scott's interviews before anyone else! Subscribe to the Substack. Shop Libertarian Institute merch or donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal or Bitcoin: 1DZBZNJrxUhQhEzgDh7k8JXHXRjYu5tZiG.

Alan MacLeod (@AlanRMacLeod) is a writer with MintPress News. Check out the MintPress News podcast, The Watchdog, hosted by British-Iraqi hip hop artist Lowkey (@Lowkey0nline).   Consider supporting the show www.patreon.com/east_podcast

Today we're joined by our first RETURNING guest - the fantastic Alan MacLeod.  We take a deep dive into one of his most recent articles and discuss the escapades of the world's (arguably) wealthiest man - weapons, taxes, satellites and rock stars turned state department propagandists - this episode's got it all. Please check out his fantastic work here:His Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlanRMacLeod/His Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alan.r.macleod/His Recent Articles: https://www.mintpressnews.com/author/alan-macleod/ MintPress News: https://www.mintpressnews.com/The Articles discussed in the episode:https://www.mintpressnews.com/elon-musk-not-renegade-outsider-cia-pentagon-contractor/280972/https://www.mintpressnews.com/frontman-empire-bono-activism-serves-powerful/281017/ The next episode, Episode 36 -  is available NOW 1 full week early on Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/TheDeprogramBonus Episode 7: Gamers is also available exclusively on Patreon.Support the show, get bonus episodes, early releases, discord access and a lot more by donating: https://www.patreon.com/TheDeprogramSupport the show

Scott talks with Alan MacLeod about the reporting he's done on the surprising number of former FBI agents who have joined the content moderation department at Twitter. He runs through some specific examples of people who have spent their careers working for the Bureau before pivoting to join the tech company. He also talks about the research he's done into Facebook, Google, TikTok and Reddit.  Discussed on the show: “The Federal Bureau of Tweets: Twitter is Hiring an Alarming Number of FBI Agents” (Mintpress News) Alan MacLeod is Senior Staff Writer for MintPress News. After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books: Bad News From Venezuela: Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age: Still Manufacturing Consent, as well as a number of academic articles. Follow him on Twitter @AlanRMacLeod. This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: The War State and Why The Vietnam War?, by Mike Swanson; Tom Woods' Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; EasyShip; Free Range Feeder; Thc Hemp Spot; Green Mill Supercritical; Bug-A-Salt and Listen and Think Audio. Shop Libertarian Institute merch or donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal or Bitcoin: 1DZBZNJrxUhQhEzgDh7k8JXHXRjYu5tZiG. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the entire discussion, bonus content & to help make the show happen, please join us on Patreon at: https://www.patreon.com/thekatiehalpershow. Direct link to Alan MacLeod Patreon Only segment on Bill Gates and Sascha Baron Cohen: https://www.patreon.com/posts/alan-macleod-63817711 Join our callin: https://callin.com/link/FtXgkfkOfV Journalist Alan MacLeod discusses his article "It's Different, They're White: Media Ignore Conflicts Around the World to Focus on Ukraine," Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Israel's attacks on Palestine and the United States' bombing of Somalia. Plus a short history of U.S. bombings of hospitals. Alan MacLeod (https://twitter.com/AlanRMacLeod) is Senior Staff Writer and Podcast Producer for MintPress News. He's also written two books about the media: "Bad News from Venezuela: Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting", and "Propaganda in the Information Age: Still Manufacturing Consent." He has also contributed to FAIR.org, The Guardian, Salon, Jacobin Magazine, and more. Read his latest piece here (https://www.mintpressnews.com/ukraine-russia-war-media-bias-study/279847/)