Podcast appearances and mentions of James Carey

James Carey is the Co-Founder of I'm Still Here, "a mission-driven brand dedicated to those fighting life's toughest battles." You can find them online (@imstillhereco.com) and on X/YouTube/Instagram/Facebook (@imstillhereco).

James Carey, who played basketball at Iona University, and Jordan Pivarnik, who played lacrosse at Roger Williams University, share lessons they have learned from their athletic careers, which have guided the start of their journeys as value investors at Gabelli. To learn more about Gabelli Funds' fundamental, research-driven approach to investing, visit https://m.gabelli.com/gtv_cu or email invest@gabelli.com. Connect with Gabelli Funds: • Twitter - https://twitter.com/InvestGabelli • Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/investgabelli/ • Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/InvestGabelli • LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/investgabelli/ http://www.Gabelli.com Invest with Us 1-800-GABELLI (800-422-3554)

Talking about selling a middle-market company to a family office vs. a PE firm, James Carey has a detailed conversation on the differences between these buyers. He discusses the time frames each has for seeing a return on their capital investments, what a family office looks for when deciding to partner with an entrepreneur, why family offices tend to be hands-on in how they operate and interact with their portfolio companies and the implications these issues have on the sales process and afterward. View the complete show notes for this episode. Learn More: The Role of Family Offices in M&A The Private Equity Toolkit with Michael Roher The Basics of Independent (Fundless) Sponsors in M&A M&A Guide | The 4 Types of Buyers of Businesses Additional Resources: Planning to sell your business? Schedule a free consultation today. Download a free PDF copy of The Art of The Exit: The Complete Guide to Selling Your Business and Acquired: The Art of Selling a Business With $10 Million to $100 Million in Revenue. Purchase your copy now of A Beginner's Guide to Business Valuation | The Exit Strategy Handbook | Closing the Deal Contact Morgan & Westfield to request a free copy of Jacob Orosz's latest book, Food and Beverage M&A: An Insider's Guide to Selling a Food or Beverage Manufacturing, Distribution, or Grocery Business. To suggest guests, topics, or questions for future podcast episodes, contact Morgan & Westfield. Listen to Other Episodes: Selling Your Company to a Private Equity Firm vs. a Family Office Family Offices and Management Buyouts – What You Need to Know Family Offices – What They Look for When Buying a Company

In this episode, you will hear from James Carey of Prime Partners in Sydney how they built their app stack.

On the second episode of Organized the Unorganized, we kick things off with an account of the institutional formation of the CIO, and then get to the organization's key personalities. John L. Lewis, the founding president of and driving force behind the CIO, unsurprisingly gets a fair amount of time, and we focus in particular on the reasons for his bold leadership at this decisive moment in history. We also introduce Sidney Hillman, the only other real center of power in the organization besides Lewis in the early CIO, as well as some of the key organizers of the CIO, most of whom hailed from the United Mine Workers of America. Guests, in order of appearance: Melvyn Dubofsky, Professor Emeritus of History and Sociology at Binghamton University; Nelson Lichtenstein, Professor of History at UC-Santa Barbara; Jeremy Brecher, Labor Historian; Erik Loomis, Professor of History at the University of Rhode Island; Steve Fraser, Labor Historian; Lisabeth Cohen, Howard Mumford Jones Professor of American Studies at Harvard University; Ahmed White, Nicholas Rosenbaum Professor of Law at the University of Colorado-Boulder; Robert Cherny, Professor Emeritus of History at San Francisco State University; Dorothy Sue Cobble, Distinguished Professor Emerita of History and Labor Studies at Rutgers University Clips, in order of appearance: John L Lewis, “The Future of Organized Labor” speech, November 28, 1935, in the “John L. Lewis papers, 1879-1969,” Wisconsin Historical Society, 493A/9 (0:00, 19:42); Mike Wallace, “John L. Lewis,” Biography, https://youtu.be/2fwAr3_oHKg?si=cJwo8qZpFAQ0WX0R (8:01); Sidney Hillman, "America's Town meeting -- WJZ & Network - June 14, 1935 -- Mr. Sidney Hillman," Box 1, Folder 2, Sidney and Bessie Hillman Recording Discs, 1935, Collection Number 6225 AV, https://rmc.library.cornell.edu/EAD/htmldocs/KCL06225av.html (26:58); “UAW Audiovisual Collection: 1955 Documentary on the CIO,” Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University Quotes, in order of appearance: William Z. Foster, Misleaders of Labor, p. 133, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b5111691&seq=139; Robert Zieger, The CIO: 1935-1955, p. 25; Melvyn Dubofsky and Warren van Tine, John L. Lewis: A Biography, p. 163; Walter Reuther and James Carey, introduction to John Brophy, A Miner's Life: An Autobiography, https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Miner_s_Life/LD_tAAAAMAAJ?hl=en Songs, in order of appearance: George Jones, “This is what the union has done,” George Korson Bituminous Songs Collection, Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200197194/; Sarah Ogan Gunning, “I'm Goin' to Organize, Baby Mine (part 1),” The Lomax Kentucky Recordings, https://lomaxky.omeka.net/items/show/212; Pete Seeger, “Which Side Are You On?”, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XEnTxlBuGo Theme music by Drake Tyler. Quote music is Martin Tallstrom's cover of “Freight Train,” used here with permission: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9LEUMgBkX8.

James Carey, Activist, Analyst, and Podcast Host of The Left is Dead spoke to Backstory host Rachel Blevins about the US allowing Israel to strike southern Gaza, Israel targeting more hospitals in Gaza, and Biden seemingly being afraid to criticize Israel. James talked about the bombing campaign by Israel and how the American people will normalize the deaths that continue to occur in Gaza, at the hands of Israel.

The Backstory host Rachel Blevins speaks host of The Left is Dead, James Carey about the Israeli threats to invade Gaza, Joe Biden's image around the war, and the Western behavior towards civilian casualties. James details the Western country's position on civilian casualties in Gaza and why the Israeli military has been allowed to do what they wants in Gaza.

Brant talks with James Carey about UFOs, an over emphasis on Evangelism, the beauty of deep diving into scripture, and the ever evolving listener uniforms.   https://cooperandcary.buzzsprout.com/

Read transcript It's time for Press B's March Radness! A month long celebration of salt and tears as each week in March we do bracket tournment style episodes. On this week's episode of Press B, join our hosts as they dive into the world of video game villains and battle it out to crown the ultimate bad guy! We've assembled (scientifically and randomized) brackets of 12 of the most iconic and memorable video game villains, from Bowser to Sephiroth to GLaDOS. Listen in as they debate and discuss each villain's strengths, weaknesses, and overall impact on their respective game's story and gameplay. Who will come out on top and be crowned the ultimate video game villain? Tune in to find out! Press B To Cancel now on Youtube! For updates and more episodes please visit our website www.pressbtocancel.com, or find us on Twitter @pressbtocancel and Instagram @pressbtocancel. Special thanks to The Last Ancient on SoundCloud for our podcast theme. Transcript: Chard (A): If he dies, he dies. Greatest video game vitillins today on. Wulff (B): Um. Chard (A): Welcome, everybody, back to another actual, live bless you episode of Presbyter cancel tonight. I am the blessed host of this evening's episode. But I'm not alone. As Jake say. No, I'm not alone. I'm with four of the greatest villains I know running amongst us here. Jake, how are you, sir? Jake (C): I'm doing good. Thanks for being having me back. Chard (A): Thanks for being having back. Thanks for being having back, too. You hit me. I'm just werewolf. Jake (C): I'm distracted setting shit up and oh, crap. Chard (A): How are you set up if we're running? Jake (C): I always set stuff up. Sins (D): The intro. Chard (A): No, even every mad scientist has an evil contraption werewolf. How are you, sir? No. Wulff (B): Is the audio long? Sins (D): There we go. Chard (A): There it is. Wulff (B): Okay, so I unmuted after the sneeze. Cool. Chard (A): It works. Wulff (B): Just muted after the sneeze. Great. Chard (A): Your reverse machines work great. Wulff (B): I apologize for that sneeze. Sins (D): Hey, I caught a light sneeze. Chard (A): Of the evening. I guess I also made my own pretty hate machine. Citistar, how are you? Sins (D): I am Valaneous tonight. Chard (A): There's a pill for that GP. How are you? No whimsical, friend. GP (E): Speaking of Charlie, speaking of whatever those erection pills were that you sent me, they are nuts if we can keep this episode under 2 hours, because at the end of about an hour and a half from now, I will need to go to the Er. Two and a half hours ago, my. Chard (A): Wife accidentally washed those pills, and now I cannot get my pants to fold. Guys, just as bad as that joke are these people that are on our list today. You like that, Segue? Jake (C): That's pretty damn smooth. GP (E): We go hard. Chard (A): We do in the paint, as a matter of fact. Sports reference. Sports ball. Sins (D): Sports ball. Chard (A): Guys, it is march. Radness. We continue fourth on our continuation of brackets bracketeering the brack on tears. Isn't that a Jack White band? No, we're talking music, and we're definitely talking music and sports today. And unfortunately, these guys have come along. We're going to break these guys down. We have several selected villains that we are going to do in our own scientifically, whimsical, Canadian lies way of discussing who tyrannically. Sorry, tyrannically is what I meant to say. Jake (C): I have whimsical back. I'd rather be whimsical. But, you know, out of our no. Chard (A): There'S no Whimsical out of our list of these people. Now, we know there's other villains out there. We dug very deep on the surface of these to try and figure out which one of these villains would be good. Some you'll know, some we won't know. It'll happen, trust me. And some you will probably rant rave that these were poor choices, but guess what? We're the host, so we pick what we want, because that's how things work around here. Sins (D): If it's not on our list, call out in the comments or come yell at us in discord there you go. Chard (A): Yeah, that 100% of us have full time jobs. It's very difficult to find a list when you're having people yelling at you all day. Well, okay. Sorry. 90% of us. Wow. Sins (D): Jeff throwing down early. Chard (A): Time job. Wulff (B): You take care of it. Chard (A): That's not easy. That beautiful background behind you. That's beautiful. That's hard work. Wulff (B): I don't get to see it as. Sins (D): Much as I used to in Chat. Jeff's throwing down early. GP (E): Let's ease up on the spoilers. Chard (A): What do you think? Jake (C): Kafka may not even be there. Sins (D): Kefa didn't make our list. Jake (C): Yeah, he's a small time you guys. Chard (A): Are using the Kafka didn't make our list. Chard Monk didn't make the stream. Wulff (B): All right. Chard (A): It's kind of a one, and it's like, if there's one thing that comes with me everywhere, that's not my wife, it's Kefca. Let's just be honest, all right? I do. I'm trying to get a Kefca tattoo, as a matter of fact. That's not a joke. That's true. Let's go ahead and fire things off. We're going to start with our first two villain matchup back to back here. Our first selection is Joker Mark Hamill. Sins (D): Mark, joker. GP (E): Need to specify that. Chard (A): And Bowser from Mario from the Mario Brothers series. Jake (C): The Marios. Yeah. Sins (D): We're specifically talking video game versions of these villains. So Joker, Mark Hamill, I know that there's similarities, but it is the video game arkham series and not the cartoon series, where he's the Joker. Jake (C): Right. He's great in both, but specifically the video game in this case. Yes. GP (E): Also, when we're talking about let's read. Chard (A): Everything'S about video games here. Right. GP (E): But also, is the metric or the rubric that we are saying for best villain, meaning, like, most iconic, most likable, most successful. What's the metric here? Jake (C): I think we have to be well rounded with this. Right. We have to look at their impact in the game, their successes, their character. I think it's a well rounded we should look at all angles when we're talking about these villains. GP (E): Yeah, agreed. Wulff (B): Yeah. Chard (A): We got to think about some longevity issues that are in here too, because Bowser has been an iconic villain for a long time, while the Joker has been an iconic villain, but not in video game tropes for as long as Bowser. Jake (C): Okay. Sins (D): And if we do look at backstory, then Joker actually comes all the way in from whatever 1930s or 40s or whatever it was, right? If we're talking backstory. Chard (A): Right. Not joaquin. Phoenix's. Joker, by the way. Sins (D): No. Chard (A): Still a great movie. Jake (C): No. GP (E): I could do an entire podcast episode on why that movie upset me. Chard (A): All right, who wants to go round robin on this first? I'll go. I'll tell you what, I'm going to just announce this right now. I know Sinister said he would go last, but I'll tell you what, as the host, I will be the tiebreaker of going last. I will make that decision. Sins (D): This is how Kefco wins call me a tyrant. This is how Kefko wins. Chard (A): I'm trying to ease everybody's mind on here. Although I do like it when GP says, all right, Char, well, you and I, our opinions don't matter. So what do you pick? GP (E): I'm going to go and call it Chard. You and I, our opinions don't matter. Chard (A): So who wants to go first in this round? Jake (C): I'll go for this one. Yeah. The randomized brackets are really cruel here because this is a tough matchup. I mean, Bowser is one of the longest standing video game villains. It was randomized. We discussed this off this, off the stream. It's randomized, scientifically, accurately, through the AI. Anyway, bowser has been a longtime villain, but Mark Hamill, forget the animated series, forget everything else in his career. Just the arkham joker, like Arkham city and Arkham Asylum. He is so good. His voice acting is just iconic as this villain. He's chilling. He's just scary. He's such a great villain and such a great performance in the Arkan games. I mean, Bowser is great and all, and he's a big part of the Mario franchise. But I mean, come on. Joker, I think, is the villain. I think he's like, such an iconic villain. I like Bowser, but I think especially the more recent Mario games where they had the opportunity for things like me voice acting or a story, they don't really do that right. Like, even in Mario Odyssey, the story was Bowser's kidnapping Peach to get married. It makes no sense, and it's barely even a damn plot. So even though he's like, iconic looking, he's not really impactful in the storylines to Mario. Not that there is one to begin with. I mean, he's memorable, I guess, because of nostalgia. But I think Mark Campbell's performance as the joker in Arkham is so damn good. Sins (D): All right, I want to go next. That's why I was holding up my finger there. Chard (A): Because I was getting my bingo card out? Sins (D): No, because I was going to make the argument, you already did this, but I guess I'm going to probably drive it home a little bit. Bowser, while being a long term video game villain, he hasn't actively tried to murder at mass levels. His whole goal is to marry Peach and rule the mushroom kingdom. Right? And then here's the Joker who has literally tried to kill everyone through infection or some other whatever, and he does it with almost a lack of reasoning or care. We've done this trope before, but some people just want to watch, so well. Ben right. GP (E): Specifically, your Mark Hamill impression is horrible. Sins (D): It is. Chard (A): I thought that was Bowser. GP (E): I should have said that. Jake (C): Jack black. Sins (D): But one thing I want to point out, and this happened, I think this was in Arkham Asylum. The first of kind of the video games that we're talking about at the end, he actually has destroyed the cure and he is infected and he knows that Batman is going to save him. And so he goes into this just balls to the wall. Because he knows that no matter how bad of a villain he is, his hero is going to save him because he knows Batman is that good. And so he is just that bad that he is like I will destroy my chances of even surviving this because I know that the hero is going to save me. So I also vote joker. GP (E): Interesting. I hear what you're saying, Sinistar, and also I hear what you're saying, daddy, but I think that it's tough. I think the more iconic villain here in terms of video games is going to have to be Bowser. Which villain do I find more ultimately captivating? Interesting? Would I rather party with all those things going to go to the Joker? But if we're just talking across the spectrum of pop culture, I don't know, it's tough. If the Joker did not exist in movies, TV shows, or anything other than the Arkham series, I don't think he would be as prolific as Bowser, who is primarily in the video games. Yes, he's been in some movies, dennis Hopper, but that's not what he's known for. Sins (D): We don't talk about Super Mario Brothers. Jake (C): Yeah. Chard (A): John Lang Guizamo was excellent as an Italian plumber. GP (E): Okay, first off, John Lang Guizamo is great in about anything. I'll watch him read the dictionary. Johnny Legs, if you're watching, I love you. Hope I can call you Johnny Legs. The other part of that, though no, again, I think if the Joker didn't exist outside of video games, he would be a cool villain, but I don't know that he would be as prolific as Bowser. So I think I got to vote Bowser, even though, in fact, right now, I'm wearing my Batman pajama pants. You guys know I'm a big Batman fan. I got to give it to Bowser. I'll lock it up. Wulff (B): All right. Chard (A): That was an incredible twist of events I did not expect. Wulff (B): Let's look at the lengths that Bowser will go to accomplish his goals. Chard (A): He is willing oh, you're going to read the book. Wulff (B): No, he's going to read the he. GP (E): Is the biggest employer of the Mushroom Kingdom, I wager that. Wulff (B): But he's willing to go to the moon to accomplish his goals. He is willing to. What was the other one? He'll work with Mario if he absolutely has to. GP (E): Mario RPG. I like that. Wulff (B): Which he's done. He can set aside his personal differences to achieve his goals. And when a villain really wants to accomplish what they want to accomplish, they have to learn to be able to move forward with the circumstances they're given. And Bowser always does that. Bowser also lied to his child about who his mom was. Who the fuck does that? That's dark. Jake (C): That's how bad a villain he is. He lies to his children. He's a bad daddy. That's what. Chard (A): His nephews we have the daddy of daddy. Sins (D): I want you to remember somebody who knows something. I want you to remember this argument for later. Because me? Yeah, because there is a villain that we are going to bring up daughter issues. GP (E): No, I don't want to know. I have done my way to ignore the list that you all do some research. Chard (A): I know what you're going to talk about. Jake (C): Okay, real quick. Bowser versus Mario. Can't we all agree that Mario is killed more than Bowser? So isn't Mario a better villain than Bowser anyway? So that automatically disqualifies. GP (E): That goes back to what I was saying though. I mean, Bowser is the largest employer of the Mushroom Kingdom. You have the Princess Kingdom who rules over all these individuals. And then you have the Plumber who comes in and kills them all trying. Jake (C): He's a bad employer. He's a bad boss, but doesn't make him a bad guy. GP (E): Look, yes, we all know horrible employers, but in the end of the day, is he not putting food on tables? I don't know. Chard (A): It sounds like the premise for horrible boss is three. Wulff (B): Yeah. How many things does Bowser kill? We never see him kill anything unless he kills Mario. Right. Have you watched Mario brother throwing yoshis into lava pits and off of cliffs? Sins (D): Yeah, never mind. Never mind punching yoshi in the back of the head to make him eat things. Chard (A): Yeah, right. Wulff (B): Friends. He's throwing off of cliffs and into lava pits. GP (E): For what it's worth, count for a lot. It's mutually. Wulff (B): Mario is the villain. Jake (C): I think so. Browser's biggest crime is just not having his fortresses up to safety. GP (E): That's not true. There's the kidnapping and presumed attempted rape, which you can't sweep that under the rug. Chard (A): That's true. Sins (D): Trigger warning. GP (E): Sorry folks, nobody's a piece of shit. But I think if the issue is iconic have we voted? Did everybody go? Wulff (B): I said bowser. To me. Bowser. No line is too much to cross for him. Jake (C): Okay. GP (E): Yeah. Jake (C): So it's two to two, I guess, right? Chard (A): Yeah, the tiebreaker is wow. Jake (C): There you go. Your opinion does matter. Chard (A): It does matter. It never matters that far. Okay, well, on that note, listen. You guys say that Bowser hasn't killed a whole lot of people. I've watched Cindy Star play Mario Brothers. That's not true. He's killed a lot of people. GP (E): You're thinking of gravity. You're thinking of gravity and spatial awareness. Chard (A): He did design spatial awareness. That's true. The big villain here is actually gravity and spatial awareness. That's true. Sins (D): In a trick twist, the first bracket goes to gravity and spatial awareness. Chard (A): Aka Bowser. Listen, bowser turned the Mushroom Kingdom people into bricks and Mario did kill them. That's where I thought you were going with that wolf. I got to lean on this whole thing with me and the Joker. The Joker and Mark Hamill. Fantastic. Let's think of it this way. I'm going to do how my discussion on the phone went today. Listen. Mark Hamill. Incredible actor. Wonderful job. Top tier, couldn't have done any better. Top notch. However, not going to cut it in this bracket. I got to go with Bowser on this one. And purely because, like GP said, if it wasn't for the Joker being iconic and other things and in comic books before he was put into video games, he's everywhere. It's not really a video game character. He's everywhere. Bowser is a video game character. He was created for gaming and gaming likeness and then has spawned into Dennis Hopper playing King Cooper and the whole nine yards. I'm just saying that if we're going to the roots of video game villains, got to go with Bowser. And it may be the nostalgia again talking. Don't know, don't care. I'll go with bowser. So I've noticed that the bowser fight. GP (E): In Super Mario World. Sorry for the Super Nintendo. After you jump on him and he's in his little thing, he pops out and she's waving. She's like hell. Not to show my sensibilities here, but that was terrifying to me as a kid. She's obviously not wanting to be there. Don't do that. Sins (D): Yeah. Chard (A): Horrible, right? Sins (D): And Bowser, don't stand on her when you're flying your little weird propeller chair. GP (E): That's a TARDIS. There's more room down there than what you think. Jake (C): Yeah, figure it on the inside than isn't. Sins (D): I don't want to hear about Bowsers down there. It's fine. Chard (A): I was going to say it's an undetectable extension charm. GP (E): I love that. All right. Bowser. Jake (C): Bowser. Chard (A): Okay, so round two. So round one goes to Bowser of the Mario franchise. That's fantastic. I'm excited about this one. I'm really excited about this next matchup. We had discussed this amongst our MPs together as a team and we were kind of very him and ha. But Jake actually had a very solid point about this. Could have some really good discussion going into it. So without further ado, I had a good point. Sins (D): No, it's getting delayed. Chard (A): As I am told quite often when I say see, I say things that are smart, I usually get retorted with, well, a broken clock is right twice a day, too. So I'm going to hit you with that one. 1%. One in a row, Jake. One in a row. Sins (D): Except for you're running in military time. And it's once a day, sir. GP (E): My anxiety can't handle this. What's the bracket? Is it like two minutes? Jake (C): Come on. Chard (A): Don't a, I'm going to pronounce this the way I feel it needs to pronounce. Do not at me. This is Magis from Chrono trigger fame. Wulff (B): What? Chard (A): And Handsome Jack versus Mages and Handsome Jack. Sins (D): All right. Can I go first? Jake (C): Only you called megas. GP (E): Maybe. Chard (A): Not called magic. Called magic. Thank you. Sins (D): Look, we're going to have a GIF versus GIF argument here. It's fine. Like my juffed, I'm going to start with Magis. So my experience with Magus Magus, Magus, magus is so far I have only had him as the villain, and I ran him off. I haven't seen some sort of redemption story, but I've heard tell of redemption story. Chard (A): Should we have Citizen mute his headphones for this discussion after he's done making. Sins (D): No, well, it's fine. Jake (C): He's already past the point of the spoilers for that anyway, right? Like you did the NC Palace. I saw you stream it. Chard (A): Yeah, no, he did not go to the end of the he's in the area, like right before one of the boss fights. Sins (D): It's fine. It's okay. That game is 30 years old. However years old it is. Jake (C): Yeah, there is a redemption in that. He's not the big bad, right? In crone trigger. It's Lavos. That's the big bad. Sins (D): And that's kind of where I'm going, is even knowing that he's a redemption story. He did start the whole Lavos mess, right? Well, didn't he kind of kick it off? I mean, it's fine anyway, but with the redemption story, he feels a little soft. He feels a little soft as far as a villain goes. Now, Handsome Jack handsome Jack literally places a floating space station in orbit that can nuke basically whatever he wants. And when his daughter, who has the Siren abilities, accidentally kills her mother through a fight with another person, he decides that he's going to imprison her to power his station. So if you want to talk a daughter arc, if you want to talk a father daughter arc, here's a guy that's like, well, sure, you accidentally killed your mother, but you know what? You're now my power source and enslaves her and then proceeds to basically destroy any vault hunter that decides to show up on Pandora. He purposefully murders, unless they have the chance to open the vault for him specifically. GP (E): But he was honest about who the mother was, and I think that counts. I agree. Handsome Jack for the win on this one. Sins (D): Yeah, I'm going Handsome Jack over. Magus. Magus. Magus. GP (E): Have you guys heard of Dragon Ball Z? Chard (A): Yeah. GP (E): Who is the greatest villain from Dragon Ball Z? Here's a hint. Not Vegeta. Chard (A): That's true. GP (E): Okay, well, I'll close it there, but no law applies. And between these two I got to go. Handsome Jack. Though I do very much enjoy Maggis. Sins (D): That's two for Handsome Jack, then. GP (E): His Majesty. No, too much. Sorry. Chard (A): Booker T. Booker. Majesty. Booker. Sins (D): Yeah. Chard (A): Wrestler do you want to go or. Wulff (B): You want I have a quick question. Is Handsome Jack's daughter, serif or Seraphim, whatever her name was. Whoever. Sins (D): No, he enslaves her later when his I think his daughter ends up dying and he ends up putting the other Siren in her place. Wulff (B): I didn't finish. I only got like maybe halfway through or something. Sins (D): Yeah. Angel. Thank you. Wulff (B): Angel. Yeah. Thank you, jeff but McGuff, he was an asshole. Chard (A): I love it. Wulff (B): But his intentions were in the right place. He was trying to do something for the greater good. He wasn't trying to be a villain. And his end goal was to save the world, not destroy it. Right? That's not much of a villain. He's Chronos nemesis for a time, but he's not the villain of the game. Handsome Jack is a villain. I got to say that's coming from I knew about his redemption chance the first time I played Chrono trigger, and I still said, Fuck that, Maggus. You're going down. GP (E): He's not your gus. He's Mcguss. Wulff (B): Yeah, he's Mcguss. Jake (C): As a youth, he was Janus. As an adult. He's megas janus. Wulff (B): Janice. GP (E): Which would you rather be called? Anus. Chard (A): Look, we don't get to pick her. Jake (C): Names that her parents bestowed on us. And he was named J Anus. And that's just the way it is, my kids. Wulff (B): Question. How do you pronounce his sister's name? Chard (A): Shala. Wulff (B): I'm sorry, I derailed the conversation there. Sins (D): Quick aside, quick aside. I do have to give Handsome Jack. He did create. Or he bought, actually. But without Handsome Jack, we wouldn't have butt stallion but. Chard (A): The iconic. Wulff (B): But my vote is Handsome Jack on this one. GP (E): Yeah. Jake (C): Okay. Chard (A): Well, Jake, looks like you're, in my opinion, don't matter. So what do you got, bud? Jake (C): I tell you. Here's the thing. Okay, fine. So you want to argue that Handsome Jack is maybe the more sinister, the more evil villain. That's fine. Villain does not necessarily always mean evil. Sometimes it could just be a jerk and that could be a villain, right? GP (E): Are you talking about Kirby? Jake (C): No. Kirby has many villains. Can you do those? Misunderstood. Chard (A): Anyway, is this a veiled attack? Jake (C): No. So maggus. Magus magus magus magus maggas. His aura, okay? His look, his garb, the cape, the rubber gloves, the dark slick back hair, the paley pasty white skin, the red eyes. The theme music in the boss battle with Megas is fucking iconic and is one of my favorite boss encounters. And you don't do boss encounters against friends. He's the bad guy. Is he the world's most evil villain? No, but he's a pretty awesome bad guy. GP (E): Conversation is, though. Jake (C): Handsome Jack is just evil. Chard (A): Sure, but he's just rich. Jake (C): He doesn't look cool. He's got a cool horse, he spends his money. Sins (D): He's handsome. Is he? GP (E): We will have other episodes where we discuss handsome doable dude in video games. Is that is not this one. Chard (A): Wow. Jake (C): Ride his crystal horse all he wants. He's not the best bad guy in this match. Sins (D): He purposefully diamond horse. It's a horse made of diamonds. Literally of diamonds. But he is so handsome that he put his face on a whole bunch of doppelgangers on purpose. Jake (C): Look, is Batman the best hero because he's rich? No. Chard (A): He's arguably not a very good hero to begin with, but let's not get into that debate. Sins (D): Jeff. Jeff is correct. Wulff (B): In Chat, this isn't about heroes. This is about village. Sins (D): Jeff is correct. In Chat, Handsome Jack succeeded. GP (E): Now, is it not Handsome Jack. Jake (C): It's Handsome handsome also, am I not wrong? Chard (A): Who cursed? Jake (C): Wasn't it not Magus who cursed, Frog? It was maggus, right? GP (E): Glenn? Chard (A): Magis. GP (E): Not to dachshund, but Glenn, yes. Jake (C): Who cursed? Glenn. Chard (A): Glenn of 600 Ad. Sorry, dude, my bad. GP (E): Wow. Everybody's going to go hunting for Glenn now. Sins (D): It was Maegus. Wulff (B): To be fair, Cyrus had no business dragging Glenn around with him to fight McGuff. Chard (A): They were buggy. I go everywhere. Dennis Star, he doesn't drag me around. I just fucking chill up. Wulff (B): How many squires? How many squires? Just Glenn. He's the only one taken advantage of by heroes in that game. Chard (A): Cyrus is so good, he doesn't need multiple squires. He only needs g. Lynn all right, so we're going to go with Mages on that one, Jake? Is that what you're saying? Jake (C): Yeah. I'm saying magus mages cool. GP (E): Please agree. How to pronounce jump. J Is it Forest Jump are we having. Chard (A): I don't know a lot about Borderlands, I know a lot about Chrono Trigger, and I'm going to go ahead and chime in on this one. Magus is not a villain. He is a man of circumstance and time. Literally of time. He's a man that is trying to get revenge. Sinister plug ears earmuffs sinister ear muffs. Thank you. He's a man that's trying to get revenge on what his mother did to him and his family and how and his sister and all the shit that went down with there. The man was just trying to get back at him and unfortunately, people were getting in his way to get it done. Yes, it is the Vegeta complex, we will call it that. It is vegeta. It's literally vegeta. Wulff (B): Literally trying to what his family broke. Chard (A): With the risk of how this sounds, it's Vegas. It's what it is. It's what it's going to be. We're going with it. I don't care. Don't die on me, Jake. Jake (C): Really? Chard (A): Vegas? Yes. Handsome Jack, you could put your there you go. Handsome Jack is so fucking twisted that in his brain, he thinks he's the hero. GP (E): Well, that's the hallmark of a good villain. Chard (A): Yeah, he thinks he's doing the right thing, but it's so fucking twisted and fucked up, he doesn't care. He still thinks he's right. He still thinks he's getting roll up. I did research today. I've barely played any Borderlands, so I have plenty of people here to tell me if I'm wrong or not. GP (E): You knew he was from Borderlands. Chard (A): Like we are killing off all the Volt hunters because he thinks he's doing it right and he's doing world dominance. Thinks he's the hero. He thinks he's saving his daughter by turning her into the power source for his doomsday device. So as much as I love Mages, or Ages, or Mcgaggas, or Janus Forest Guillumpus, I'm going with Handsome Jack. Sins (D): It's Forrest. Chard (A): I did not stutter. So, I think Handsome Jack is going to be the true villain out of these two. I think that Mages is a really good story and could be a really like on its own debate on on his experience. His depiction is direction, but for actual villainry, I got to go with Handsome Jack on that one. Jake (C): Look, Handsome Jack doesn't have a theme song. Just saying. He does not have a clip. Chard (A): Mages theme song is easily I had it recreated for my stream. That's how good it is. Sins (D): I love that Handsome Jack gets not one, but two games, right? Two entire games of him as the villain. Chard (A): If Chronocross wasn't garbage, then maybe Mages could have had two games too. But unfortunately they decided to shit all over that one. But listen, in terms of cool factor, if we're talking cool factor and badass fights and great lead ins and music and shit, majors wins nine times out of ten and twice on Sundays. He's incredible. But in the villainry department, without spoiling it for Sinistar, heads of Jack wins. You're good. GP (E): What constitutes as a theme song for a villain? The reason I ask there is a song my dad used to hum when I was a kid and he would not important. Chard (A): Let's move on. Was it an original piece? Jake (C): Wow. GP (E): I don't know. Chard (A): Made it up as he went. That it's his this was fucking dark. You want to go dark? I'll dive right into that black pit with you. Right. Sins (D): Sorry, YouTube. Chard (A): Everybody said he was going to be agreeable. Sins (D): Yeah, he's agreeably. Tainting all of every story with his. GP (E): Dad always up on the backstory on the lore. The GP. Chard (A): Lore. Doesn't the GP lore. GP (E): Yeah. Chard (A): All right, guys, let's move on to the next one. So I just recently got to know one of our villains in this particular bracket, and I'm pretty excited about it because she's fucking funny as shit. She kills me, literally. Tries to at least a couple of times. And then this other one is we went with the human form, the later form of this in particular. So we're going to go with Gladys from Portal and Ganondorf Ganondorf, the dorf in the later versions. Ganondorf Dorphy. Good old the zelda. This is a good bracket montage. GP (E): It also sucks because gentlemen, these are great bad guys. Start your bad AIS. Sins (D): Who's starting this one? GP (E): I don't want to. Wulff (B): I will start. So we've got the humanoid gannon. Ganondorf. Or we've got genetic life form and disc operating system. Chard (A): But she's so funny. Sins (D): Have you played number two? Yeah, I've been playing no, jimmy, have. Wulff (B): You played the show? Yeah. Sins (D): Okay. Wulff (B): Portal two. Chard (A): This would be the time where I pull out my steam deck and say, yes, I've been playing on my steam deck, but it's in the living room because I was playing it on my steam deck. Wulff (B): Absolutely. I've played portal one and two. I love those games. But glados. Oh, man, I don't know. This is a tough one because Gannon is just such an evil prick who is relentless, right? GP (E): What an. Ahole, absolutely. Chard (A): But he has a smug look on his face too. Jake (C): Don't punchable face. Chard (A): Big fucking nose, asshole. Wulff (B): Gladys isn't even really capable of emotion. She's just doing what needs to be done. Sins (D): No, but she is an asshole prick too. With the whole parents thing. Your parents don't love you. Or this air is recycled from outside. I'm just kidding. Or I saw a deer today, but you don't get to. Chard (A): Stasis. Wulff (B): She is definitely endlessly demeaning, I will give you that. Chard (A): Which most people, when they come out of stasis, tend to lose a little bit of weight and are fatigued. You don't appear to have lost anything. Damn, bitch. Call me fat man. Sins (D): When she has celebration for the character's parents, confetti comes out. Chard (A): Oh, I'm sorry, they don't love you. Wulff (B): It's just a insults and attacks constantly. Sins (D): Just verbal. Wulff (B): Not just verbal, but you know what I mean, because she does try to kill shell numerous times. Sins (D): What about when she's in the potato? She actually kind of has a personality with feelings when she's in the potato. Wulff (B): I think that's partly because she doesn't have the personality core limiters. Sins (D): Right, right. Wulff (B): So it's really all the Tweaking to her systems that have made her how she is. She was not inherently that way, but at the end of the day, those tweakings to the systems are still Gladys and not the original person that she was based on. That worked for Cave Johnson. At her core. She's Cave, johnson's assistant. But the personality limiters have made her glados. Right. And that's what we see as the villain in Portal. And then you've got Gan, and again, like I said, he's just a relentless reincarnating self aggrandizing wanting to take over the world. Bastard, right? GP (E): Yeah, he's the archetype. Wulff (B): Yeah. Chard (A): I don't know. GP (E): Part of what makes Blatant so kind of scary and chilling is because her motives were kind of unknown. To what degree? What is her end game? If I die in this building, is she going to continue mocking my corpse? Sins (D): Well, and that's the thing that I want to bring up is that's the thing I want to bring up is yes, Ganondorf has continued to try to take over the world. Right? But here's the thing about Gladys. The world has already ended and she's continuing on with this last person. Jake (C): Is that the lore for Portal? Wulff (B): We don't know for sure. Sins (D): You don't know? But there's no humans. You don't ever see any other humans. Jake (C): Right? Well, the facility is empty except for the one character. Sins (D): Well, but there are allusions to basically saying like, this is post the end of humanity. There are illusions to that. Jake (C): Okay, you guys kept saying Ganondorf is wanting to take over the world. He does, though, in Arcarena of Time, he actually ends up taking over the world when Link is stuck in a time thing. And when you come out as adult Link, the world is basically an apocalypse. Gannon rules everything. So he kind of does win in Link to the Past. He maintains dominion over the entire dark world. So he's always had in some capacity like this. He controls vast number of people and, like, takes him down. But he still he wins to a degree. Right? Wulff (B): Yeah. Well, he also you come into Breath of the Wild, and Gannon has already won. You're well past Gannon winning. Sins (D): That's true. Wulff (B): Gannon is supposed to be the physical form of evil in The Legend of Zelda. Right. Like, that's what Gannon is, no matter what iteration of it. Gannon is the physical manifestation of evil in Zelda. Sins (D): Right. Wulff (B): Whereas glados she's got goals with psychopathic tendencies. Right. And it's hard to say which is scarier, kind of no, this is crazy, is scary and Gladys is crazy. GP (E): And you don't have enough information because of the Starkness and the scarcity of anything in the Portal games, your knowledge of what is is severely limited. But you know that there's this very irritating but oddly charming, funny, sexy, early bond kind of voice talking to you. Sins (D): Anyway, Gannon, real quick aside, real quick aside, there's a poker game on steam poker night. Wulff (B): Poker night at the inventory. Sins (D): Yeah. And the second one, Gladys, is the dealer. And it is delicious. It is absolutely delicious. Chard (A): I just had dinner, too. Wulff (B): This is a tough one. Chard (A): I forgot Wolf hasn't been yeah, I. Wulff (B): Think I have to it's it's very close, but I gotta go Gannon on this one. GP (E): I agree, Gannon dorf. But who would I rather probably have a conversation with? Gladys? Sins (D): There's two for Gannon. There is a scene in my mind there is a scene in my mind in Portal Two when Wheatley has been helping or you've been helping Wheatley get the system activated again and all of a sudden that elevator starts going up and all those switches start flipping. And then you see Gladys peel herself off the floor in her cybernetic bits and pieces and it is terrifying. And then on top of that, for those that have VR whatever, that steam that VR. No, but I'm talking the game that they made where you can like but it's all portal based game stuff. Chard (A): Oh, is it really? Yes. Sins (D): And Gladys gladys is massive and terrifying. Wulff (B): So they did something. Chard (A): You can play portal on VR. Sins (D): No, it's its own game. I can't remember what it's called. There's a scene where you assemble the little dudes that are in Portal Two. Wulff (B): And there's a scene where you okay, this is a thing that they built to sort of teach you how to use the valve index. Sins (D): It was prior to valve index. This was during live. Wulff (B): Okay. Sins (D): But if you go into that, you put that headset on it, you look up a gladys, it's called the lab. That's what it is. It's the lab. Chard (A): The lab. Sins (D): It is terrifying. Yeah, it is terrifying. I'm going to say Gladys because to. GP (E): Me. Sins (D): There is nothing more sinister than what seems like the world has already ended and the villain is still going. Like the villain has one last toy and is still going. So I'm going to vote for Gladys because it's not even trying to take over the world. She just wants to experiment on these people. GP (E): Just wants to watch the world burn. I think I just came up with that. Chard (A): That is kind. Sins (D): So gladys here. Jake (C): So I was already to say Gannon but then sister is making a good point and then Wolf said something that's sticking with me where it's just like Gannon is the embodiment of evil. Sure. But Gladys is crazy and crazy is scary and terrifying. Wulff (B): Yeah, crazy beats scary is what it was. I think. Chard (A): Crazy hot. Crazy hot scale, right? Jake (C): So Link against Gannon. Link kind of knows where he stands with Gannon, right. At all times. He's evil. He's the bad guy. His mission is defeat Gannon. He knows this. They could enter a room together and they know where he stands with Gannon. He's just the bad guy. Glados you never know. Is she throwing you a bone, throwing you some cake, trying to get you to help you? Or is she just experimenting as another trap, another twist, another minor cake. GP (E): There will be cake. You will. Sins (D): Spoiler. Warning for those that haven't played portal one I'm going to say this. There is a line where she says in one of the experiments she says I lied to you but I won't lie to you again. And then later, like a couple of experiments later she says you will be baked and then there will be cake. And you think it's a slip of the tongue. GP (E): But there is no tongue. Jake (C): Yeah, it's not. GP (E): There's only a disk operating system. Jake (C): The other thing is too is Gannon. Chard (A): Is he's the bad guy. Jake (C): He's kind of like created these dungeons or added his minions to these dungeons. His final tower is constructed by him. It's really not effective at all. Really. Link easily trounces the final dungeon arcane of time and makes it to the top. It's not much of an obstacle. Whereas Gladys has made a maze of traps and just terrifyingly difficult puzzles to torment and torture the player. I actually think Gladys I think is the better villain in this case. I didn't think I'd go this way but I'm going to vote Gladys. Sins (D): All right, one last thing. And this has no voting like tie to it whatsoever. I talked to Chard about this but the anger module is voiced by Mike Patton. GP (E): Also Ganondorf I think has to win with horse riding abilities. So not that's part of the official you ever see Gladys on a horse? I've not. Chard (A): How fortuitous that I am here yet again. Being the tiebreaker between you chosen charge. Jake (C): Your opinion matters again. Wulff (B): Yeah. Jake (C): Two for two. GP (E): Wow. Chard (A): Two for two. That's never did it right there. GP (E): What do we got? Chard (A): I'll approach. It the same way that my phone call went this morning. Gannon Dorf is a fantastic additional fuck it. Gannon is an evil motherfucker and he's repetitive, but it's the trope. It's the same thing, right? I'm going to kidnap Zelda user. GP (E): It's consistency. Chard (A): My shit is pretty consistent and nobody wants to hear about that either. Sins (D): It's true. GP (E): Charge. Deuce. Moving on to the next round. Chard (A): That is my shit. Sins (D): In a surprise twist, not only do we have gravity going one round, but we have charged shit going on round three. GP (E): What kills more people? Gravity or charge? Jake (C): Please continue. GP (E): I'm sorry, I'm done interrupting. Chard (A): I am Gwen Stefani. Shit. GP (E): But one more thing. Chard (A): Okay, Fenda? Wulff (B): Yeah. Chard (A): I got to go. Gladys. So here's my thing about Gladys. Sinister literally pulled the thing from my brain is the thing coming up and you're flipping all the switches on and Gladys coming in, following that. Gladys remembers you killing her, and she constantly reminds you of it the entire time you're running around inside the fucking maze. And every time you feel like you're going to get out just puts you further, deeper in and then gives you some fucking snide comment about you. That's horrible. And it's literally it's the kid with the magnifying glass on the anthill. That's exactly what it is. She is playing with you the entire time. GP (E): One of my favorite things about Portal was discovering that it was kind of a psychological horror game going into it. You don't know it. It's fun, it's cheeky. It's a puzzle game. Chard (A): You just think it's a puzzle game. GP (E): Oh, my God, I'm getting shot at. As you're learning more, I really don't. Chard (A): Want your learning the entire way. Yeah, she's twisted. She's twisted. Fuck. And she does want to kill you, but unlike Gannon, wants to take over the world and links just in the way of that. That's pretty basic, right? You're in the way of me. Or he's already done it and he's trying to maintain his evil persona and links. He's the fly in the ointment. He's the monkey wrench in the gears. I got to kill this motherfucker. Gladys is just like inkling of hope. You may have no, take that away. Oh, hey, I'm going to give you a little bit. No, I'm going to go ahead and take that away. And you're just going to keep getting worse and worse. She goes, I'll kill you eventually, but right now, this is just too fun. GP (E): It's that whole going back to talk about my dad real quick in a weird coincidence. Jake (C): I'm kidding. GP (E): Please, go ahead. Chard (A): Yeah, I got to go. Gladys and it's fresh with me. It's a fresh thing with me. So it's still like, on the brain with her. I've been really impressed as I think Jake said it, where it was like this. You think it's just a puzzle game. GP and Jake both said it. It's a puzzle game. And I just never got into how interesting the puzzle aspect of it was. But there's so much more into it, and she's so fucking twisted. I remember fighting her at the end of the first one. It's like, this is crazy. All the shit's going down. Gladys is my winner for this round. Sins (D): And for me, one of the things I absolutely love is I went into that game thinking it was just a bear puzzle game. Just a bear puzzle game. And then it has this very cool backstory of what Gladys is doing to you. Chard (A): Anyway. All right, so Gladys, winner of the over Ganondorf. Perfect. All right, I'll try and speed these up because we're already 52 minutes in and we still got at least three more to go. All right, our next one ridley from Metroid series and Salvanis from the Warcraft series. Now, I know there is a lot of deep knowledge amongst this panel for at least one of these characters. I'll go first. So please have added gentlemen, give us. Jake (C): That Lord dump GP. GP (E): Well, okay, no, I don't want to retread things that everybody here clearly already knows and it would be insulting to the audience to go over too much. One of the things that I like so much about Ridley is actually tangentially to Glados. It's this idea of the unquantifiable entity. We don't exactly know the motivations right away. We just know there's, in the case of Ridley, this big, imposing figure that we have to figure out how to take down. And the fact that Ridley comes back several different times for the series, I don't know. And then, of course, the other person that you named who I mean, what. Sins (D): Needs to be said about Sylvanis? GP (E): What else can you say that hasn't already been said and documented in the annals of time? But that said, Ridley I always thought Ridley, aside from being kind of scary or whatever, just a really cool bad guy. And then the revelation of Ridley being in prime when you first see him and all that kind of thing and then you think you've taken him down with the space frigate and then just for him to I don't know, it was some cool shit and a dope looking bad guy. Chard (A): That's my I think you pronounced annals wrong. It's j annals. Sins (D): Analyze anals. GP (E): I thought you were going a different direction. Anyway, yeah, so that's me, of course. I'm kind of a Metroid fanboy, so yeah, that's where I fall between that one and. Wulff (B): Runner. GP (E): Sylvana. Chard (A): Windrunner was my maiden name. Sins (D): Ilvana. Wulff (B): Let me give you guys some backstory on Sylvanis and Ridley. GP (E): Please. Chard (A): You mean Kerrigan? Wulff (B): Yeah, I can do some backstory on Ridley, too. Actually, I did some reading about him today. Fantastic. I want to preface this by saying if we were counting expanded lore outside of the Games, ridley would win. Okay? Because Ridley, shown outside of the Games in the manga is one evil, soulless son of a bitch right? But once you limit your lore base to just what's in the video games, Sylvanis wins. And it's not entirely because she's just a bad person. Because she's not entirely a bad person. She was actually someone of great stature and honor who her soul was ripped out of her by the Lich King, and then he turned her into a monster. And she's been wrestling with that ever since. Her soul was split in two when that happened. When it's together, she is at least someone who is trying to make a better world for the people like her, the Forsaken, the undead that don't answer to the Lich King. Right? But when her soul is ripped apart, separated, the evil part is pure evil and commits genocide. Right? She burned down the world. GP (E): That's Sylvana. Chard (A): Sylvana Winchester. Wulff (B): She was willing to do whatever it took for other people's nefarious devices. Right. But when her soul is whole, she actually means well and does not get her hands all that dirty unless she absolutely has to for the greater good of the Forsaken first, the Hoard second. She's for her people first and then for her faction second. But that's still way up there, right? It's just the fact that her soul can be separated again makes her a scary villain because she will go to great darkness to achieve things. Chard (A): Remember that episode where Sylvanus and Dean were fighting the Lich King outside of the hotel? And then the yellow eyed Lich King, he throws the holy water and he says, hey, ass face, and then he throws on her, and then Sylvanus gets trapped. Her soul gets trapped in the cage with Satan or Lucifer. I remember that. Wulff (B): It wasn't as face. It was ass butt. Sins (D): Yeah. Wulff (B): Okay, you're a short ass, but. Jake (C): I want to build on what Wolf said. So the thing with Savannah so when we're making this list of villains, I think we had to put a Blizzard villain on here. The problem is a lot of Blizzard villains are very formulaic, right? Like, we joked. Carrigan. Right. There's also the lady who played Diablo in Diablo three. Kind of some similar personality traits, I guess. But Sylvanus, though, she's a long standing character. Going back to warcraft three and then World of Warcraft. Yes, in World of Warcraft Three, or sorry, Warcraft Three, she was the bad guy, but she's under the control of the Lich King Arthur when she freed herself in World Warcraft and built up a faction of basically the undead who opposed the Lich King. She's not necessarily a bad guy. Yes, she's looking for people and very Xenophobic, maybe you could say. But she's still looking out for people. So I don't think she's evil then. And there were recent expansion. This is why I want on the list. She becomes the bad guy in that expansion. I think she goes to, like, the afterlife. I don't know the warcraft lore, but she goes to the afterlife and makes a deal with the jailer, the demon. And part of the deal is that she becomes alive again. But she has to kill people to feed him souls. And that's why I felt she was, like, such a great villain. But by the end of that Expansion, she's redeemed her soul. Pieces that are split are burst together, and she feels remorse and guilt and all those things. And by the end of that Expansion, she's no longer a villain. She's trying to redeem herself. So that, I think, does not make her villain. Just like megas. I was all ready to say she was the big, the winner in this. But when I read that last bit of lore today at the end of the expansions, that's what happens to her. That's her fate, is she redeems herself. And she's out there in the world now trying to gain due penance to make up for the atrocities that she's committed. I think that turns around. And much like Meghan, I think she's maybe not the better villain in this case. Wulff (B): Yeah. Sins (D): All right. Chard (A): Sylvanus's origin story is going to premiere on The WB here real soon, too. Sins (D): So, are you saying that's two for Ridley and one for Sylvana? Jake (C): Ridley is not a great villain. Like, Ridley, to me, is super Metroid, and that's it, right? You shoot him in the intro and then you have a boss fight with him. GP (E): Sorry, did Ganondorf show up in a bunch of other properties I don't know about? Wulff (B): Other than Ridley? Chard (A): Mega Ridley? Holy shit. That thing is mega. Wulff (B): Ridley is not Ridley. Right, but it's made of himself to show how powerful he is. Jake (C): Oh, I thought it was him. Chard (A): That's a pretty evil trope. You know what? I'm going to make an evil robot of myself just to prove you how fucking evil I am. That seems pretty evil. Jake (C): That's the robot I'm delegating. Chard (A): I may not have seen that episode of Supernatural, but I'm telling you, that's pretty fucked up. Wulff (B): Two things we never actually learn of Ridley's personal motivations in the Games. Also, he just works for Mother brain. GP (E): Kind of a dick, non quantifiable entity. Why is this person destroying Henchmen then? Jake (C): Not a villain? Is that the argument? Sins (D): I guess. Wulff (B): Yeah. He's basically a cooper kid. Chard (A): What is it, two and two still? Sins (D): I'm going last. I haven't voted. Chard (A): Okay, well, you know what? Jake (C): I think I might go back to savannah has been a villain, right, in the past. I can't even see the name. Windrunner has had a villainous past. She may not be a villain currently, but she was. Ridley's just a henchman and has always been a henchman. He's just a schmuck. All right, you know what? It will flip me. I'm Sylvanis. Sins (D): Okay? So sylvana. Sylvanis. Ridley for GP. What are you charred last? Chard (A): Go. GP (E): No, real quick, please keep in mind to the two other guys who still need to vote here, if you vote Sylvanis, that means that Sylvanis will show up in another bracket and we're just going to have to talk about her some more. We all have to act like we know what's going on. Wulff (B): She's a better villain. Chard (A): No, I'm going, Ridley, because I've seen that episode of Supernatural and it wasn't very good. Sins (D): So now it's two and two, right? Wulff (B): Yes. GP (E): Okay, that's announced my retirement. Go ahead. Sins (D): I'm going, Sylvanus, because no werewolf is absolutely right. We talked about how these are specifically the video game villains versions and Ridley in the video game is just a boss. Sylvan just a boss and not the final boss. Chard (A): All right, that's fine. No, that's fine. You could be a bad guy for like, a segment and then be good again and still be a better villain than a person that's a villain all the time. That's fine. That seems to make perfect sense. GP (E): That's all it is. You're just a temporary asshole. That's all it is. Chard (A): That's fine. I'm sorry I didn't eat today. I was hangry. Best villain ever. Jake (C): Have a snicker. Chard (A): You're good. Sins (D): Except for I didn't eat today and I'm an asshole means I actually fed human lives to the Lich King. That's fine. Chard (A): I fucking slept 3 hours. I guess I'm the best villain today. Cool. GP (E): If somebody would just give don't worry. Chard (A): And my advanced DG, all my soul shards will come back together and I'll stop eating a dick. Cool. Your soul shard villain. GP (E): I love that. Chard (A): They're all in my kitchen next to my advanced GG shaker. Terrible pick. Let's move on. So what everybody's been waiting for? Let's go. We got two final fantasies back to back, but I'm going to throw you a curveball. Yeah, we're going to pick. Everybody likes Sephiroth for some reason is picked on here. I don't know why we went with Sephiroth. There's better villains than that, but not Canadian. So I guess I don't have to understand. Jake (C): I didn't make these brackets. It was a group. Chard (A): Of the gods. Section two. GP (E): Versus what? Chard (A): I love all the squids. It's just Kafka. I'm just fucking with you. It's Kafka. Kafka versus Sephirothko. This should be an easy one. Sins (D): Kafka, look. GP (E): Life, dreams, hope. Where do they come from? Where do they go? Such meaningless things. I'll destroy them all. Kafka for the win. Forever and always. Sins (D): Where did you go? Chard (A): Oh, must be exhausting. GP (E): We talked earlier about how one of the benchmarks of an interesting villain is a strong willed person who believes they're doing the right thing thanos Ultron. Just use some comic book tropes. The great thing about Kefka is Kefka doesn't really have the ideals of right or wrong. They are bat shit crazy in a similar way to the Joker, but to a very, very successful degree. Sins (D): We talked about how crazy is scarier than evil. Kafka is crazy when he man killed an entire kingdom. GP (E): Yes, the kingdom of Doma poisoning. And he becomes all powerful and in a way that's what he's after. But he doesn't really care about being powerful. He just cares about destroying the power is not the goal. Ending everything is the goal. The power is just the means for it. And. Sins (D): The power to destroy a world was in Kafka all along. Chard (A): Yeah. And all of us. Wulff (B): Yeah. GP (E): I don't know about all right, that's two for Kefka. Chard (A): How did Sephiroth even get a fucking. Wulff (B): Heyday, Sephiroth looks cool. Chard (A): Yeah. Jake (C): He is a big source. Wulff (B): An angry toddler. Chard (A): Yeah. Wulff (B): He is just mad about his life circumstance. Chard (A): Genetically enhanced toddler. Wulff (B): That's all it is. Whereas Kefka and we're going to bring it around. We're going to bring it around. Kefka is the joker. If Joker had magic. GP (E): Yeah, that's exactly right. That's a mic drop. Don't drop the mic. But that's right. Chard (A): There goes the thing is, somebody lied. GP (E): To Kefka about who his real mom is. And the reveal of that in the game, I think was one of the highlights of Final Fantasy Seven, because he believes he was an ancient, but turns out he wasn't. He ends up being descendant of this other horrible thing that came to Earth. So big twisty reveal there. You don't have to have a big twisty reveal with Kafka. He just did the thing he said he was going to do. Wulff (B): Yeah, he's just horrified. All he cares about is himself. That's it. Chard (A): I don't even think he cares about himself. I think he doesn't care about anything. Wulff (B): No, he cares about him. If he didn't care about himself, he wouldn't name things after him. He wouldn't say, I'm rebuilding the world in my image. Chard (A): He is, right? Jake (C): Yes. Wulff (B): An egomaniac to the umpteenth degree. Right. He wanted power, so he became a general for Emperor Gestalt. And then Gestalt was like, no, stop. And he was like, you're stupid. You don't know what you're talking about. I'm not stopping here. And so he kept going and kept going and kept going. And then he succeeded, and then he kept everybody down afterward. Even after he was a success, he still didn't care about anybody but himself. GP (E): Yeah. The closest thing Kepka ever cared about, in my opinion, in my estimation, is trying to get people to understand why nothing matters, and he doesn't really care that they understand it, but he still poses those questions. Why do people cling to life knowing it has to end, and that once you're dead, none of it will have meant anything? Like, that's? Some lofty ass shit for six year old me. And I'll say this. Even if Kafka was we'll say, Dr. Wiley, I would probably still vote for him based on nothing other than the Kafka Tower fight battle music fair. I'll stop now. I'll let everybody else talk. Chard (A): You're good. So is that three for Kafka? Wulff (B): I vote Kafka. Chard (A): All right. Sins (D): Jake, you don't matter. Jake (C): Yeah, I know. The story of my life. Chard (A): I'll just say. Jake (C): I thought when the brackets were randomly selected in this. I thought there'd be more of a fight and more balanced fight, but I guess I was wrong. I mean, the brackets fate was wrong. GP (E): That speaks to Kepka. I'm sorry. Would easily beat see how Gladys feels about it. Charge. Jake (C): So Sephiroth's greatest achievements is he burned a village down and he killed Eris. Wulff (B): Or Erith well, I mean nearly destroyed the planet with a giant comet, if you recall. Jake (C): Yeah, but then Kafka literally destroyed everything. GP (E): The weapons, the giant elemental weapon beasts. He took down Midgar, which is the source of all the horrible stuff. Wulff (B): Transformers. GP (E): Yeah. Sephiroth is a badass again, that doesn't. Chard (A): Take away from Sephora screamer off. Jake (C): I think I'm going to go back to what you said earlier. Crazy is scary. Like, crazy is terrifying. And Kefka is going to win. But I was hoping that Sephiroth would have more of an argument for him. But ultimately, I think kefa. This one. Wulff (B): I've always thought that Sephiroth was just like an adult child having a tantrum. GP (E): Scary or pure than a child. The quote from Bebop or crazy. Jake (C): No, but GP, when you mentioned the backstory in Sephiroth and where he came from, I completely forgotten. He thought he was an ancient. And there's a whole weird thing there that the story in fanface seven was always just confusing. I still never understood. I was hoping the remake would expand on that when they finally finish whatever, how many parts they do. Chard (A): We're going to leave out all that important stuff. GP (E): I think we took out Liquid, am I correct? I'll mention this real quick. The reason I thought Liquid Snake would have been interesting for this is because the whole premise to Metal Gear Solid is we have these two genetically almost identical twins who are manufactured, and then one is believing himself to be the inferior clone, and the other one superior, and it kind of goes back and forth. So then Solid Snake ends up winning. And the big kind of twisty thing there, because they do that in that series a lot, is that in fact, Solid Snake was the inferior one, and that theming. And that twist kind of speaks back to the only thing, in my opinion, that really makes Sephiroth super interesting is realizing or finding out eventually you're not what you thought you were. Wulff (B): You heard it here first, folks. Solid snake is Danny DeVito. Confirmed. GP (E): Anyway, all right, sorry. Chard (A): Thank you for that Kafka sweeps. Okay, I'll cut it short. I don't need to go on my die triad for that. You know how I feel about that. All right, we'll go into the next one. Robotnik eggman as depicted by Jim Carrey in the recent films and Dr. Wiley of the Mega man series. Sins (D): Gentlemen, can I start this one? Chard (A): You have your doctor's degrees, you have your eight years in college and in what do they do in practice? Residence. That's it. Resident, please don your white lab coats and. Vote. Sins (D): Okay, my vote. Chard (A): Sorry, you can go first. Sins (D): My vote. Who cares? Move on. Chard (A): Because we'll have a fucking awkward leg if that's the case. And Kefi will automatically win. Sins (D): Fine. Dr. Wiley. Because Mega Man I don't know, I always felt like eggman robotnik was like I always felt like he was a joke. Honestly, I always did. At least Wiley was. I don't know, he felt like robots should always be subservient. So let's go. Wiley wins. Wulff (B): They're both pretty egomaniacal and kind of inept. Let me say something here. How many eons of injustice is Dr. Wiley responsible for? Start with Mega man. He is responsible for the events of Mega Man X, which lead to the events of Mega Man Zero, which lead to the events of Mega Man ZX. All of that is Wiley's fault. GP (E): Yes, he even comes back as surges in my mind palace in X Two. I know there's a subreddit there, but you're exactly right. I don't want to step on you. I'll wait for my turn. Chard (A): Go ahead. GP (E): Sorry. Wulff (B): No, and even if you look at the Battle Network aspect, I'm pretty sure he's responsible for all of those six. And then it goes on to what? Star Force? Which is a spin off of Battle Network. So regardless of Mega Man timeline, you follow, wiley is responsible for everything. Maybe he didn't Wiley all along, but he did the most damage. GP (E): Yes. I'll kind of make my case here. The bad thing about Wiley is he failed a bunch. I can name at least eleven instances in which he did. With that said, whatever it was, he died. His final fuck you to the world was leaving the Zero virus like his last send off was apocalyptic levels of horseshit. But the pro for him being voted is, like you said, the longevity. His legacy of evil is top tier. So if you look at Robotnik, kind of a silly bad guy. I don't really fully understand the story there, why he hates Sonic. Here's the thing though. If you're going to say a pro about Robotnik, and this will lead into his con, he's actually faster than Sonic the Hedgehog. If you make it to the end of Sonic Two, as I recently did, there is a foot race that happens and it doesn't matter if you're running a Sonic or if you're in your little run like Naruto. Yeah, and Naruto runs all the way to the end. So he is faster than the enemy that he is trying to beat. And his enemy, Sonic, the only thing he's famous for is his speed. So why go through all the extra stuff? Why build the giant robots? Why do all that stuff when you can just say Sonic, I bet I can beat you, and we'll go our separate ways? Wulff (B): That he's got to think it's jewelry, right? GP (E): Yeah, I mean, can't blame that. Wulff (B): All he's really after is the the bling bling. GP (E): So, you know, that's robotics kind of. Chard (A): Cue the ring sound. Cue the ring sound. GP (E): Sinister, would you put the the ring sound in after you make the shiny thing? And anyway sure, and show me every step of the process. But the thing is I love you so much, Sinister. You're my best friend. I got to give it to Wiley for those reasons. Chard (A): Oh, man, there's so many inside jokes in this episode. I think you and I might have a similar answer being Sega kids at one point in our lives. Jake (C): Yeah, for me, when I look at this matchup, they do feel very similar in that they both fail a whole lot. And I'm not as familiar with the X lore and ZX and all that stuff. I only know the classic Mega Man games and Dr. Wiley there, where even when he's not the bad guy, he still kind of is, but he still loses every damn time, and he keeps making invention after invention, and they all fail to make a man. So I don't know, but it's also. GP (E): The sorry, go ahead. I'm sorry, I don't mean to keep interrupting. Jake (C): Yeah, not to say Robotnik is this supervillain. He also loses a Sonic every damn time. What does it say when the most brilliant mind in that franchise loses to a blue little fur ball? Every time, right? Like every single time. Yeah, he's faster than. Sins (D): All that means is that Sonic was the true villain all along. GP (E): Look, either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain. Jake (C): So here's where I'm going to fall on this one, because I think both of them are inept villains. From my experience in the franchise, I played with them. They both lose all the time. Sins (D): I come back and come down. Jake (C): No, well, I care for the sake of the science in this bracket, in this tournament important, it's relevant. We're doing dedication here, dedication. We're professional at Press B. So, look, don't let me forget, my point comes down to shit, I lost it. GP (E): Well, while he's searching Sonic, which one are you picking? Chard (A): Robotnik or Wiley? Jake (C): Who's more recognizable as a bad guy? If you went to the

James from @theleftisdead7870 and I discussed current political issues and where we see the 2023 and 2024 elections going. If you liked this discussion with James, check out his podcast, The Left is Dead. Jame's Links: https://leftisdead.com https://www.facebook.com/TheLeftIsDead https://twitter.com/TheLeftisDead1 Links for social media Please support us on Patreon if you can patreon.com/thesexypolitico If you like this podcast please subscribe and check out our website and socials. TheSexypolitico.com Twitter: @thesexypolitico Instagram: _thesexypolitico Facebook: The Sexy Politico Pintrest: The Sexy Politico Tumblr: thesexypolitico.tumblr.com --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

When selling a mid-market business, you may run into a family office interested in acquiring your company. But, what are family offices, how do they work, and what do they look for in a target? In this episode with James Carey, a partner at a private family office, we discuss the differences between a family office, private equity firms, and strategic acquirers, look at how family offices create value, and define growth equity. We also talk about the elements of the family office capital growth toolkit, mistakes an owner may make in consultations with growth equity investors, and tips to avoid these mistakes. View the complete show notes for this episode. Learn More: The Private Equity Toolkit with Michael Roher Additional Resources: Download a free copy of The Complete Guide to Selling a Business Are you selling a business? Schedule a free consultation now. Listen to Other Episodes: IPOs, Private Equity, and Preparing for the Sale The Basics of Private Equity Behind the Scenes of Private Equity 

Describing himself as an interior designer and a visual artist, Dr. James Carey switched from studying arts to Interior Design at RMIT University. As well as having worked with a number of practices, both local and global, Carey enjoys heading up the university's fourth year program -teaching students on the broader aspects of design.

Jim joins John Kiriakou and Rachel Blevins spoke with James Carey about the damage done by President George W. Bush, Libya, and the Taiwan Strait situation. James talked about the 2003 invasion of Iraq and America's history with Iran. James spoke on the destruction of Libya and the long-term consequences of America's military action in the Middle East. Full episode of The Backstory - https://bit.ly/3L95aVu

In this week's episode, the guys are joined by Professor James Carey. The group wade outside of TNT's philosophic comfort zone by talking with Professor Carey about Indian philosophy. Specifically, they discuss whether Indian philosophy is monolithic, and, whether it is or not, what concepts grab the attention of Indian philosophy.

Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations security analyst, joins us to discuss the military operation in Ukraine. After a Thursday night speech, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave the green light for an extensive military operation to "disarm and de-nazify" Ukraine. Putin argued that the lack of diplomatic movement and the Ukrainian threat of acquiring nuclear weapons left him with no choice. Scott Ritter, former UN weapon inspector in Iraq, joins us to discuss potential economic fallout from the Ukraine crisis. Oil prices have already begun to rise, and many analysts expect prices and inflation trouble ahead for many nations. Also, will the US empire levy sanctions against Russia that would likely backfire?Ray McGovern, former CIA analyst and co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity, joins us to discuss the potential of a new world order as a result of this week's military operation in Ukraine. Russia and China oppose the enlargement of NATO, and we discuss how Russia's military operation in Ukraine will change the dynamics of power between the three great powers on Earth. James Carey, writer, activist, and podcaster, joins us to discuss Iran. There are signs that the US is nearing an agreement to rejoin the JCPOA with Iran. If so, how will an energy superpower reappearing in the world's oil market affect prices, trade, and inflation? Iran has recently announced that they are optimistic about a deal.Laith Marouf, broadcaster and journalist based in Beirut, Lebanon, joins us to discuss the Middle East. Israel has launched several missile attacks on Syria. Also, Iraq's political instability has still been unable to produce a president. The Iraqi Parliament has announced a list of 33 presidential candidates. KJ Noh, activist, writer, and teacher, joins us to discuss China. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke with his Russian counterpart yesterday regarding the situation in Ukraine. China advocates that dialogue and negotiations should be used to form a sustainable European security mechanism.Leo Flores, Latin America coordinator for Code Pink, joins us to discuss Venezuela. Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro has announced his support for the Russian recognition of the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. He has, as of yet, not spoken about the hostilities in Ukraine.Carlos Castaneda, immigration lawyer, joins us to discuss immigration. The Supreme Court is reviewing whether the Biden administration had the authority to get rid of a Trump-era policy that made it harder for immigrants to obtain green cards.

Dr. David Oualaalou (WAH-LAH-LU), author and international security analyst, joins us to discuss the NATO crisis. A recent op-ed by Professor Sergey Karaganov argues that the current security infrastructure in Europe is unsustainable and that the EU should work with Russia to build a viable system "on the ruins of the present."Dr. Yolandra Hancock, board-certified pediatrician and obesity medicine specialist, joins us to discuss covid. A number of states that are controlled by Democratic Party governors and legislatures are relaxing covid measures. Also, the CDC is about to roll out 10 million doses of vaccines for young children.Jim Kavanagh, writer at thepolemicist.net and Counter Punch, joins us to discuss the Canada freedom convoy. The truckers freedom convoy in Canada is starting to have real world consequences as auto plants are shutting down due to the supply chain disruption. Also, some Canadian provinces are relaxing covid measures and Ottawa tow truck owners are refusing to tow trucks participating in the protest.Linwood Tauheed, associate professor of economics at University of Missouri- Kansas City, joins us to discuss the current crime wave in the US. Homicide rates are skyrocketing in US cities as some politicians see room for improvement in 2022. Also, police shootings dramatically increased in 2021 and our guest discusses the government's reliance on state-sanctioned violence.James Carey, writer, activist, and podcaster, joins us to discuss the Middle East. The US sanctions on Syria are making life unbearable for many citizens. Also, many Middle Eastern nations are turning to Russia and China to balance their international relationships.Dan Lazare, investigative journalist and author of "America's Undeclared War," joins us to discuss Ukraine. Ukrainian leadership is splitting from the Biden team on the subject of a Russian invasion. Also, the White House is mulling more sanctions against Russia and dangerous Nazis are running amuck in Ukraine.Scott Ritter, former UN weapon inspector in Iraq, joins us to discuss drones. Some US members of Congress are discussing whether they have the need and power to address the problems associated with civilian deaths from US drone attacks.Nicholas Davies, peace activist and author of "Blood on Our Hands: The American Invasion of Iraq," joins us to discuss the US war budget. The US just approved a $70 million missile sale to Jordan, and Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) details why he wants to kill a $2.5 billion arms sale to Egypt.

Give us this day our daily Bloom.Topics in this episode include: mazzoth, shewbread, matzo v. Communion wafer, what it feels like to consume the body of Christ in the Eucharist, more cannibals, the hokey pokey and whether or not it mocks the Catholic Mass, Leopold Bloom use of popular culture to connect with more complex issues, the feeling of religious community, how Holy Communion is like Plumtree's Potted Meat, the spectacle of the Mass, Lourdes water, the Knock apparition, moving statues, salt stain Mary in Chicago (she was under the Kennedy Expressway, not Wacker Drive!), the narcotic quality of the Mass, IHS and INRI, the Invincibles and the Phoenix Park Murders, details hidden in addresses, James Carey, and suspicions against ostentatiously pious people.Sweny's Patreon helps keep this marvelous Dublin landmark alive. Please subscribe!On the Blog:Decoding Bloom: The Opiate of the MassSocial Media:Facebook | TwitterSubscribe to Blooms & Barnacles:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher

Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CodePink, joins us to discuss how the US prioritizes its spending. While President Biden has just signed $778 billion in new military spending into law, the U.S. Agency for International Development reportedly can't find the funds to pay for the Biden administration's effort to help vaccinate the world's population against COVID-19, according to two agency officials interviewed by Politico. Chris Hedges, investigative journalist, joins us to discuss Julian Assange. In his latest Common Dreams article, Chris posits that the legal precedent set by the sentencing of Assange means that "anyone who possesses classified information, or anyone who leaks it, will be guilty of a criminal offense." He further predicts that the sentencing of Assange will "signal the end of all investigative inquiries into the inner workings of power."Dr. Colin Campbell, DC senior news correspondent, joins us to discuss Rep. Pramila Jayapal warning that political disaster is in store for the Democrats if they fail to deliver in the New Year. Rep. Jayapal told her fellow lawmakers and the President on Sunday that "failure to deliver their promised social spending and climate agenda could have disastrous political consequences, feeding voter disillusionment and leaving millions of people without badly needed economic aid amid a deadly pandemic."James Carey, editor/co-owner at Geopoliticsalert.com, joins us to discuss the Middle East. Saudi military expert Mohammad al-Qabibaan defended the recent intense escalation of the Saudi-led coalition's bombardment campaign in Yemen during a recent appearance on RT Arabic, describing the relentless airstrikes of recent weeks as “successful operations” designed to force the Houthi Ansarullah movement to sit down at the negotiating table.Kweku Lamumba, external relations coordinator for KOSSA, joins us to discuss the kidnapping situation in Haiti. After the kidnapping of the 16 American missionaries and a Canadian in Haiti, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken initially said that the US will do "everything possible to resolve the situation" and even indicated that an FBI kidnapping team maintained contact with a church that the captured missionaries belonged to. Now there is "total silence, to the point of making people question even this act of kidnapping."Teri Mattson, Latin American coordinator for CodePink, joins us to discuss El Salvador. Teri discusses reports that a former senior Salvadoran anti-corruption prosecutor went on record to say that President Nayib Bukele's government closed down his unit's investigation into alleged allegations that the government struck a deal with the MS-13 and Barrio 18 gangs in 2019 to "reduce murder rates and help the ruling New Ideas party win legislative elections in February."John Burris, civil rights attorney, joins us to discuss the shootings in the US. Yesterday, the Los Angeles Police Department released body camera video of a shooting last week that left a 14-year-old girl dead. Also, reports indicate a shooting spree occurred in the Denver area yesterday that left five people dead, including the suspected shooter, and one police officer injured.Gary Flowers, host of “The Gary Flowers Show” on radio station Rejoice WREJ-AM 990, joins us to discuss the drop in viewership of news networks this year. Nielson data reports that after many networks drew bigger audiences the previous year amid COVID-19 and the 2020 presidential election, they now saw a drop in viewership in 2021. The largest drop was seen in cable networks, with a 38 percent drop in weekday primetime viewership for CNN, 34 percent drop for Fox News Channel, and 25 percent drop for MSNBC.

Dr. Colin Campbell, DC senior news correspondent, joins us to discuss President Biden's waning popularity. A new article in The Nation expresses the anger and frustration towards the Biden administration from young voters. The article reviews the campaign promises that Biden made and laments his failure to live up to a single commitment. Dr. Jack Rasmus, professor in economics and politics at St. Mary's College in California, joins us to discuss the economy. Dr. Jack reminds us that he predicted the death of the Build Back Better legislation. He also goes over his predictions for the next phase of the US economic and political crisis. Jim Kavanagh, writer at thepolemicist.net and CounterPunch and author of "Reconcile This: Lessons From the Latest Legislative Debacle," joins us to discuss censorship. In another major EU blow to press freedom, European satellite operator Eutelsat has removed the German-language RT DE channel from its platform under pressure from Berlin. Greg Palast, investigative reporter, joins us to discuss voting. The Brennan Center for Justice is reviewing state and local legislation and predicting a tidal wave of GOP-sponsored voter suppression starting in 2022. They say that empowering non-state partisan actors to intervene in the election process will be one of the principal methods used to create hurdles for minorities and youthful voters.Robert Fantina, journalist and Palestine activist, joins us to discuss Israel. We discuss the issue of settlements in the occupied territories and their designation under international law. Miko Peled argues that the term "illegal settlements" is misleading because there is no such thing as "legal settlements" under international law. Filmon Zerai, independent blogger with commentary for On Horn of Africa & Global Politics, joins us to discuss Ethiopia. In his Black Agenda Report article, Filmon Zerai says that "The best way for leftist anti-imperialists to support Ethiopia is to not take a hardline position on the internal politics of the country." We discuss the internal politics of Ethiopia and why it is important to take a non-activist position towards the present government.James Carey, editor/co-owner at Geopoliticsalert.com, joins us to discuss the Middle East. Intensifying Saudi airstrikes against Yemen are making it impossible for international aid flights to land in the Houthi-run zones. Kevin Gosztola, journalist and author, joins us to discuss Julian Assange. He argues that the persecution of Julian Assange will only end if the various factions of US imperial power conclude that the cost of making him an example is not worth the benefit.

James Carey joins Dr. Wilmer Leon and Garland Nixon on Radio Sputnik's The Critical Hour to discuss Israel. In a move that some observers view as propaganda, Israeli security personnel are drilling for a potential "dirty bomb" attack ostensibly by Hezbollah. Also, Defense Minister Benny Gantz continues to ramp up hawkish rhetoric against Iran as he claims that Israel is ready to go to war with the Islamic Republic.

John Burris, civil rights attorney, and Steve Poikonen, national organizer for Action4Assange, join us to wrap up the important stories for the week. The neocon regime change plan for Cuba has fallen flat as their November astroturf protests drew little fanfare. Also, President Biden held a virtual summit with China's leader, the US is making absurd allegations of election fraud against Nicaragua, and a new story has come out claiming that the USS Connecticut was attacked by a Chinese drone.Jack Rasmus, professor in economics and politics at St. Mary's College in California, joins us to discuss the economic stories for the week. Inflation continues to surge as energy prices skyrocket. Also, gold prices go up, Biden's approval ratings plunge, and the "Build Back Better" plan may soon see a vote. Dr. Yolandra Hancock, board-certified pediatrician and obesity medicine specialist, joins us to discuss covid. OSHA has decided to drop an application of the federal vaccine mandates after a federal court issued a scathing rebuke. Also, the FDA is likely to authorize an additional shot for all adults, and approximately 10 percent of the children in the US have gotten vaccinated.Dr. Linwood Tauheed, associate professor of economics at the University of Missouri- Kansas City, and James Carey, editor/co-owner at Geopoliticsalert.com, join us to discuss this week's major stories. The US military budget is bloated and growing larger as economic problems increase for everyday citizens. Also, we discuss the president's approval ratings, and the "Build Back Better" legislation.Jim Kavanagh, writer at thepolemicist.net and CounterPunch, and Dan Lazare, author and investigative journalist, join us to discuss important stories of the week. Democrats are concerned that their current leadership is not viable for a 2024 presidential run. Also, Germans look to be facing a long cold winter partially due to EU intransigence with the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, the US is fueling astroturf protests in Cuba, Biden recently talked with President Xi Jinping of China, and the Democrats have hidden a giant tax cut for the rich inside of Joe Biden's signature "Build Back Better" legislation.

Shane Stranahan, co-host of Fault Lines, joins us to discuss US foreign policy. A recent study shows that the US and its allies are causing a worldwide decay of democracies through attacks on voting rights, judicial independence, and freedom of the press. According to the report, "36% of all democratic "backsliding" has happened in the U.S. and U.S.-aligned countries, including Turkey, Hungary, and Israel."Jim Kavanagh, writer at thepolemicist.net and CounterPunch, joins us to discuss Julian Assange. Two unannounced inspections at Belmarsh Prison in London revealed that the embattled publisher is living in unbearable conditions. The inspections found that the deplorable conditions are not compatible with an inmate maintaining a reasonable state of mental health and that precautions to prevent self-harm are almost nonexistent.Nick Davies, peace activist and author of "Blood on Our Hands: The American Invasion of Iraq," joins us to discuss the Pentagon budget. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has said that the US needs to get its priorities straight as he plans for a no vote on the latest military budget. Also, retired US Army Major Danny Sjursen argues that the US empire is pinching pennies for its citizens and opening the financial floodgates for the military-industrial complex.K.J. Noh, peace activist, writer, and teacher, joins us to discuss China. President Xi Jinping has identified 3 basic principles and 4 priorities for the Asian world power. After he met with Biden, the Chinese leader made it clear that the US must turn his words of moderation into action. Scott Ritter, former UN weapon inspector in Iraq, joins us to discuss the likelihood of the US joining in a military engagement to support the Neo-Nazi government of Ukraine and/or the island of Taiwan. Patrick Lawrence argues that the people of the US would not be willing to accept the losses involved in such acts of folly and that the US government is well aware of that reality.John Burris, civil rights attorney, joins us to discuss two major US court cases. The jury continues to deliberate on the Kyle Rittenhouse case, and the European Union is calling on Oklahoma to commute the execution of Julius Jones. A petition for the commutation of Jones's execution has garnered over 6 million signatures.James Carey, editor/co-owner at Geopoliticsalert.com, joins us to discuss Israel. In a move that some observers view as propaganda, Israeli security personnel are drilling for a potential "dirty bomb" attack ostensibly by Hezbollah. Also, Defense Minister Benny Gantz continues to ramp up hawkish rhetoric against Iran as he claims that Israel is ready to go to war with the Islamic Republic.Ricardo Vaz, political analyst and editor at VenezuelAnalysis.com, joins us to discuss Venezuela. The US State Department is again condemning the Venezuelan elections before they occur. Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro lambasted the regime change neocons, stating that “It is shameful how the Department of State intends to interfere in the internal affairs of Venezuela.”

Gerald Horne, professor of history at the University of Houston, author, historian, and researcher, joins us to discuss the Sudan coup. The African nation of Sudan is in chaos after a military coup that has many casting a suspicious eye towards the US empire. Creating further suspicion, Israeli officials have voiced support for the extra democratic move in a recent interview. Marjorie Cohn, professor of law at the Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, joins us to discuss Julian Assange. Dr. Cohn argues that the UK high court has no option other than to drop the charges and release the beleaguered journalist in light of recent information regarding an assassination plot by US intelligence leaders. James Carey, editor/co-owner at Geopoliticsalert.com, joins us to discuss Afghanistan. Zalmay Khalilzad served as the ambassador to Afghanistan and was also involved in the withdrawal negotiations. Khalilzad has opened up in a recent interview to give his side of the story.Dr. Ken Hammond, professor of East Asian and global history at New Mexico State University and activist with Pivot for Peace, joins us to discuss China. China has countered Biden's Taiwan measures and called out the US empire's hypocrisy by signing a belt and road-related economic deal with Cuba. Biden's "rules-based order" is being exposed as a fraud. The US continues to make military and economic maneuvers on the borders of Russia and China while arguing that the entire Western hemisphere is under the imperial umbrella of its empire. John Kiriakou, journalist, author, and Host of The Back Story, joins us to discuss the Facebook whistleblower. Recent information that has been unearthed is exposing the so-called Facebook whistleblower as an intelligence operative bent on supporting the US empire's desire to impose complete control over social media. Frances Haugen is represented by US intelligence insiders and claims to have worked for a Facebook unit that is staffed by former intelligence operatives. Jack Rasmus, professor in economics and politics at St. Mary's College in California, joins us to discuss the US economy. Dr. Jack argues that a financial transaction tax is not only a good idea but desperately needed to revive the US economy and pay for the proposed build-back better legislation. He says that a minimal tax would create 2.4 trillion dollars within the first five years.Scott Ritter, former UN weapon inspector in Iraq, joins us to discuss US foreign policy. An article in the American Conservative magazine poses the question as to whether the threats and bluster of the Biden administration is going to lead the US empire into a disastrous war. As is normally the case, the US is again blaming Iran-related groups for an attack on an illegal military base in Syria.Dan Lazare, investigative journalist and author of "America's Undeclared War," joins us to discuss NATO. NATO has deteriorated into a theatre of the absurd. Ridiculous claims against Russia have now been joined by a chorus of anti-China rhetoric as some elements in the rapidly fracturing coalition seek to join the US empire in a misguided shift to include the Asian power in their quixotic crusade.

Scott Ritter, former UN weapon inspector in Iraq, joins us to discuss Colin Powell. Scott Ritter gives us his insider view as to what Colin Powell knew about the Bush regime's plans for the overthrow of the government of Iraq. Scott argues that Colin Powell was not an innocent bystander pushing back on irrational policies, but that he helped craft the foolish plans to deceive the American people and invade Iraq based on lies. James Carey, editor/co-owner at Geopoliticsalert.com, joins us to discuss Iran. Recent polls show that Iranian citizens have given up on any hope of a rapprochement with the US under the Biden administration and want their leaders to unify with Eurasian powers. Niko House, political activist, independent journalist and podcaster, joins us to discuss the media. The new billionaire owner of Politico has announced that the media outlet will be aligned with US official economic and military policies and that any employees opposed to this policy will be let go. Caitlyn Johnstone has penned an article in which she uses humor to describe the "refreshing" burst of honesty in the media.Medea Benjamin, co-founder of Code Pink, joins us to discuss sanctions. US sanctions against the Taliban will intentionally create misery and starvation for the already impoverished people. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has argued that the US policy of sanctioning the world will eventually force the replacement of the US dollar as the world's reserve currency.Roger Harris, human rights activist and board member for the 32-year-old anti-imperialist human rights organization Task Force on the Americas, joins us to discuss Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab. World renowned human rights activist Roger Harris joins us to discuss the Alex Saab case. Saab has been kidnapped by the US government and taken to Miami for a fake prosecution on a charge of money laundering.Kathy Kelly, American peace activist, joins us to discuss drones. The US is being misled about the illegal and immoral drone war because the media and Pentagon are using misleading terms such as "over the horizon" capabilities. These kinds of attacks seem destined to continue, piling up civilian casualties in the process due to the inability of high altitude attacks to distinguish between civilian and military targets.Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations security analyst, joins us to discuss the FBI raid on Russian aluminum tycoon Oleg Deripaska. Additionally, we discuss the break in diplomatic ties between Russia and NATO.Robert Fantina, journalist and Palestine activist, joins us to discuss Israel. Palestinian prisoners in Israel are challenging the injustice of the Israeli system with long, brutal hunger strikes. The prisoners have no judicial system to provide a fair trial, and have decided that their only weapons are their bodies.

The terms media and communications are often offered as a couplet, or even used interchangeably. But communication is a broad idea with a very long history, and the arrival of media technologies are usually seen to make possible a special form of communication, in which physical co-presence was unnecessary. The printing press, for example, is often argued to have made nations, democracies and bureaucratic states possible, allowing for the widespread dissemination of printed matter as books, newspapers, laws and scientific literature. For the first time, populations who might never meet face-to-face could share culture and knowledge. In this episode, via a discussion of James Carey's essay ‘The Telegraph and Technology' alongside other work, we explore how electronic media technologies such as the telegraph transformed the idea of communication itself, separating it from physical transportation. The telegraph, and the technologies that followed in its wake, allowed messages to communicate near-instantaneously. In so doing, they radically altered our experiences of time, space, distance and locality. But communication technologies are not without geography: they are always embedded in and help to produce material times and spaces. Thinkers discussed: Doreen Massey and David Harvey (briefly); Harold Innis (The Bias of Communication); Marshall McLuhan (The Gutenberg Myth); S.D. Noam Cook (The Gutenberg Myth); James Carey (The Telegraph and Ideology); Jonathan Sterne (Thinking with James Carey); David Morley (Communications and Mobility); Raymond Williams (Television: Technology and Cultural Form).

First Episode of our newest series, Old Time Religion. A show where hosts Nathan Sacket and James Carey discuss religion, contemporary religious "art", new quasi-religions, and a lot more. This first episode is about art, and we had a lot to say about Jim Caviezel's 2020 blockbuster: Infidel. If you missed Jim you'll love him as Doug Rawlins, a 'writer' kidnapped by a Kurd for being a Christian in Egypt. Special appearances include Hezbollah and some other vague militia somewhere between Lebanon and Iran.

Dr. Yolandra Hancock, board-certified pediatrician and obesity medicine specialist, joins us to discuss Covid. Scientists are at odds over the Biden administration's new vaccine booster program, as various studies bring in conflicting data. Also, a CDC report contends that fully vaccinated people can still transmit the virus.James Carey, editor/co-owner at Geopoliticsalert.com, joins us to discuss Afghanistan. A recent report in the Intercept shows that US generals who deliberately lied about the Afghanistan occupation faced no consequences and were rewarded with large pensions and high-paying jobs in the industry of war profiteers.Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations security analyst, joins us to discuss Russia's EU relations. EU partners are making a fuss over the war games between Russia and Belarus, even though they have been practicing much larger war games on Russia's borders explicitly aimed at war with the Eurasian power. Also, disenchanted warmongers in Europe are frustrated at the US pullout from Afghanistan, and are pushing for an independent EU army to carry out imperialist wars throughout the world.Dr. Colin Campbell, a Washington, DC, news correspondent, joins us to discuss voting. In furtherance of a probe of the 2020 elections, the GOP-led Pennsylvania State Senate has approved subpoenas for a wide range of data and personal information on voters. The senators are seeking to obtain names, dates of birth, driver's license numbers, last four digits of Social Security numbers, addresses, and methods of voting for millions of voters.K. J. Noh, peace activist, writer, and teacher, joins us to discuss China. The US, UK, and Australia have announced a new agreement that is put together as a military pact against China. The plan includes providing nuclear-powered submarines to Australia. China has slammed the latest anti-China move and argues that it will hurt regional stability.Chris Garaffa, web developer and technologist, joins us to discuss AI. UN High Commissioner for Human RIghts Michele Bachelet is asking that companies halt the sale and use of artificial intelligence technology that can imperil human rights. Bachelet argues that "AI technologies can have negative, even catastrophic, effects if they are used without sufficient regard to how they affect people's human rights."Dan Lazare, investigative journalist and author of "America's Undeclared War," joins us to discuss American-European relations. A Strategic Culture article examines the relationship between the United States and Europe. The author reviews the refugee crisis in Europe and argues that the irresponsible regime change and colonialist policies of the US empire have created the flood of refugees. Laith Marouf, broadcaster and journalist based in Beirut, joins us to discuss Israel. There are reports that one of the Palestinian prison escapees was beaten and tortured by Israeli security and is now effectively brain dead. Also, the war crimes case against Israeli defense minister Benny Gantz is moving forward to a Dutch appeals court.

Breaking the Silence with Dr. Gregory Williams Guest, James Carey, Survivor and Overcomer

Caleb Maupin, journalist and political analyst, joins us to wrap up the important stories for the week. Chevron uses the law and the FBI to target whistleblower Steven Danziger. Also, the US sends ships near Chinese territory, the Taliban take over, and North Korea is not sharing information regarding their struggle with covid.Dr. Yolandra Hancock, board certified pediatrician and obesity medicine specialist, joins us to discuss covid. President Biden announced expansive vaccine mandates that will affect upwards of 100 million American workers. Some GOP governors threaten to sue over the sweeping mandates.Jack Rasmus, professor in economics and politics at St. Mary's College in California, joins us to discuss economics. The weekly jobless rate has dropped to a pandemic low of 310,000. Also, the Democrats push a 3.5 trillion dollar budget, and Presidents Biden and Xi speak amid rising tensions.Laith Marouf, broadcaster and journalist based in Beirut, Lebanon, and Robert Fantina, journalist and Palestine activist, come together to discuss important news stories for the week. The economic war on Lebanon is creating disastrous conditions for the Lebanese people. Also, Iran wishes to continue talks for restoration of the JCPOA, but the US is signaling that it may soon abandon negotiations.Dan Lazare, investigative journalist and author of "America's Undeclared War," and James Carey, editor/co-owner at Geopoliticsalert.com, come together to talk politics. Elite US institutions created and installed Ashraf Ghani as the corrupt puppet leader for the empire in Afghanistan. Also, China says that they will not return to poverty and second-class status, Biden looks to confront Russia and China, and the principal witness against Assange explains his fabrications.

Dr. Jack Rasmus, professor in economics and politics at St. Mary's College in California, joins us to discuss the economy. Today, our guest discusses an article he authored. In it, he argues that leading economic indicators are forecasting a weakening economy, and the decision-makers are re-introducing disastrous neoliberal austerity to a struggling job market.Dr. Yolandra Hancock, board-certified pediatrician and obesity medicine specialist, joins us to discuss covid. The delta variant is having a significant effect on the US fight against covid as US hospitalizations are on the rise. Also, booster shots may be limited to the Pfizer vaccine and Cuba is vaccinating children.Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations security analyst, joins us to discuss Ukraine. There are reports that a gas pipeline explosion in Crimea was masterminded by the Ukrainian Defense's Directorate of Intelligence. Also, does the meeting between US President Joe Biden and the empire's puppet, the President of Ukraine, indicate that the US learned nothing for Afghanistan?Miko Peled, author and activist, joins us to discuss Iran and Israel. Iran, under the leadership of their new President, says that they will continue with nuclear talks. Also, Israel's Naftali Bennet says that he will continue with the covert war on Iran even after begging the US to attack Iran over an alleged drone attack by Iran on an Israel-connected ship.Netfa Freeman, host of Voices With Vision on WPFW 89.3 FM, pan-Africanist and internationalist organizer, joins us to discuss the military coup in Guinea. Military forces linked to the US and French imperial powers have toppled the government in Guinea. Colonel Mamady Doumbouya has taken control of the country and declared himself the ruler.James Carey, editor/co-owner at GeoPoliticsAlert.com, joins us to discuss Afghanistan. Robert C. Koehler argues that we need a truth commission on Afghanistan to avoid repeating the disastrous moves that dragged the occupation on for 20 years. Also, tens of thousands of innocent people were killed in 20 years of US drone strikes.Gerald Horne, professor of history at the University of Houston, author, historian, and researcher, joins us to discuss US military confrontations with Russia and China. In Patrick Lawrence's recent Consortium News article "Power," he argues that US citizens need to become aware of the atrocities committed by their government around the world and act to stop the aggression before it leads to a worldwide catastrophe.K. J. Noh, peace activist, writer, and teacher, joins us to discuss China. The US aggression against China seems to be based on a principle that China must be economically and militarily inferior to the US empire. Also, weather-related disasters cry out for help, but the US empire is wasting its resources jousting at the Chinese windmill.

Julie Varughese, solidarity network coordinator for Black Alliance for Peace, joins us to discuss Afghanistan. President Biden has said that he is considering extending the presence of troops in Afghanistan beyond the previously identified date of August 31st. Also, even The New York Times is discussing Afghanistan as a neocolonial misadventure.Dr. Yolandra Hancock, board-certified pediatrician and obesity medicine specialist, joins us to discuss covid. The Pfizer vaccine has been granted full approval by the FDA. U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy told Chris Wallace on "Fox News Sunday" that he believes this will pave the way for more vaccine mandates in businesses and universities.Alexander Mercouris, editor in chief at theduran.com & host of "The Duran" on YouTube, joins us to discuss Ukraine. In yet another authoritarian crackdown, Ukrainian President Zelensky bans popular Russian websites, including popular news outlets. Also, German Chancellor Angela Merkel tells Kiev that Europe will be transitioning away from gas over the next 25 years.Dr. Jack Rasmus, professor in economics and politics at St. Mary's College in California, joins us to discuss the US economy. Democrats are at great odds over the $3.5 trillion budget plan. Also, the Federal Reserve is considering ending the $120 billion per month purchase of corporate bonds.K. J. Noh, peace activist, writer, and teacher, joins us to discuss China. Vice President Kamala Harris is landing in Singapore to build allies for the US aggression against China, as the Afghanistan debacle is destroying the world's confidence in the US empire as a reliable strategic partner.Caleb Maupin, journalist and political analyst, joins us to discuss the US oligarchic empire. Caitlin Johnstone argues that the US empire is easy to understand if you consider its makeup and desire to rule the world. Also, Bush-era war criminals are in the news prognosticating about Afghanistan and ignoring their part in creating this disaster.Gerald Horne, professor of history at the University of Houston, author, historian, and researcher, joins us to discuss Africa. Israel is being officially accepted into the African Union, even though most African states are in solidarity with the Palestinians and reject Israel's occupation. Also, Ethiopia is becoming more unstable as the civil war spreads. James Carey, editor/co-owner at Geopoliticsalert.com, joins us to discuss Israel. Israeli snipers injured over 40 protesters, including 24 children, during protests on Saturday. An Israeli sniper was wounded by gunfire, and Israel retaliated with more airstrikes on Gaza.

K. J. Noh, peace activist, writer, and teacher, joins us to discuss blowback from the fall of Kabul. In light of the Afghanistan debacle, foreign policy observers are looking to other US vassal states and asking if a similar outcome is in the offing.Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations security analyst, joins us to discuss Ukraine. The US political occupation of Ukraine is creating disaster as an inflation spike is hurting the worst economy in Europe. Also, the ex-president of Ukraine is arguing that Kiev abandoning cordial ties with Russia was a horrible mistake.James Carey, editor/co-owner at Geopoliticsalert.com, joins us to discuss Iran. President Raeisi is calling for closer ties to China and arguing that the road to recovery and prosperity for the Islamic republic lies in focusing its energy on its Eurasian neighbors. Also, Israeli President Bennett is in Washington to meet with President Biden as the Iran nuclear deal seems doomed.Gerald Horne, professor of history at the University of Houston, author, historian, and researcher, joins us to discuss the fall of Afghanistan. The US spent 20 years of blood and treasure, and the outcome was baked in the cake from the inception of this neocon nation-building exercise. Was this a military occupation or a money-laundering operation?Netfa Freeman, host of Voices With Vision on WPFW 89.3 FM, pan-Africanist and internationalist organizer, joins us to discuss the Global South. The US piles more pain on Cuba as President Biden doubles down on economic sanctions. Also, some Democrats are pressing Biden for sanctions relief and direct dialog with Venezuelan President Maduro. Martin Sieff, senior fellow at the American University in Moscow, joins us to discuss his article about the fall of Afghanistan. Martin wrote an article six months before the fall of Kabul predicting the exact outcome that befell the war-torn nation. He pointed to US-sponsored corruption as the key to failure.Dr. Jack Rasmus, professor in economics and politics at St. Mary's College in California, joins us to discuss the economy. An eviction tsunami is headed for the nation's capital and Black Americans will be disproportionately affected. Also, the Fed is talking about the lessening of stimulus support for the economy, expecting the government to move towards a more laissez-faire attitude.Ajamu Baraka, former VP candidate for the Green Party, joins us to discuss the Black Alliance For Peace (BAP) and their response to the fall of Kabul. The fall of Kabul is a significant foreign policy faux pas for the US, but the BAP argues that the US wars of aggression claiming to fight terrorism continue unabated.

Jim Kavanaugh, writer at thepolemicist.net and Counter Punch, joins us to discuss Julian Assange. Amnesty International has again urged President Biden to drop the extradition request for Julian Assange and cease the "farcical prosecution" of the beleaguered publisher. Ray McGovern, former CIA analyst and co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity, joins us to discuss Ukraine. In another dangerous and provocative maneuver, Ukrainian politicians are inviting the United States to station troops on the Russian border and install anti-aircraft and anti-missile batteries. Russia has signaled that it will take appropriate actions in the event that this request comes to fruition.Jack Rasmus, professor in economics and politics at St. Mary's College in California, joins us to discuss the economy. President Biden's budget "blueprint" moves forward from the Senate, as the Democrats signal that they will use the budget reconciliation process to pass the bill. GOP leaders have complained, but Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has reminded them that they used the same process to pass President Trump's signature corporate tax cut bill.James Carey, editor/co-owner at Geopoliticsalert.com, joins us to discuss Afghanistan. There are numerous reports that the US intelligence organizations are predicting that Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, will fall to the Taliban sooner rather than later. Meanwhile, the US has signaled that they are not prepared to recognize the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan if they take power by force.Caleb Maupin, journalist and political analyst, joins us to discuss the rise of multilateralism. Patrick Lawrence has a brilliant new article in Consportiumnews.com in which he discusses changing dynamics in the international order. Lawrence posits that Russia and China have more or less openly given up all efforts to accommodate our fading empire. Kathy Kelly, American peace activist, joins us to discuss sanctions. Mnar Adley's mintpressnews.com article discusses the US empire's sanctions regime as a blatant breach of international law and a new form of economic warfare. This article is based on a video interview with journalist Rania Khalek in which she also argues that US imperialism is driving Lebanon's collapse.Niko House, political activist, independent journalist, and podcaster, joins us to discuss censorship. The Grayzone is reporting that Twitter is partnering with the Associated Press and Reuters, a CIA-linked media outlet to censor unwanted information on social media. A previous Grayzone article demonstrated that Reuters was working with the UK government on a clandestine information warfare program aimed at Russia.Teri Mattson, Latin America coordinator for Code Pink, joins us to discuss Brazil. A coalition of indigenous organizations have filed a legal brief at the Hague against right-wing Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro. Eloy Terena, the legal director of the "Articulation of the Indigenous Peoples of Brazil" (APIB), released a statement that says "We believe that there are ongoing acts in Brazil that constitute crimes against humanity, genocide, and ecocide."

China's choice of the youthful, yet experienced diplomat Qin Yang as ambassador to the US may signal an intent to harden its stance against an increasingly belligerent US diplomatic corp. John Burris, civil rights attorney, joins us to discuss police abuse. A flurry of police abuse cases including an Atlanta police officer kicking a handcuffed woman in the head and a Colorado police officer kicking, choking, and pistol-whipping a suspect have appeared in the last few days. Also, we discuss how police tactics are different around the world.Kathy Kelly, American peace activist, joins us to discuss Afghanistan. Despite the current reality that the Taliban is the overwhelming military and political force, US Secretary Antony Blinken is saying that Afghanistan will be a pariah state if the theocratic group comes to power. Meanwhile, China and several other world powers are meeting with Taliban representatives preparing for the eventuality of their rise. George Koo, journalist, social activist, international business consultant, and chemical engineer, joins us to discuss China. An editorial in the Global Times seems to indicate that China has come to its wit's end with trying to iron out its differences with an increasingly belligerent US adversary. China's choice of the youthful, yet experienced diplomat Qin Yang as ambassador to the US may signal an intent to harden its stance against an increasingly belligerent US diplomatic corp.James Carey, editor/co-owner at Geopoliticsalert.com, joins us to discuss Iran. Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stated on Wednesday that the US is being stubborn in its refusal to lift sanctions and return to the nuclear deal known as the JCPOA. Meanwhile, the US State Department is advising Iran that they are not willing to budge on their current offer when the new president takes office. Is the Iran deal dead in the water?Jack Rasmus, professor in economics and politics at St. Mary's College in California, joins us to discuss the economy. A bipartisan infrastructure deal that includes massive sell-offs of public utilities to private interests is encountering rocky roads, as Arizona Senator Krysten Sinema (D) appears to be joining the GOP in opposition. Also, Speaker Nancy Pelosi is taking fire for using right-wing talking points in opposition to student debt cancellation. Laith Marouf, broadcaster and journalist based in Beirut, Lebanon, joins us to talk about his lifetime suspension from Twitter. Marouf was suspended for referring to Zionism as "Jewish white supremacy" in an argument with another Twitter user. Dan Kovalik, writer, author, and lawyer, joins us to discuss Cuba. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has scoffed at the notion that Mexico should honor a US-imposed embargo on Cuba. Lopez is sending massive fuel and humanitarian aid shipments to the besieged island nation in defiance of a decades-long draconian US blockade. Additionally, Russia has also sent a massive shipment of humanitarian supplies joining Mexico in showing disregard for US sanctions. Jim Kavanagh, writer at thepolemicist.net and Counter Punch, joins us to discuss Ben and Jerry's move to stop selling ice cream in the Israeli-occupied territories. The founders of the ice cream company have penned an op-ed that appears in The New York Times discussing their position on the controversial issue.

On this edition of The Critical Hour, Dr. Wilmer Leon discusses Biden's town hall, his false hope of bipartisanship and the messaging that makes a mockery of confronting vaccine disinformation. Jim Kavanagh, writer at thepolemicist.com and Counter Punch, joins us to talk about President Joe Biden's participation in yesterday's town hall meeting in Cincinnati, Ohio. Biden claimed vaccines prevent people from getting Covid as positive test results are popping up amongst vaccinated Democratic staff.Marvin Weinbaum, director for the Middle East Institute's Center for Pakistan and Afghanistan Studies, joins us to discuss Afghanistan. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley says the Taliban controls about half of the district centers in Afghanistan and that the insurgents appear to have "strategic momentum" in the United States.Martin Sieff, senior fellow at the American University in Moscow, joins us to discuss his article in China Daily. Sieff says the decision for Beijing and Moscow to renew the Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation is an event of the greatest importance for the maintenance of peace and security across the continent of Asia.Daniel Lazare, investigative journalist and author of The Velvet Coup, joins us to discuss Ukraine. According to Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine seeks stronger security guarantees on Nord Stream 2. Ukraine is strongly against the $11 billion project and showed its disapproval by formally initiating consultations with the European Union and Germany.James Carey, editor/Co-Owner at Geopoliticsalert.com, and Robert Fantina, journalist, writer and Palestinian activist,joins us to talk about Ben & Jerry's decision to stop selling ice cream in the occupied Palestinian territories. As Rights groups urge Ben & Jerry's to end all sales in "apartheid Israel," the Israeli President calls the boycotts "a new kind of terrorism."Laith Marouf, broadcaster and journalist based in Beirut, Lebanon, joins us to discuss Iran. In a Responsible Statecraft story that ran today, it was reported that a newly declassified memo shows the Trump administration acknowledged that assassinating Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani in January 2020 could have escalated into war with Tehran.Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations security analyst, joins us to talk about the increased tensions with the US and Russia as The US and NATO step up military activity in the Black Sea. An antiwar.com article says the US "acts" surprised when Russia, in return, reacts to their presence in the Black Sea.Ray McGovern, former CIA analyst and co-founder of Veteran Intelligence, joins us to talk about the interview on RayMcGovern.com entitled, "Put Russia-gate Out of its Misery." TownHall, Afghanistan, China, Russia, Ukraine, Iran, BlackSea, IsraeliSpyCompanies

A new Black Agenda Report article muses that bipartisan support for new legislation to specifically address domestic terrorism "comes despite no activities that are not now criminal that they believe ought to be."Niko House, political activist and independent journalist, joins us to discuss warmongers on the faux-left. Recent battles between alternative voices on YouTube have revealed the reality that some on the left in America have been co-opted by neo-liberal and neo-con elements in the US government and beyond. We discuss the background and the current situation in both media and government Dr. Yolandra Hancock, board-certified pediatrician and obesity medicine specialist, joins us to discuss covid. Medical experts are worried as covid cases are spiking in almost every state. Many wonder if the new Delta variant is at the heart of the problem. Also, there is significant discussion as to whether the mixing of vaccines is safe and effective.Greg Palast, investigative reporter, joins us to discuss Haiti. Haiti has a long history of Western colonial intervention that has devastated the economy and caused great suffering. News that the US is considering sending troops is not viewed as good news by those who seek Haitian independence and revolutionary change in the beleaguered island nation.Caleb Maupin, journalist and political analyst, joins us to discuss Cuba. Cuba's Bruno Rodriguez is complaining that US mercenaries have worked to create a "systemic provocation" in the tiny island nation as part of an illegal regime-change operation. Also, Cuba's president argues that US sanctions are responsible for the shortages and economic hardships that are at the center of the social unrest.Dr. Gerald Horne, professor of history at the University of Houston, author, historian, and researcher, joins us to discuss South Africa. The conviction and jailing of former South African president Jacob Zuma for failing to address charges of corruption has sparked unrest in the African nation. The government has dispatched military forces to several provinces as the unrest appears to be spreading.James Carey, editor/Co-Owner at Geopoliticsalert.com, joins us to discuss Iran. A European event hosted by the political arm of an odd terrorist cult called the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK) has caused significant uproar. A number of American and European politicians made inflammatory statements about Iran as the event seemed to be aimed at negatively affecting the negotiations to bring the US back into compliance with the JCPOA.Ted Rall, political cartoonist and syndicated columnist, joins us to discuss Julian Assange. Our guest joins us to discuss the media blackout of the recent news regarding a star witness against Julian Assange recanting his testimony as lies and innuendo. Also, Caitlyn Johnstone argues that the Assange case is about narrative control rather than national security.Nick Davies, peace activist and author of "Blood on Our Hands: The American Invasion of Iraq," joins us to discuss US Middle East policy. Medea Benjamin and Nicholas Davies have penned an outstanding article in which they pose the question as to what the US will do in the region after the scaling down of troops from Afghanistan. They ask about America's other endless war, the crime scene of occupation in Iraq.

Reuters reports that Haitian security forces apprehended more men today believed to have killed President Moïse at his home on Wednesday. Ajamu Baraka, former VP Candidate for the Green Party, joins us to discuss the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise. New reports indicate that the First Lady is still alive in a Miami hospital and more suspects involved in the attack have been apprehended.Taylor Hudak, journalist and editor of Activism Munich, and co-founder of Action for Assange joins us to discuss the Assange case. The High Court of Justice in the United Kingdom agreed this week to hear the United States government's appeal in the extradition case against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on "limited grounds." Assange's partner Stella Moris said that the High Court rejected the efforts of the US government to "second guess the magistrates' conclusions on medical and expert evidence."Dr. Yolandra Hancock, board-certified pediatrician and obesity medicine specialist, joins us to discuss covid. President Joe Biden expressed increased concerns about coronavirus's delta variant and said door-to-door visits and visits to places of worship will happen this summer in an attempt to reach Americans who have not yet been vaccinated.Ray McGovern, former CIA analyst and co-founder of Veteran Intelligence, joins us to talk about this week's Anti-war.com article that declared Wednesday's New York Times article by David Sanger on Russian hackers to be a "big nothing-burger."James Carey, editor/co-owner at Geopoliticsalert.com, and Miko Peled, author and activist, come together to discuss Palestine. Palestinians, unable to reunite with their families, see no reward in ending the Israeli Citizenship Law.Danny Sjursen, retired US Army Major and author of "Patriotic Dissent: America in the Age of Endless War," joins us to talk about rocket attacks on US military bases in Syria and Iraq and the Katyusha's rockets that landed near the US embassy in Baghdad's highly fortified Green Zone.Martin Sieff, senior fellow at the American University in Moscow, joins us to discuss a report that says the founder of Blackwater had a $10 billion plan to develop weapons and create a private army in Ukraine.Nino Pagliccia, activist and writer, joins us to talk about Venezuela and Latin America. He discusses an Orinoco Tribune article that analyzes the real role of the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Venezuela. The article makes the case that these NGOs focus their activity to the "strategic and political control of society, to what euphemistically in the United States is called regime change."

Jim Kavanagh, writer at thepolemicist.com and Counter Punch, joins us to talk about Julian Assange. As we approach the 50th birthday of Julian Assange, Jeremy Corbyn and a number of other British MPs gather outside of Belmarsh prison to demand his release. Also, the news that an unreliable con-artist was used as the principal witness shows that the case against Assange was manufactured for political purposes. Kathy Kelly, an American peace activist, joins us to discuss Yemen. Relatives of people killed by drone strikes in Yemen have written to the UK defence secretary advising him that they have suffered tremendous losses including women and children. Also, the UK has sold over $50 billion in weapons to nations that it has slammed for human rights violations. Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations security analyst, joins us to discuss Russia. Vladimir Putin held his annual question and answer session in which he elaborated on a number of issues, including the US control of Ukraine, the UK Black Sea incident, and vaccinations. Also, German Chancellor Angela Merkel continues to push for a summit between the EU and Russia.Carlos Castenada, immigration lawyer, and Oscar Chacon, co‐founder and executive director of Alianza Americas, join us to discuss immigration. Immigration activists have slammed the latest Supreme Court ruling that immigrants can be held indefinitely without charges. Also, South Dakota is using funds from a GOP mega donor to send national guard troops to the Mexican border. Dan Kovalik, writer and human rights activist, joins us to discuss Venezuela. China has said that they will not stop supporting the Venezuelan people regardless of the United States' position on the issue. Also, the World People's Congress in Venezuela issued their final declaration. Niko House, political activist and independent journalist, joins us to discuss Nina Turner. The establishment Democrats have created a political action committee called "team blue" in an effort to derail progressive challengers to mainstream incumbents. Also, powerful South Carolina Democrat James Clyburn has joined Hillary Clinton in endorsing Nina Turner's opponent. KJ, Noh, writer and peace activist, joins us to talk about China. The fears that China will overcome the United States as the most powerful economy is eerily similar to comments made about Japan in the 1990s. Also, President Biden does not seem to have a coherent policy on North Korea. James Carey, editor/co-owner at Geopoliticsalert.com, joins us to talk about Iran. US airstrikes on Shiite militias in Syria are blatantly unconstitutional, but Bruce Fein argues that "it will take much more than repealing AUMFs to stop the president from making unilateral decisions to wage war" in his article for Responsible Statecraft.

Scott Ritter, former UN weapon inspector in Iraq, joins us to talk about the incident in the Black Sea. A British ship breached Russian waters off the coast of Crimea and warning shots were fired. The UK diplomatic representative was addressed by the Russian government and admonished for the naval confrontation. Craig Murray argues that the move was a reckless provocation by the British government. Shane Stranahan, co-host of Faultlines, joins us to discuss the death of tech mogul John McAfee. Mcafee was found dead in a Spanish prison cell under questionable circumstances. He had previously warned that if he died it would not be suicide. Also, Edward Snowden argues that after the untimely demise of both McAfee and Epstein, Julian Assange could be next. Ted Rall, political cartoonist and syndicated columnist, joins us to talk about the New York primaries. A Democratic socialist candidate beat a four-term incumbent in the mayoral race for the Buffalo City government leadership. Also, the US Navy counter-terrorism training guide says that socialists are terrorists and puts them in the same category as neo-nazis.Steve Poikonen, national organizer action4Assange, joins us to talk about Facebook. A recent Newsweek article revealed that the Pentagon has a 60,000 person army working on both domestic and foreign projects which include online manipulation of information. When asked if they would hold US government actors to the same standards as foreign actors, Facebook representatives refused to answer.Jim Kavanagh, writer at thepolemicist.net and Counter Punch and the author of "The American Farce Unravels: Shreds of January 6th," joins us to discuss Hunter Biden. Hunter Biden is in the news again as his father's credit card has been tied to his payment for female escort services. Also, President Obama's ethics director is speaking out as Biden sells his artwork to anonymous buyers for up to a half-million dollars. Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations security analyst, joins us to discuss Nord Stream 2. Ukraine's national gas company has hired a lobbying firm owned by an Atlantic Council senior fellow to lobby against Nord Stream 2. Also, AP news reports that the pipeline project has been a significant strain on relations between the US and Germany. Obi Egbuna, activist, and US Rep for The Zimbabwean Newspapers, joins us to discuss Cuba. 184 nations voted against continuing the brutal US blockade on Cuba as only the US and Israel supported the continuance of the measures. Critics argued that a blockade is a form of biological warfare as it has prevented the tiny island nation from working to stop the spread of the pandemic. James Carey, editor/co-owner at Geopoliticsalert.com, joins us to talk about Iran. The US is disputing Iran's claim that a deal to lift major sanctions has been struck. Also, the Israeli defense chief has been meeting with US officials as they work on rejoining the JCPOA in what seems to be an omen of certain demise for the diplomatic project.

Caleb Maupin, journalist and political analyst, joins us to discuss this week's important news stories. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is speaking out to oppose the new Cold War with China, which he described as "distressing and dangerous." Also, Iranian voters head to the polls and the expectation is that a more hard-line candidate will win. How will the elections affect negotiations for the JCPOA nuclear deal?Jack Rasmus, professor in economics and politics at St. Mary's College in California, joins us to discuss economics. In a bad sign for the economy, jobless claims have unexpectedly risen to 412,000 applications this week. Also, private equity firms are making a fortune as they buy residential housing and we discuss the "smoke and mirrors" infrastructure plan.Linwood Tauheed, associate professor of economics at the University of Missouri- Kansas City, joins us to discuss this week's domestic stories. Juneteenth becomes a federal holiday marking an official acknowledgment of the importance of the end of chattel slavery. Also, a St. Louis couple who pulled guns on protesters has pleaded guilty and relinquished their firearms.Dan Lazare, investigative journalist and author of "America's Undeclared War," joins James Carey, editor/co-owner at Geopoliticsalert.com, to discuss the latest stories. President Biden shocked many international observers as he implied that the United States does not interfere in other nations' elections. French President Macron clearly indicated that he is not on board with President Biden's quixotic quest against China. Also, Vice President Kamala Harris has returned from a disastrous trip to Central America, and the neocons in DC are extremely concerned about Iran's legitimate relationships with several nations in the Global South.Dr. Clarence Lusane, author, professor, and activist, joins Gary Flowers, radio talk show host and public policy analyst, to discuss this week's important stories. The Supreme Court ruling on the Affordable Care Act is spurring both parties to develop new strategies. GOP leadership may be giving up the decade-long fight to repeal the law and Democrats will be facing pressure from their left flank for a public option. Also, the Supreme Court unanimously sides with Catholic adoption agency that turned away same-sex couples.

K.J. Noh, writer and peace activist, joins us to discuss China. Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer has led the passing of a massive $250 billion spending bill that is alleged to be designed to counter China's technological advances over the US. The bill includes the usual neoliberal money-laundering as massive amounts of capital will be given away to corporations. Also, Schumer openly states that it is intended to maintain the US as the world's hegemonic hyperpower.Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations security analyst, joins us to discuss the upcoming summit between Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin. Ray McGovern has penned an article in which he reviews the circumstances leading up to the summit and discusses the pros and cons of the meeting. Ray concludes that the concept of American exceptionalism is at the heart of the enmity between the two world powers.Dan Cohen, filmmaker and writer for the Gray Zone Project, joins us to discuss Colombia. Recent investigations have revealed that some of the most violent notorious death squads in Colombia have been trained and equipped by the Israeli military and paramilitary units. Dan Cohen comes on to discuss his recent article in Mintpress News and his work on this issue. Leo Flores, Latin America coordinator for Code Pink, joins us to discuss the election results in Peru. Pedro Castillo, a farmer born of illiterate peasants, has won the election by a close margin and seems poised to move the South American nation in a leftward anti-imperialist direction. Will the US invent a motive for sanctions and attempt regime change through medieval siege warfare as they do in most of the Global South, or accept the reality that the region is moving away from a neoliberal empire?James Carey, editor/co-owner at Geopoliticsalert.com, joins us to discuss Iran. In what could be a death knell for the JCPOA, Antony Blinken Says that the Biden Administration will not fully remove the Trump-era sanctions levied against Iran. Also, in his latest antiwar.com article, Daniel Larison argues that "U.S.-Iran policy is marred by many flaws, and some of the worst are threat inflation, imperial arrogance, and hypocrisy."Caleb Maupin, journalist and political analyst, joins us to discuss the consequences of the UFO report due to be released any day. The mainstream media seems to be taking the opportunity of the UFO phenomenon to argue for increased military spending. This includes absurd insinuations that this otherworldly technology simply may be the usual boogeymen of Russia and China surging ahead of the US in aircraft technology.Peter Bolton joins us to discuss Venezuela. Peter joins our hosts to discuss his recent article in which he discusses the devastating results of the US sanctions on Venezuela. Peter reviews the history of the sanctions, and carefully articulates both the media discussion of the issue and the reality on the ground. Jim Kavanagh, author and writer at thepolemicist.net and Counter Punch, joins us to discuss Julian Assange. The Community Church of Boston is presenting its 2021 Sacco-Vanzetti Memorial Award for Social Justice to WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange. Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were Italian immigrants who were convicted of murder and armed robbery in a trial that was considered a sham. The two have been regarded ever since as political prisoners. Also, an artist in the UK is complaining because he believes that his exhibit was denied due to references to the plight of Julian Assange.

Robert Fantina, journalist and Palestine activist, joins us to discuss Israel. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has landed in Israel and he immediately restated the Biden administration's support for Israel's right to "defend itself." Also, an Israeli pilot admitted that Israel destroyed the towers in Gaza to release frustration over their inability to stop Hamas from firing rockets. Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations security analyst, joins us to discuss Belarus. The EU and its allies are pushing for various retaliatory actions against Belarus over the grounding of an airplane and arrest of a likely US regime change agent traveling from Greece. Also, an article in Responsible Statecraft argues that all parties should work to avoid another conflict on Russia's border.Niko House, political activist, independent journalist, and podcaster, joins us to discuss President Biden's budget proposal. President Biden is getting significant grief for dropping many of his campaign promises from his new budget. Many of the most popular proposals, including the public option and student loan debt relief, are nowhere to be found in his latest budget proposal. A number of his supporters are arguing that he may face a bloodbath in the midterms over this unforced error. Dr. Gerald Horne, professor of history at the University of Houston, author, historian, and researcher, joins us to discuss foreign policy. A CATO Institute article posits that the US must stop challenging other great powers in their neighborhoods or face an eventual disaster. Also, we discuss Vijay Prashad's book "Washington Bullets," about US regime change activities around the world.James Carey, editor/co-owner at Geopoliticsalert.com, joins us to discuss Iraq. Iraqi militias are ending the truce with the US military because there has been no significant movement in their quest to end the military occupation of their country. Also, our panel discusses an interesting article that contemplates what the Middle East would be like if the US had never invaded Iraq.Jonathan Kuttab, human rights lawyer, joins us to talk about the Iran nuclear deal. Iran argues that the dynamics have changed around the deal and that the US can't expect to impose their will on the other signatories to the agreement. Also, Israel is threatening possible military action if the US returns to the JCPOA. Dr. Colin Campbell, DC Senior News Correspondent, joins us to discuss the media. Dr. Cambell talks about a recent article that connected mainstream media sources to the intelligence community. The article in The American Conservative magazine posits that "the intelligence community uses the media to manipulate the American people and pressure elected politicians."Nick Davies, peace activist and author of "Blood on Our Hands: The American Invasion of Iraq," joins us to discuss war-profiteering. Arms makers are making huge profits from Israel's assault on Israel. Also, we discuss a consortium news article that explains the profit-driven war-profiteering system in the US.

Robert Fantina, journalist and Palestine activist, joins us to discuss Israel. President Biden is getting significant pushback from the left-wing of his party over his uncompromising support of Israel's attacks on Gaza. Also, mobs of Israeli settlers have been caught on camera attacking Palestinian civilians and businesses.Niko House, political activist, independent journalist, and podcaster, joins us to discuss the war on independent media. Journalist Jonathan Cook's searing talk at the International Festival of Whistleblowing, Dissent and Accountability on Saturday is on the counterattack from legacy media. Also, Alfred De Zayas has a new article about Nilz Melzer's book on Julian Assange.Scott Ritter, former UN weapon inspector in Iraq, joins us to discuss US/Russia relations. In what may be a prelude to a Putin/Biden summit, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov are scheduled to meet in Reykjavik on May 20th James Carey, editor/co-owner at Geopoliticsalert.com, joins us to discuss Middle East politics. Washington Post columnist Robert Ignatius wrote a column about the thirst for democracy in the Middle East. Trita Parsi writes a column in answer to Ignatius in which he addresses the fundamental reasons for the potential changes.Dan Lazare, investigative journalist and author of "America's Undeclared War," joins us to discuss Craig Murray. Murray was recently convicted and sentenced for his coverage of the prosecution of the prominent Scottish nationalist politician Alex Salmond on sexual assault charges. Alexander Mercouris has written an excellent piece on the trial and sentencing.Dr. Linwood Tauheed, associate professor of Economics at the University of Missouri- Kansas City, joins us to discuss the US economy. Inflation in the US has seen its biggest jump since 2008, and many are concerned that it could increase. Also, several GOP governors are cutting unemployment benefits, arguing that the move will help with labor shortages.Gerald Horne, professor of history at the University of Houston, author, historian and researcher, joins us to discuss the economics of the new Cold War. Dr. Horne provides a broad perspective on President Biden's part in the massive movement of money related to war.Caleb Maupin, journalist and political analyst, joins us to discuss Iran. Forty-three Republican senators led by Florida Senator Marc Rubio are demanding that President Joe Biden cut off talks with Iran over the country funding Hamas during the ongoing conflict in Israel. Caleb also covers a Press TV report that Russia and China have again backed Iran's demand for the removal of US sanctions.

Ted Rall, political cartoonist and syndicated columnist, joins us to discuss censorship. A Facebook oversight board has upheld the suspension of Donald Trump from the social media platform. Also, a conservative think tank, the Heritage Foundation, has stopped taking money from Silicon Valley tech giants.Ray McGovern, former CIA analyst and co-founder of Veteran Intelligence, joins us to discuss domestic spying. In what civil libertarians are calling an "end-around" the Constitution, the Biden administration is considering hiring non-governmental entities to spy on Americans.Miko Peled, author and activist, joins us to discuss Israel. The political instability in Israel has become a crisis as Benjamin Netanyahu has failed to form a government before the national deadline. Will Israel fall into chaos after repeated failed attempts to create a government?Kathy Kelly, American peace activist and James Carey, Editor/Co-Owner at Geopoliticsalert.com, join us to discuss Afghanistan. Tony Blinken seems to be contradicting Joe Biden's claim to be withdrawing from Afghanistan. Blinken has repeatedly made statements implying that the US is not withdrawing and will not be disengaged from the war torn nation.Chris Hedges, author, speaker, and investigative journalist, joins us to discuss his latest article, entitled "Don't be fooled by Joe Biden." Hedges argues that the euphoria over Biden's latest economic speech is ill-founded and that "the grinding machinery of predatory capitalism, and the sadism that defines it, will poison the society as mercilessly under Biden as it did when Donald Trump was conducting his Twitter presidency."Scott Ritter, former UN weapon inspector in Iraq, joins us. The Yemen military has experienced significant military successes which seems to be changing the dynamic of power between the Houthi government and the Saudis. Recent reports signal that the Saudi's are striking a more conciliatory tone towards Yemen and its powerful ally Iran.Dr. Linwood Tauheed, associate professor of economics at the University of Missouri- Kansas City, joins us to discuss economic policy. Amazon made $53 billion in profit in Europe last year, and paid $0 in taxes. Also, we review an individual story that demonstrates how Americans are having a difficult time making ends meet on minimum wage.Leo Flores, CodePink coordinator for Latin America, joins us to discuss Venezuela. The infamous Bay of Piglets invasion attempt is in the news again, as Venezuela issues a full report on the haphazard US-sponsored coup attempt. Also, a new report shows that the US is largely responsible for Venezuela's economic crisis.

Dr. Iyabo Obasanjo, professor at College of William & Mary and daughter of former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, joins us to discuss covid. President Biden is being pushed to do more to help India fight an overwhelming wave of covid infections. Biden partially lifted export controls on raw materials for coronavirus vaccines. However, activists are arguing that he must support the international effort to suspend coronavirus vaccine patents. James Carey, editor/co-owner of Geopoliticsalert.com, joins us to discuss President Biden's move to recognize the Armenian genocide. Turkey is furious as President Joe Biden recognized the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman forces during World War I as a genocide. "Each year on this day, we remember the lives of all those who died in the Ottoman-era Armenian genocide and recommit ourselves to preventing such an atrocity from ever again occurring," Biden said in a statement. Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations security analyst, joins us to discuss a proposed meeting between Presidents Putin and Biden. The Kremlin is reporting that a summit between the two leaders is planned for the summer, but no date or agenda has been set. Meanwhile, a background discussion is arising as to whether the US is acting in good faith or simply setting another staged standoff to be used as internal propaganda.George Koo, journalist, social activist, international business consultant and chemical engineer, joins us to discuss the War on Terror's transformation. The US Central Command (CENTCOM) has downgraded the so-called War on Terror, and now argues that Russia, China, and Iran are the top enemies of the US. The reclassification of US perceived adversaries may present the most dangerous military move in the history of humanity, as a clash between nuclear powers could spell extinction for nearly all species on planet Earth.Alexander Mercouris, host of "The Alexander Mercouris Show" on Youtube, joins us to discuss the joint ventures of Russia, China, and Iran to oppose the US attempt to impose imperial hegemony on the world. China will be working with Russia to overcome sanctions set by the US and its allies, while Russia and Iran work to alleviate draconian sanctions against the Syrian civilian population. Scott Ritter, former UN weapon inspector in Iraq, joins us to discuss the possible movement of borders in Eastern Europe. A proposal for redrawing the borders in the Balkans has been reportedly been soundly rejected by the EU. The proposal allegedly involved incorporating parts of Bosnia into Serbia and Croatia to help the region's EU integration.Ted Rall, political cartoonist and syndicated columnist, joins us to discuss media propaganda. CBS re-aired a propaganda piece about Alexei Navalny on Sunday night which portrayed him as a hero. The piece was a coordinated effort between the US media and the intelligence agency's state department operatives. Also, Caitlin Johnstone has a new article in which she alleges that the mass media will never regain the public's trust.Caleb Maupin, journalist and political analyst, joins us to discuss Cuba and Haiti. The Haiti Action Committee has penned a document that commemorates the 10th anniversary of the return to Haiti of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and calls for support of the resistance by the Haitian people to the U.S.-backed dictatorship of Jovenel Moise. Also, Joe Biden is following President Trump's Cuba policy.

John Burris, civil rights attorney, joins us to discuss the Derek Chauvin trial. As the prosecution and defense make their final arguments, the world watches and waits for the outcome of the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. Also, many cities and large population centers are bracing for the possibility of protests and violence if Chauvin is not found guilty. Mark Sleboda, a Moscow-based international relations security analyst joins us to discuss Alexander Navalny and Ukraine. As Alexander Navalny serves a prison sentence for an embezzlement conviction, he is still being used by Western intelligence and media assets to attack Russia. Navalny is reportedly being moved to a different prison facility as he continues a three week hunger strike. James Carey, Editor/Co-Owner at Geopoliticsalert.com, joins us to discuss Afghanistan. President Biden's move to end the occupation of Afghanistan is being more closely scrutinized as the potential continued presence of intelligence assets and contractors raises new questions. Also, the 2.26 trillion dollar price tag of the occupation is drawing criticism as everyday Americans face misery due to the economic fallout from Covid.Robert Fantina, Journalist and Palestine Activist, joins us to discuss Iran. The Biden administration seems tied to the draconian Trump administration Iran sanctions that make it impossible to rejoin the nuclear agreement. This leads many international security experts to question the sincerity of their desire to return the deal. Also, there are reports that the Biden administration views Israel's attacks on Iranian assets as provocations specifically designed to disrupt the JCPOA negotiations and have demanded that they cease and desist such activity.Dan Kovalik, writer, author, and lawyer, joins us to discuss the Global South. Columbia is an obedient client state for the US Empire and is currently serving as a platform to attack Venezuela. Also, the mass protests in Haiti continue against the US supported dictator Jovenel Moise. Haitians argue that their long term pain and misery are a product of US intervention and oppression.Alexander Mercouris, host of "TheAlexander Mercouris Show" on Youtube, joins us to discuss the John Durham investigation. The investigation into the shady dealings of Western intelligence agencies during the investigation of Donald Trump drags on and many observers fear a cover up. There are reports that Durhan is looking into the origins of the infamous Steele dossier though an FBI inspector general investigation clearly articulated massive corruption related to that document long ago. George Koo, journalist, social activist, international business consultant and chemical engineer, joins us to discuss China. A US Japan partnership is quite alarming to China. China has brought up the history of Genocide and torture committed by Japan against it's neighbors and the myriad of human rights abuses committed by the US against the world as it argues that neither nation has the moral highground to condemn China. Obi Egbuna, Activist and US representative for the Zimbabwean newspaper The Herald, joins us to discuss Cuba. After sixty years of leadership by the Castro brothers, Cuba is about to face a future without either of them in charge. The United States' crippling sanctions have practically destroyed the economy but Joe Biden's former boss, Barack Obama, relieved some of the sanctions and isolation. Will a heavy far right wing neocon presence in the Biden administration prevent him from moving towards detente with the island nation?

Welcome to the first episode of The Left is Dead's first supplemental show. Talking Shit is a new project meant to showcase the voices of actual members of the working class who aren't following politics all the time like us freaks. This first episode is loose and all over the place but is just the beginning of a series that will develop into a place to hear real working class opinions and stories from people just living their lives. Episode one features long-time friend of host James Carey, James Speer in what turned into just a bullshit session on the hells of suburbia. We hope to make more of these shows in the future and work to highlight the things all workers have in common.

The terms media and communications are often offered as a couplet, or even used interchangeably. But communication is a broad idea with a very long history, and the arrival of media technologies are usually seen to make possible a special form of communication, in which physical co-presence was unnecessary. The printing press, for example, is often argued to have made nations, democracies and bureaucratic states possible, allowing for the widespread dissemination of printed matter as books, newspapers, laws and scientific literature. For the first time, populations who might never meet face-to-face could share culture and knowledge. In this episode, via a discussion of James Carey's essay ‘The Telegraph and Technology' alongside other work, we explore how electronic media technologies such as the telegraph transformed the idea of communication itself, separating it from physical transportation. The telegraph, and the technologies that followed in its wake, allowed messages to communicate near-instantaneously. In so doing, they radically altered our experiences of time, space, distance and locality. But communication technologies are not without geography: they are always embedded in and help to produce material times and spaces. Thinkers discussed: Doreen Massey and David Harvey (briefly); Harold Innis (The Bias of Communication); Marshall McLuhan (The Gutenberg Galaxy); S.D. Noam Cook (The Gutenberg Myth); James Carey (The Telegraph and Ideology); Jonathan Sterne (Thinking with James Carey); David Morley (Communications and Mobility); Raymond Williams (Television: Technology and Cultural Form).

James Carey from On The House talks about walk-in tubs and other accommodations.

James Carey from On The House talks about elder design and decuttering.