Podcast appearances and mentions of kofi ademola

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Best podcasts about kofi ademola

Latest podcast episodes about kofi ademola

Political Misfits
Chicago Teachers Threaten to Strike; Violence & Chaos as Thousands Flee Central African Republic

Political Misfits

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 3, 2021 113:23


Kofi Ademola, an activist and organizer with the Black Lives Matter movement, and Ms. Regina Pixley, lifelong resident of the great Ward 8 and CEO of Regina's Place, an organization that provides support to families whose lives have been impacted by gun violence, join us to discuss the potential teacher strikes in Chicago and Washington, DC. As mayors in each city look to ramp up in-school learning, we continue to see the tragic number of shootings across the US carry over from 2020 into 2021 and we, par the course, continue to see government in-action in addressing the economic crisis so many in the US are living in.Netfa Freeman, an organizer with Pan-African Community Action and a coordinating committee member of the Black Alliance for Peace who is working on the campaign, US Out of Africa!: Shut Down AFRICOM, joins us to discuss the crisis in the Central African Republic in which more than 200,000 people have been displaced, with half actually fleeing to neighboring countries.Margaret Kimberley, editor and senior columnist at Black Agenda Report and author of “Prejudential: Black America and the Presidents,” joins us to discuss how Trump’s impeachment trial is shaping up and we'll get into some new insights into what happened at the Capitol last month. We will also talk about how US President Joe Biden’s honeymoon is going with the American people.Dan Cohen, journalist with Behind The Headlines, joins us for our “Politics of Art” segment. This week we will discuss the media and how the Biden administration is artfully working to make everything seem like it is A-OK here in the good ol’ US of A.

Bourbon 'n BrownTown
Ep. 64 - Non-Profit Industrial Complex ft. Lizette Garza

Bourbon 'n BrownTown

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 16, 2021 106:36


GUESTLizette Garza is the Program Manager at Crossroads Fund, a public foundation  that supports community organizations working on issues of racial, social and economic justice in the Chicago area. Lizette supports community-based grant making, and movement building programs like The Giving Project and Cultivate: A Women of Color Leadership program. Previously, Lizette has a background in youth development and music industry serving as a Program Specialist at After School Matters and Teaching Artist at ElevArte Community Studio. She is a longtime Pilsen-resident with a love for hip hop, yoga, and cooking. Outside of trust-based philanthropy, she is a Music Curator for ReverbNation.OVERVIEWBrownTown talks non-profit industrial complex, financial surveillance, drill rap, and everything in between with Lizette Garza, Program Manager at Crossroads Fund. The gang dissects the philanthropic world's inherent root in inequity as well as its changes and challenges from the grassroots over the years. Lizette brings her lived experience as well as work with Crossroads into the conversation around the role of non-profits, funding "radical" initiatives, and the impact coronavirus and the George Floyd uprisings had on them. As summer 2020 brought a racial justice reckoning, everyday people began to distrust institutions, better understand how whiteness and anti-Blackness permeates in even (and especially) the most trusted charitable giving, and how we can build better networks for funding, support, and trust outside of established institutions. BrownTown and Lizette analyze unpack these topics while reflecting on their own roles in movement work and as funders/fundees. As media creators and lovers of hip hop, they center the power of media, art, and imagination in pushing back against oppressive ways of thinking and accepting and living out abolitionist politics.Considering it all, BrownTown and Lizette distill these larger dialogues wrestling with how to work within and simultaneously resist a system built on the same hierarchies and oppression it is supposed to challenge. Ultimately, we're all just trying to figure out where the money reside. Originally recorded December 3, 2020.#TwerkForLiberation--Mentioned media, topics, and information:San Francisco billionaire gives $30M to study homelessness, AP** Episode Correction: Marc Benioff gave $30 million, not billions **"Donor Advised Funds" segment of Patriot Act with Hasan MinhajShit's Totally FUCKED! What Can We Do?: A Mutual Aid Explainer, Narration by Dean SpadeAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez - Instagram Cooking + Q&A (December 10, 2020)Abolitionist challenge the FORD Foundation's support of replacing Rikers JailRacism by the Numbers: How the Internal Revenue Service Targets Poor Black Taxpayers, The RootHyperlocal Giving to Black-Led Nonprofits Cannot Simply Be a Trend, SSIRNonProfitAF.comDescription of the book, The Revolution Will Not Be Funded: Beyond the Non-profit Industrial Complex by INCITE!A trillion-dollar industry, the US non-profit sector is one of the world's largest economies. From art museums and university hospitals to think tanks and church charities, over 1.5 million organizations of staggering diversity share the tax-exempt 501(c)(3) designation, if little else. Many social justice organizations have joined this world, often blunting political goals to satisfy government and foundation mandates. But even as funding shrinks, many activists often find it difficult to imagine movement-building outside the non-profit model. The Revolution Will Not Be Funded gathers essays by radical activists, educators, and non-profit staff from around the globe who critically rethink the long-term consequences of what they call the "non-profit industrial complex." Drawing on their own experiences, the contributors track the history of non-profits and provide strategies to transform and work outside them. Urgent and visionary, The Revolution Will Not Be Funded presents a biting critique of the quietly devastating role the non-profit industrial complex plays in managing dissent.--Follow Lizette on Instagram and Twitter; and Crossroads Fund on their site, Instagram, and Twitter.--CREDITS: Intro soundbite Kofi Ademola from the Chi DNA interview with audio track by Genta Tamashiro. Outro song Where the Money Reside (Remix) w/ IMarkkeyz by Seude the Remix God. Audio engineered by Genta Tamashiro with assistance from Kiera Battles. Episode photo by Jamie Kelter Davis.--Bourbon ’n BrownTownFacebook | Twitter | Instagram | Site | PatreonSoapBox Productions and Organizing, 501(c)3Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Site | Support

Political Misfits
Flint Water Crisis Charges Announced; New Report Discusses Jewish Supremacy in Israel

Political Misfits

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 15, 2021 111:40


Lela McGee-Harvey, a native of Flint, a tenured entrepreneur, the co-founder of Operation Unification Inc. and the author of “Underneath the Poisoning, Flint, and Genesee County (Our Untold Stories),” joins us to discuss the new charges related to the water crisis. Michigan's former health director Nick Lyon "was charged Thursday with involuntary manslaughter in the deaths of nine people who got Legionnaires' disease during the Flint water crisis," CNBC reported. "Lyon pleaded not guilty during an appearance in a Genesee County court. Moments later, his old boss, former Gov. Rick Snyder, also pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges of willful neglect of duty in Flint."Dan Cohen, journalist with Behind The Headlines, joins us to discuss a report on Jewish supremacy in Israel. B’Tselem, the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, which is arguably the most respected Israeli human rights group working in that area, came out and described the Israeli government's policies as "apartheid" this week. The center's report was titled, “A regime of Jewish supremacy from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea: This is apartheid.” Is it significant to have this group put it into these specific words?Kofi Ademola, an activist and organizer with the Black Lives Matter movement, joins us to discuss racism in law enforcement, news about cash bail in the US, and some questions about the Trump administration in Africa and how much of a change the Biden administration will represent.Web developer and technologist Chris Garaffa and civil and social innovation expert Kendrick Jackson join us to discuss how both Apple and Google have just launched big-ticket efforts to support racial equity and support some immigrants to the US. Apple has a big investment in Historically Black Colleges and a coding center for younger students, and Google is giving $250,000 to cover Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program applications for more than 500 immigrants.

Loud & Clear
Protests Rage After Police Shoot Man in Front of His Kids in Wisconsin

Loud & Clear

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 24, 2020 120:13


On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Kofi Ademola, an activist and organizer with the Black Lives Matter movement.

Loud & Clear
Protests Rage After Police Shoot Man in Front of His Kids in Wisconsin

Loud & Clear

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 24, 2020 120:14


On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Kofi Ademola, an activist and organizer with the Black Lives Matter movement.Police over the weekend shot two more black men, killing one, and anti-police violence protests have begun anew. 31-year-old Trayford Pellerin was shot from behind in Lafayette, LA at a gas station. In Kenosha, WI, Jacob Blake remains in stable condition after being shot in the back as many as seven times. A video shows Blake walking around his SUV and trying to enter it while a police officer tries to pull him out, and then opens fire while Blakes children scream in the back seat. It is unclear how many police officers fired, and an investigation is underway. The number of new coronavirus cases across the country are down, as mask rules are being more stringently enforced, school districts are closing en masse, and doctors begin using a new plasma treatment. But a Hong Kong man is the first person known to be infected with the coronavirus twice, indicating that antibodies are either short-lived or are not a protection against the disease. Dr. Jason Kindrachuk, an assistant professor of viral pathogenesis at the University of Manitoba and Canada Research Chair in molecular pathogenesis of emerging and reemerging viruses, joins the show. Democrats have completed their virtual nominating convention and have formally nominated Joe Biden to be president of the United States. The Republicans will have their turn beginning tonight. The RNC lineup is filled with nods to the far right and the president’s so-called “law and order” campaign messaging. Biden is leading in the polls, but Trump is hitting the campaign trail while Biden retreats to his home out of the public eye, and Republican strategists are counting on the enthusiasm gap to overcome their weak position in the polls. Brian and John speak with Ted Rall, an award-winning columnist and political cartoonist whose work is at www.rall.com. Monday’s segment “Education for Liberation with Bill Ayers” is where Bill helps us look at the state of education across the country. What’s happening in our schools, colleges, and universities, and what impact does it have on the world around us? Bill Ayers, an activist, educator and author of the book “Demand the Impossible: A Radical Manifesto,” joins Brian and John.In this segment, The Week Ahead, the hosts take a look at the most newsworthy stories of the coming week and what it means for the country and the world, including the Republican National Convention, the political effect of the Democrats’ convention, the latest on Coronavirus, protests against racist police violence, and more. Sputnik News analysts and producers of this show Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek join the show.Monday’s regular segment Technology Rules is a weekly guide on how monopoly corporations and the national surveillance state are threatening cherished freedoms, civil rights and civil liberties. Web developer and technologist Chris Garaffa and software engineer and technology and security analyst Patricia Gorky join the show.

Loud & Clear
Fury at Police Violence Reaches Boiling Point in Chicago

Loud & Clear

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 11, 2020 117:10


On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Kofi Ademola, an activist and organizer with the Black Lives Matter movement.

Loud & Clear
Fury at Police Violence Reaches Boiling Point in Chicago

Loud & Clear

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 11, 2020 117:11


On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Kofi Ademola, an activist and organizer with the Black Lives Matter movement.Protests continued overnight and over the past weekend in both Portland and Chicago, and Chicago saw intense clashes, resulting in more than 100 arrests. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced today that Russian scientists have developed a vaccine for the coronavirus and that it has received regulatory approval after two months of testing on humans. Frontline medical professionals will be the first to receive the vaccine, and Putin’s own daughter already has received it. Russian doctors plan to begin mass vaccinations in October. Bryan Macdonald, a journalist who specializes in Eastern Europe and Russia, joins the show. Today is Loud & Clear’s weekly series about the biggest economic news of the week with special guest -- Prof. Richard Wolff. Professor Wolff, a professor of Economics Emeritus, University of Massachusetts, Amherst and founder of the organization Democracy at Work whose latest book is “Understanding Socialism,” joins the show.Loud & Clear’s series, In the News, is where the hosts look at the most important ongoing developments of the week and put them into perspective. Sputnik news analysts Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek join the show.Tuesday’s regular segment is called Women & Society with Dr. Hannah Dickinson. This weekly segment is about the major issues, challenges, and struggles facing women in all aspects of society. Hannah Dickinson, an associate professor at Hobart and William Smith Colleges and an organizer with the Geneva Women’s Assembly; Nathalie Hrizi, an educator, a political activist, and the editor of Breaking the Chains, a women’s magazine, which you can find at patreon.com/BreakChainsMag; and Loud & Clear producer Nicole Roussell join the show.

Loud & Clear
Which way forward for COVID-19 Crisis?

Loud & Clear

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 17, 2020 117:04


On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Jim Kavanagh,veditor of thepolemicist.net, and Walter Smolarek, Sputnik News analysts and producer.In The Week in Review, we take a look at the biggest stories of the week, including the latest controversies over the response to the Coronavirus pandemic, the shakeup in the Trump campaign, the latest U.S. threats against China, recent developments in the economic crisis gripping the country, and moreThe number of Covid-19 infections broke another record yesterday, its ninth in 11 days, with 77,255 new cases reported. Another 943 Americans died yesterday. Medical professionals in Florida, South Carolina, Texas, Arizona, and southern California warn that Intensive Care Units are full or almost full, and there are no signs that the spread of the disease is slowing. Meanwhile, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp lifted an Atlanta rule that residents must wear masks. Kemp said, disingenuously, that while he wants people to wear masks, he doesn’t want to mandate it. Dave Lindorff, an investigative reporter whose writings can be found at ThisCantBeHappening.net., joins the show. The Supreme Court yesterday refused to consider an Appeals Court decision to uphold the disenfranchisement of as many as one million ex-felons in the state of Florida. Florida voters had passed a referendum allowing ex-felons who had completed probation and parole to register to vote, except if they had been convicted of murder or sex crimes. But the state’s governor sued, and the state legislature passed a law saying that ex-felons also had to have paid all fines, fees, and restitution before registering. Brian and John speak with Ruth Beltran, an organizer with Black Lives Matter Tampa, and Kofi Ademola, an activist and organizer with the Black Lives Matter movement.The UK’s Equality and Human Rights Commission, the country’s official equality watchdog, finds itself in the center of a controversy over its impartiality. That controversy began when two pro-Israel lobbying groups in the UK asked for an investigation into alleged anti-semitism in the British Labour Party. But the Equality and Human Rights Commission never revealed that it had named one of the pro-Israel lobbying groups to its legal advisory board. And it also hadn’t revealed that one of its senior members had donated thousands of pounds to the Conservative Party and had hosted a fundraiser for the party. Asa Winstanley, an investigative journalist and an associate editor of the Electronic Intifada, joins Brian and John.Again this week we’ll look at the worst, most misleading, funniest, and just plain wrong headlines of the past week. Steve Patt, an independent journalist whose critiques of the mainstream media have been a feature of his site Left I on the News, at lefti.blogspot.com, joins the show.

The Ben Joravsky Show
Chicago Reader's Super Tuesday Show

The Ben Joravsky Show

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 9, 2020 100:18


Biden's big win and more! It's the Super Tuesday primaries and caucuses LIVE show with the Chicago Reader at The Promontory in Hyde Park. Hosted by The Reader's Ben Joravsky and Maya Dukmasova with Political Strategist Delmarie Cobb, 20th Ward Alderwoman Jeanette Taylor and Kofi Ademola.

Loud & Clear
Democratic Candidates Seem to Be In Love with War Hawk John McCain

Loud & Clear

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 16, 2019 112:55


On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Margaret Flowers, a medical doctor and the co-coordinator of Popular Resistance, whose work is at www.popularresistance.org.12 Democratic presidential candidates squared off last night, with 10 trying to set themselves apart from frontrunners Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren. Political observers in the media are declaring Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg, and even Bernie Sanders the winners. There’s no telling what will happen in the polls in the coming days, and the race is still wide open. Fighting continues to rage in Northern Syria as Turkish forces face a newly formed alliance between the Kurdish YPG and the Syrian government. Meanwhile, pressure grows on the Trump administration to reverse course and maintain the U.S. occupation in the country. Rick Sterling, an investigative journalist and member of the Syria Solidarity Movement, joins the show. Chicago’s teacher’s union is meeting today and it will almost certainly vote to strike effective tomorrow. Classes already are canceled, and negotiators are not optimistic about any breakthrough. Both sides say they are facing multiple issues, including teacher pay, staffing, and the duration of the contract. Brian and John speak with Kofi Ademola, an activist and organizer with the Black Lives Matter movement. As Brexit negotiations go down to the wire, the UK’s Brexit secretary has indicated that Prime Minister Boris Johnson will send a letter requesting an extension if there’s been no deal by this Saturday, as the legislation that was recently passed designed to prevent a no-deal Brexit requires. Neil Clark, a journalist and broadcaster whose work has appeared in The Guardian, The Week, and Morning Star, joins the show. Carrie Lam, the head of Hong Kong’s government, was unable to deliver her annual speech to the city’s legislative council today after opposition lawmakers shouted her down. As the United States prepares to intervene more forcefully and the central Chinese government remains determined to stand strong in the face of increasingly violent demonstrations. John Ross, Senior Fellow at Chongyang Institute, Renmin University of China, and an award-winning resident columnist with several Chinese media organizations, joins Brian and John. Wednesday’s regular segment, Beyond Nuclear, is about nuclear issues, including weapons, energy, waste, and the future of nuclear technology in the United States. Kevin Kamps, the Radioactive Waste Watchdog at the organization Beyond Nuclear, and Sputnik news analyst and producer Nicole Roussell, join the show.Wednesday’s weekly series, In the News, is where the hosts look at the most important ongoing developments of the week and put them into perspective. Sputnik news analyst & producer Walter Smolarek joins the show.

Loud & Clear
Exposing the Lies in CNN Fake Assange “Exclusive”

Loud & Clear

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 16, 2019 112:43


CNN claims in what it calls an “exclusive report” that Russian intelligence officers met with Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange to give him DNC emails they had allegedly hacked. But there is no evidence that Assange met with Russian intelligence, just with a Russian producer...of his own TV show. Almost two years after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico and exposed deep problems in the government there, Governor Ricardo Rosello has found himself in trouble. Somebody has leaked 889 pages of chat logs between the governor and eight friends of his, who are also in government, in which he uses highly-charged, misogynistic, and homophobic language when talking about other Puerto Rican politicians, entertainers, and prominent citizens. The Puerto Rican media is calling it Rosello’s deepest crisis as governor. Dr. Adriana Garriga-López, Department Chair and Associate Professor of Anthropology at Kalamazoo College, joins the show. Attorney General Bill Barr said yesterday that he agreed with his Department’s Civil Rights Division to not pursue federal charges against the New York City police officer who killed Eric Garner in 2014. Garner was selling single cigarettes from an untaxed pack when he was approached by police officers, wrestled to the ground, and put in an illegal chokehold. He pleaded with the officers, saying, “I can’t breathe” 11 times before dying. Brian and John speak with Kofi Ademola, an activist and organizer with the Black Lives Matter movement, and Joel Northam, an activist with the Justice Center en El Barrio. The government of North Korea issued a statement today saying that Pyongyang would consider rethinking whether it should abide by its moratorium on missile and other tests if the US goes forward with a joint military exercise with South Korea. The statement, which was issued by the Foreign Ministry, appeared to be aimed at pushing the US back to the negotiating table. Kevin Zeese, co-coordinator of Popular Resistance whose work is at popularresistance.org, joins the show. David Marcus, the head of Calibra--that’s Facebook’s new cryptocurrency Libra--testified before the Senate Banking Committee yesterday. He fended off hostility from some senators and said that Libra would not launch until every senator’s questions had been answered. Meanwhile, the Philippines, a major Asian tech market, has chosen China’s Huawei for its new 5G network. And President Trump yesterday tweeted that he would “take a look” at Google after a billionaire friend, Peter Thiel, said that Google should be charged with treason for working with the Chinese government. Patricia Gorky, a software engineer and technology and security analyst, joins Brian and John. Tuesday’s weekly series is False Profits—A Weekly Look at Wall Street and Corporate Capitalism with Daniel Sankey. Brian and John speak with financial policy analyst Daniel Sankey.Today’s regular segment that airs every Tuesday is called Women & Society. This weekly segment is about the major issues, challenges, and struggles facing women in all aspects of society. Hannah Dickinson, an associate professor at Hobart and William Smith Colleges and an organizer with the Geneva Women’s Assembly, Karla Reyes, managing editor of the women’s magazine Breaking the Chains, and Loud & Clear producer Nicole Roussell join the show.

Loud & Clear
Senate Passes "First Step" Act, But Mass Incarceration Still Intact

Loud & Clear

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 19, 2018 114:48


On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Jacqueline Luqman, the co-editor-in-chief of Luqman Nation, which hosts a livestream every Thursday night at 9:00 p.m. on Facebook, and Sputnik news analyst Walter Smolarek.Wednesday’s weekly series, In the News, is where the hosts looks at the most important ongoing developments of the week and puts them into perspective. Today they talk about the First Step Act getting passed through the Senate, Mike Flynn’s hearing yesterday, and the Israeli military crackdown on the West Bank. Wednesday’s regular segment, Beyond Nuclear, is about nuclear issues, including weapons, energy, waste, and the future of nuclear technology in the United States. Kevin Kamps, the Radioactive Waste Watchdog at the organization Beyond Nuclear, and Sputnik news analyst and producer Nicole Roussell, join the show. Newly released internal documents reveal that, for years, Facebook gave some of the world’s largest tech companies more intrusive access to its users private data than it had previously disclosed, effectively exempting those companies from privacy rules. In other words, Facebook sold your private data and then lied to you about it. Brian and John speak with New Haven, Connecticut by web developer and technologist Chris Garaffa. A Defense Department official confirmed President Trump’s tweet this morning that he will order the withdrawal of all US troops from Syria. The president said that the only reason the US was in Syria was to defeat ISIS. That has been accomplished and so the troops will come home. Neither the president nor the Defense Department, however, gave a timeline for the withdrawal. Rick Sterling, an investigative journalist and member of the Syria Solidarity Movement, and Sputnik news analyst Walter Smolarek, join the show. The Federal Reserve announced at 2:00 today that it would increase the prime interest rate by 0.25 percent to ward off inflation. Steve Keen, the author of “Debunking Economics” and the world’s first crowdfunded economist, whose work is at patreon.com/ProfSteveKeen, joins Brian and John. Police in Cleveland confirmed yesterday that an African American man was denied the right to cash his paycheck because bank tellers thought he made too much money for the check to be good. When he demanded that they call his employer to confirm the check’s authenticity, the tellers called 911 and the man was handcuffed and put into a police car. The police and bank officials later apologized. Kofi Ademola, an activist and organizer with the Black Lives Matter movement, and Sputnik news analyst Walter Smolarek, join the show.In a major policy reversal, the Trump Administration is changing the way it reviews sponsors who want to care for migrant children in custody. The change could lead to thousands of children being released to family members already in the US. There are currently nearly 15,000 unaccompanied children being held in government detention centers. Brian and John speak with Isabel Garcia, co-founder of Coalición de Derechos Humanos.

Loud & Clear
American Hit Squad Sent to Massacre Yemeni Elites

Loud & Clear

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 18, 2018 111:41


A private American company hired by the government of the United Arab Emirates has sent former US special forces soldiers to Yemen as mercenaries to carry out assassinations of political and religious figures there, according to a Buzzfeed investigation. The killings began in 2015 and, so far, dozens of people have been assassinated. Brian and John speak with Mark Sleboda, an international relations and security analyst. New video in the police shooting of Ricardo "Ricky" Hayes, an autistic 18 year old in Chicago, was recently released.The footage contradicts the police assertion that Hayes was armed, and is related to a lawsuit filed on behalf of Hayes. Kofi Ademola, an activist and organizer with the Black Lives Matter movement, joins the show. Taliban gunmen this morning assassinated several leaders of the regional government in Kandahar in the country’s south. Press reports indicate that the governor, provincial military leader, and intelligence director of Kandahar Province were killed when their own bodyguards opened fire on them. The target of the attack appears to have been US General Scott Miller, but he escaped unharmed. Two American soldiers were wounded. Jeremy Kuzmarov, a professor of American history at the University of Tulsa whose latest book is “The Russians Are Coming, Again: The First Cold War as Tragedy, the Second as Farce,” joins Brian and John. The Jordanian government said today that 300 members of the White Helmets rescue group who fled Syria for Jordan three months ago have now been resettled in Canada, Germany, and the UK. The Israeli and US governments have said that they aided the Jordanians in the resettlement. Meanwhile, the government continues to consolidate its control over the country’s international borders. Ambassador Peter Ford, the former UK Ambassador to Syria, joins the show.Donald Trump issued his strongest threat yet against a caravan of migrants attempting to safely reach the United States. Trump stated that he would deploy the military to close down the Mexican border to stop the caravan’s arrival, and implied that the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement might be in jeopardy. Brian and John speak with Jackie McVicar, a member of the Atlantic Region Solidarity Network, working in solidarity with people struggling for social justice and environmental protection in Latin America, the Caribbean and Atlantic Canada, and a former co-coordinator of the Maritimes-Guatemala Breaking the Silence Solidarity Network.Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the Trump Administration would give the Saudi government more time to explain what happened to journalist Jamal Khashoggi and President Trump expressed reticence in punishing the Saudis in any way. Meanwhile, Code Pink is leading demonstrations at the State Department and the Saudi Embassy in Washington tomorrow to protest Khashoggi’s death. Brian and John are joined by Mansour Alhadj, a journalist, author, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Center for Democracy and Human Rights in Saudi Arabia. Thursday’s weekly series “Criminal Injustice” is about the most egregious conduct of our courts and prosecutors and how justice is denied to so many people in this country. Paul Wright, the founder and executive director of the Human Rights Defense Center and editor of Prison Legal News (PLN), and Kevin Gosztola, a writer for Shadowproof.com and co-host of the podcast Unauthorized Disclosure, join the show.

Loud & Clear
Peace and Reunification? Kim and Moon Sign Major Agreement After Summit

Loud & Clear

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 19, 2018 115:18


On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Vijay Prashad, the director of the Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research and Chief Editor of LeftWord Books and the author of “Red Star Over the Third World,” and Dr. Christine Hong, associate professor of Critical Race and Ethnic Studies at UC Santa Cruz and a member of the Korea Policy Institute.The leaders of North and South Korea met in Pyongyang yesterday on the second day of their three-day summit. North Korea said it would close a key missile test facility in the presence of international observers if the US took corresponding action, and the two leaders teased an historic possible fourth summit in Seoul in the coming months. Wednesday’s regular segment, Beyond Nuclear, is about nuclear issues, including weapons, energy, waste, and the future of nuclear technology in the United States. Kevin Kamps, the Radioactive Waste Watchdog at the organization Beyond Nuclear, and Sputnik news analyst and producer Nicole Roussell, join the show. Two mental health detainees in South Carolina died yesterday when the van in which they were chained flooded in standing water. The deputies transporting them were rescued. Brian and John speak with Kym Smith, a community organizer who has been involved in mobilizing support for the recent national prison strike. Poland is one of the very few European countries where Donald Trump is not only welcome, but sought after. Poland’s president has even discussed the idea of naming a military base after him. But that may have changed yesterday when Trump insulted Polish President Duda by forcing him to stand to sign a strategic partnership agreement while Trump sat, looking sternly into the camera. Dr. Jeremy Kuzmarov, a professor of American history at the University of Tulsa and author of “The Russians Are Coming, Again: The First Cold War as Tragedy, the Second as Farce,” joins the show. In another aggressive move toward China, the US is now requiring two major Chinese media outlets—CGTN and Xinhua—to register as foreign agents. How will this affect US and China’s relationship? And what about U.S. media operating in China? Jude Woodward is the author of the book “The US vs China: Asia's new Cold War?,” joins Brian and John. Yesterday was Day 3 in the murder trial of Chicago police officer Jason van Dyke, who is charged with killing 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, shooting him 16 times. So far, the blue line of silence appears to be cracking, with two police officers testifying yesterday that they did not believe McDonald posed a threat to their safety. Kofi Ademola, an activist and organizer with the Black Lives Matter movement, and Madi, an organizer with Good Kids Mad City, an group in Chicago calling for more resources in underserved communities, join the show.A few days ago we reported on a story in the Washington Post saying that the Trump Administration was denying passports to American citizens along the border, even when they produced birth certificates indicating that they were born in the US. Some citizens were even asked to produce notes made by the midwives who delivered them. That story was incorrect. Yes, some Americans have been denied passports. But the policy was initiated by the Clinton Administration. And there are actually fewer people being denied passports under Trump. Hostility to immigrants appears to be a permanent policy for the U.S. government—Republican or Democrat. Brian and John speak with Juan José Gutiérrez, the executive director of the Full Rights for Immigrants Coalition.

Loud & Clear
Political & Media Elite Explode as Trump, Putin Try to Repair Relations

Loud & Clear

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 16, 2018 121:19


On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Dan Kovalik, a human rights lawyer who is the author of “The Plot to Scapegoat Russia,” Max Blumenthal, journalist and bestselling author, and Lee Stranahan, who’s on the ground in Helsinki covering the summit for Sputnik.President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met today in Helsinki, Finland. The nearly two-hour meeting reportedly covered Syria, trade and military issues, disarmament, and China. Trump said afterward that he wanted only good relations with Russia and that previous bilateral problems were the result of “Washington’s own foolishness and stupidity.”On Monday’s regular weekly half-hour segment Technology Rules with Chris Garaffa—a weekly guide on how monopoly corporations and the national surveillance state are threatening cherished freedoms, civil rights, and civil liberties, they talk about how GPS can track you even if it’s off, Twitter’s metadata haul, and how to secure your devices. Web developer and technologist Chris Garaffa joins the show.President Trump wraps up his European trip today, with the last stop in Helsinki. He called the EU a foe, told British Prime Minister May to sue the EU, he said Boris Johnson would make a great prime minister of the UK, and he weighed in on the Nordstream pipeline that will pipe Russian gas to Germany much more cheaply than any US alternative. Brian and John speak with Jim Kavanagh, the editor of thepolemicist.net whose most recent piece is “Fighting Fake Stories: The New Yorker Serves Up a Doozie.”Police in Chicago shot and killed Harith Augustus on Saturday. Protests across the city became heated by Saturday night. And today the police released two bodycam videos of the incident to try to calm the public. Kofi Ademola, an activist and organizer with the Black Lives Matter movement, joins the show.Series “Stories from the National Museum of African American History and Culture” continues, where Dr. Alice Bonner highlights some of the most important episodes in Black history. Dr. Bonner, a volunteer docent at the newly opened National Museum of African American History and Culture, retired professor at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, and a longtime journalist at the Washington Post, joins the show.The White House yesterday ordered the State Department to seek direct negotiations with the Taliban in the hope of jumpstarting efforts to end the 17-year war there. The Taliban have said that they will only deal with the United States, but President Trump insists that the Afghan government take part. Kathy Kelly, co-coordinator of Voices for Creative Non-Violence, joins the show.Monday’s regular segment “Education for Liberation” looks at the state of education across the country. What’s happening in our schools, colleges, and universities, and what impact does it have on the world around us? Today they talk about what patriotism means in the US and civic education in schools. Brian and John speak with Joel Westheimer, a professor and University Research Chair in Democracy and Education at the University of Ottawa, whose latest book is “What Kind of Citizen? Educating Our Children for the Common Good.”

Loud & Clear
Trump Blows Up Summit with Kim as North Korea Blows Up Its Nuclear Site

Loud & Clear

Play Episode Listen Later May 24, 2018 110:17


Donald Trump today cancelled the historic planned summit between the DPRK and the US next month in Singapore. This came hours after the DPRK destroys their nuclear test site, in one of many one-sided shows of good faith. The hosts address what happened, how western media is spinning this, and what happens from here. On the regular Thursday series “Criminal Injustice,” about the most egregious conduct of our courts and prosecutors and how justice is denied to so many people in this country, the hosts discuss how to organize a prison strike. Paul Wright, the founder and executive director of the Human Rights Defense Center and editor of Prison Legal News and Criminal Legal News, and Kevin Gosztola, a writer for Shadowproof.com and co-host of the podcast Unauthorized Disclosure. After revelations this week that intelligence agencies had a spy in the Trump campaign, the White House arranged two briefings on classified documents this afternoon, one for two Trump-allied Republicans, and, after pressure, one for the Gang of 8. Brian and John speak with Daniel Lazare, a journalist and author of “The Frozen Republic,” “The Velvet Coup,” and “America's Undeclared War.” The Israeli government says that it carried out a strike last night in eastern Syria that killed 12 “foreign fighters.” The Israeli press says that it killed Iranians. The Syrian government says that it was a dozen of their soldiers. And the American government says that it had no knowledge of any strike. Ambassador Peter Ford, the former British Ambassador to Syria, joins the show. The Associated Press is reporting that more than a dozen Air Force airmen faced disciplinary actions, including courts martial, in 2016 after they were found operating a drug ring. The airmen, who were responsible for maintaining the US nuclear weapons arsenal, apparently did so while taking LSD. Steven Starr, a professor at the University of Missouri, who teaches in the Peace Studies Program on the environmental, health, and social effects of nuclear weapons and a senior scientist for Physicians for Social Responsibility, joins Brian and John. The National Football League has passed a new rule saying that players who kneel during the national anthem will cause their teams to be penalized 15 yards on the opening kickoff. Players who kneel also will be fined and could face additional penalties from the league. Team owners also announced that players could remain in the locker room for the anthem. Constitutional experts, however, say that the rule is likely a constitutional violation of freedom of speech. Kofi Ademola, an activist and organizer with the Black Lives Matter movement, and Jaimee Swift, a PhD candidate at Howard University’s political science department and a freelance journalist, joins the show.The United States yesterday kicked the Chinese navy out of the 2018 Rim of the Pacific drills—the largest regular naval exercises in the world. China participated in RIMPAC 2016 and 2014, but relations between the two countries have deteriorated as the U.S. government declares an era of “great power competition.” Brian and John speak with David Ewing, the chair of the San Francisco chapter of the US-China People’s Friendship Association.

Dear Black Voter
Why Millennials Aren't Voting with Kofi Ademola

Dear Black Voter

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 13, 2018 20:20


Only three percent of millennials in Illinois cast their ballots in the 2018 primary election (http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2018/03/20/illinois-primary-voter-turnout/). While large numbers of young people have become active in issues of social justice in recent years, this hasn't this translated into civic engagement. Community organizer Kofi Ademola joins Dear Black Voter to shed some light on this disconnect. -- Get resources at CULPodcast.com/DearBlackVoter Twitter: Twitter.com/ChiUrbanLeague Instagram: Instagram.com/ChiUrbanLeague Facebook: facebook.com/ChicagoUrbanLeague CUL President & CEO, Shari Runner Hosted by Dometi Pongo | www.dometipongo.com

Loud & Clear
Anti-Russia Crusade Intensifies: Trump & Britain Order New Sanctions

Loud & Clear

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 15, 2018 113:35


On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Jim Kavanagh, the editor of ThePolemicist.net, and Dr. Piers Robinson, the chairman of the politics, society, and political journalism department at the University of Sheffield and the author of, “Routledge Handbook of Media, Conflict and Security.” Today, the US announced sanctions against Russia for the alleged meddling in 2016 elections, where a year-long investigation has yet to garner hard evidence. And in a reaction to the poisoning of a Russian double agent and his daughter, allegedly using the nerve agent Novichok, Prime Minister Theresa May announced the expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats, whom she called “undeclared intelligence officers.” But what is Novichok? And is it the exclusive domain of the Russians? Where will this anti-Russian fear mongering lead? Today, the weekly series “Criminal Injustice” continues, where the hosts discuss the most egregious conduct of our courts and prosecutors and how justice is denied to so many people in this country. Today’s segment focuses on private prisons and prison profit. Kevin Gosztola, a writer for Shadowproof.com and co-host of the podcast Unauthorized Disclosure, and Paul Wright, the founder and Executive Director of the Human Rights Defense Center and editor of Prison Legal News, join the show. A measure to greatly weaken regulations on big banks has passed the Senate overwhelmingly, rolling back key provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act passed in the wake of the 2008 world economic crisis. 16 Democrats joined Republicans in voting in favor of the bill that now proceeds to the House of Representatives. Brian and John speak with Jack Rasmus, a professor of economics at Saint Mary's College of California and author of “Central Bankers at the End of Their Ropes: Monetary Policy and the Coming Depression” and jackrasmus.com. Hundreds of thousands of students walked out of their classrooms all across America yesterday. They stayed out for at least 17 minutes to commemorate the 17 lives lost in the Parkland, Florida shooting last month and to protest gun violence, mass incarceration, immigration, and many other issues. Kofi Ademola, an activist and organizer with the Black Lives Matter movement, joins the show. Australia is considering emergency visas “on humanitarian grounds,” for South African white farmers who may have some of their land redistributed post-apartheid. Australia’s home affairs minister, Peter Dutton, said that this group “deserves special protection” in a “civilized country.” , Dr. Gerald Horne, a professor of history at the University of Houston and author of many books, including “From the Barrel of a Gun: The United States and the War against Zimbabwe 1965-1980,” joins Brian and John. Regulators are reportedly on the verge of imposing major penalties on Wells Fargo for misleading practices related to the sale of auto insurance. Will the big banks ever be truly held accountable for their abuses? Steve Keen, the author of “Debunking Economics” and the world’s first crowdfunded economist, whose work is at patreon.com/ProfSteveKeen, joins the show. Cubans voted this weekend in the first round of national elections for parliament. The winners of those elections will go on to choose Cuba’s next president as the country makes a historic leadership transition. Brian and John speak with Gloria La Riva, the director of the Cuba and Venezuela Solidarity Committee.

Loud & Clear
Trump Fires Tillerson, “Bloody Gina” Takes Over CIA

Loud & Clear

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 13, 2018 116:53


On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Kevin Zeese, co-coordinator of Popular Resistance, Ted Rall, an award-winning editorial cartoonist and columnist, and Jeremy Varon, a professor at the New School in New York and an anti-Guantanamo activist. President Trump this morning unceremoniously fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson by tweet, and he moved CIA Director Mike Pompeo to State. Meanwhile, CIA Deputy Director Gina Haspel, alleged to have been intimately involved in the Agency’s torture program, will become the director if confirmed by the Senate. The hosts continue the weekly series looking at the economic issues of the day, including Trump’s tariffs and the potential trade war they could instigate. Financial policy analyst Daniel Sankey joins the show. British Prime Minister Theresa May said yesterday that Sergei Skripal, a former Russian double agent for the British who was poisoned last week along with his daughter, was likely the victim of a Russian assassination attempt. The Russian government is demanding proof, and the high stakes international mystery is deepening. Brian and John speak with legendary anti-war activist and former British parliamentarian George Galloway. The Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee released an unusual and partisan report yesterday concluding that there was no collusion between the Russian government and either the Trump or Clinton campaigns. Significantly, the report however, perpetuates the narrative that the Russians launched cyberattacks against American institutions. Again, no actual hard proof of this assertion has been offered. The report said that several Trump campaign officials had made “poor decisions,” but that no crimes were committed. Jim Kavanagh, the editor of ThePolemicist.net, joins the show. Students across America will walk out of schools tomorrow in a nationwide protest against gun violence. The National School Walkout is both a memorial to those killed by guns and a protest of government inaction. Kofi Ademola, an organizer with the Black Lives Matter movement, joins Brian and John. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Sunday gave what many observers are calling a “trainwreck” of an interview to the news program 60 Minutes. DeVos struggled to answer basic questions about the nation’s schools and failed to defend President Trump’s school safety ideas. Brian and John speak with Bill Ayers, an activist, educator, and the author of the book “Demand the Impossible: A Radical Manifesto.” A Saudi general may have been tortured to death, and several businessmen abused, while in captivity in the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Riyadh during Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman’s crackdown on powerful figures in the country. The Crown Prince has systematically arrested, purged, or exiled virtually anybody who could pose a threat to him. Ali Al-Ahmed, the director of the Institute for Gulf Affairs, joins the show.

Loud & Clear
Turning Point?: North-South Talks Open Door to Ending Korean War

Loud & Clear

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 6, 2018 114:34


On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Simone Chun, a fellow at the Korea Policy Institute and a member of the Korean Peace Network, and Tim Shorrock, a Washington-based investigative journalist who grew up in Japan and South Korea, who wrote “Spies for Hire: The Secret World of Outsourced Intelligence,” and whose work has appeared in many publications in the United States and abroad.In a bold move that has taken Washington by surprise, North Korea said today that it was willing to discuss scrapping its nuclear program if the United States was willing to discuss security guarantees.The hosts continue the weekly series looking at the economic issues of the day, including Trump’s tariffs and the potential trade war they could instigate. Brian and John speak with financial policy analyst Daniel Sankey.The West Virginia state senate today agreed to give striking teachers—and all other state employees—the five percent raise they had sought, a move that will likely end the walkout, which began on February 22. Travis Boothe, an organizer with the Morgantown Tenants Union, and Frank Lara, a member of the executive board of the United Educators of San Francisco, join the show. No doubt you know about the infamous Steele Dossier, written by former British spy Christopher Steele. Well, it turns out there was a second Steele Dossier. And it concludes that it was the Russians who blocked Mitt Romney from becoming Secretary of State. Meanwhile, the death in London of a Russian ex-spy who worked as a double agent for the UK government has prompted allegations of an assassination attempt. Alexander Mercouris, the editor in chief of The Duran, joins the show. The last four high schools in the working-class Chicago neighborhood of Englewood closed recently as Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s appointed school board responded to gentrification trends. But now, the poor and people of color will have to be bused out of their neighborhoods to get an education. Kofi Ademola, an organizer with the Black Lives Matter movement, joins Brian and John. It’s the dirty little secret of Big Pharma. The American taxpayer is funding Big Pharma’s research and development, primarily through the National Institutes of Health. So where do all those pharmaceutical profits go? Straight into the pockets of corporate leaders and investors. There’s a new study out by the Center for Integration of Science and Industry (CISI) that we’ll dive into today. Bryn Gay, the Hepatitis C Virus Project Co-Director at Treatment Action Group who has previous policy and advocacy experience with the United Nations, Doctors of the World and The North-South Institute, joins the show.Thad Cochran, the Republican senior senator from Mississippi, announced yesterday that he is resigning effective April 1 due to ill health. Both of that state’s senate seats will now be up for grabs in November and will pit the establishment right wing against the alt-right. Brian and John speak with Jim Jatras, a political analyst, a former US diplomat, and a former senior foreign policy advisor to the US Senate Republican leadership.

Bourbon 'n BrownTown
Ep. 13 - Chi DNA: Black History & Resistance in Chicago ft. Kofi Ademola

Bourbon 'n BrownTown

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 28, 2018 63:30


This is the third Chicago Drill and Activism (AKA "Chi DNA") installment of Bourbon ’n BrownTown. Chi DNA is an ongoing documentary and multimedia project, which also features interviews, micro-documentaries, and editorial pieces on drill rap and the activist resurgence in Chicago. GUEST Kofi Ademola is a leader in Black Lives Matter - Chicago who has dedicated his life to the struggle for Black liberation, and against systematically and intentionally targeted discrimination. At age 18, Kofi started his life long career in social services, working in homeless shelters, advocating for LGBTQ+ rights, conducting gang intervention and conflict resolutions. He orients his work towards combating racism and ending state violence and criminalization of Black communities, reimagining new egalitarian systems that center the most marginalized. Most recently, Kofi claims he's mainly playing the role of "cheerleader" in the movement, amplifying others' campaigns, most notably youth in #NoCopAcademy, women, transpeople, and other marginalized groups doing great work. Additionally, he recently organized the #GoodKidsMadCity campaign that aligns youth in Chicago and Baltimore who fight to end violence in all its forms and call for more resources to underserved communities. OVERVIEW The self-proclaimed "Chicago Forrest Gump," Kofi has been in and out of activist, electoral politics, and hip-hop circles in the city throughout the years, experiences that render him a perfect candidate for a discussion on historical resistance in Chicago. With the conclusion of Black History Month 2018, BrownTown and Kofi dissect what the month really means, how it is co-opted by the white mainstream, and how crucial it is to understand, formulate, and amplify the narrative of yourself and your elders. CHI DNA The Chicago Drill and Activism project explores the creation, meaning, perspectives, and connections between drill rap and the resurgence of grassroots activism since the early 2010s through the eyes of the people involved. It focuses on contemporary Chicago as an intentional place for the resurgence of these two formations of cultural and political resistance during relatively the same time period. It examines how authenticity, community, and other important values to the subjects are impacted and promoted via technology, social media, and a rejection of traditional means of movement politics and corporate structures. As told by activists and drill rappers alike, the project situates the the subjects’ experiences and actions into a broader theoretical and empirical history of systemic inequality and resistance in Chicago. Follow the ongoing project at Chi-DNA.com for more. -- CREDITS: Intro music by Fiendsh and soundbite from Fred Hampton's "You can't jail a revolution" speech. Outro Chi City by Common. Audio engineered by Genta Tamashiro. -- Chicago Drill and Activism Site | Twitter | Micro-Docs | Support Bourbon ’n BrownTown Site | Become a Patron on Patreon! SoapBox Productions and Organizing, 501(c)3 Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Site | Support

Loud & Clear
Hauled Before Congress: Comedian Randy Credico Defies Russiagate Mania

Loud & Clear

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 15, 2017 115:33


On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Randy Credico, who is an activist, comedian and former director of the William Moses Kunstler Fund for Racial Justice.Special Counsel Robert Mueller casts a wider and wider net in his investigation, he’s apparently looking at whether Donald Trump was somehow aided in the 2016 election by Wikileaks and Julian Assange. Congressional investigators allege that the contact was brokered by Republican political consultant Roger Stone. And they allege further than Stone was introduced to Assange by Randy Credico. Randy has been subpoenaed to testify today before the House Intelligence Committee, where he intends to plead the fifth.It’s crunch time for the Republicans as both the House and Senate prepare to vote on the tax bill. But several Republican senators are saying that they will or may vote no. What does the final version of this bill mean for poor and middle class Americans? Dean Baker, the co-director of the Center for Economic Policy and Research, joins Brian and John.A federal judge yesterday threw out felony riot charges against six people involved in anti-fascist demonstrations on inauguration day. The defendants still face a myriad of other charges, which has led to calls that the Justice Department is trying to criminalize dissent. Brian and John speak with freelance journalist Alex Rubinstein, who was arrested while covering the demonstration, and Chip Gibbons, policy and legislative counsel for Defending Rights & Dissent.Prosecutors in Charlottesville, Virginia have upgraded to first degree murder a charge against a white supremacist who plowed his car into a group of peaceful protesters, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer and wounding dozens. Phil Wilayto of the Virginia Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality joins the show.European Union leaders clashed in Brussels last night over how to reform defunct asylum rules. Two years after more than a million refugees flooded Greece on their way to Germany, many Eastern European members of the EU don’t want to host any refugees at all.Prosecutors in Minneapolis, Minnesota announced yesterday that they do not have sufficient evidence to prosecute a police officer for shooting and killing an unarmed woman who had called 911 to report hearing an assault in progress behind her home. We’ll talk about the nationwide trend of cops killing unarmed civilians and, in most cases getting away with it. Kofi Ademola of Black Lives Matter Chicago joins the show.

CULture, Race & Equity | A Seat at the Table
Ep. 8 Convening On Youth Violence

CULture, Race & Equity | A Seat at the Table

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 11, 2017 40:23


In this live podcast recording, panelists identify and scrutinize the root causes of youth violence. United Kingdom-based community organizer Temi Mwale founded the 4Front Project to find solutions to street violence in London – not unlike the trauma experienced in Chicago. She offers her perspective alongside Clinical & Community Psychologist Dr. Obari Cartman, Poet and activist Jessica "FM Supreme" Disu and organizer and writer Charles Preston. We also hear from Tree, a high school counselor whose encounter with gun violence left him handicapped. Dometi Pongo co-moderates the panel with Black Lives Matter activist Kofi Ademola. Chicago Urban League President and CEO Shari Runner provides an opening statement marking the end of the first season of "CULture Race and Equity." -- CULPodcast.com Twitter: Twitter.com/ChiUrbanLeague Instagram: Instagram.com/ChiUrbanLeague Facebook: facebook.com/ChicagoUrbanLeague CUL President & CEO, Shari Runner Hosted by Dometi Pongo | www.dometipongo.com

Loud & Clear
Baltimore Cop Gunned Down a Day Before Testimony on Police Corruption

Loud & Clear

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 24, 2017 114:52


On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Dominique Stevenson, Program Director for the American Friends Service Committee’s Friend of a Friend program, and by by Kofi Ademola, an organizer with the Black Lives Matter movement. Baltimore detective Sean Suiter was killed with his own weapon the day before he was scheduled to testify against other police officers to a grand jury. The mysterious death is raising questions about systemic corruption within the Baltimore Police Department.Will U.S. troops ever leave Syria? Now that ISIS is effectively defeated, the Pentagon is signaling that it will maintain its presence in the north of the country indefinitely. Rick Sterling, investigative journalist, joins the show. More than 200 people were killed in a horrific terrorist attack on a mosque in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula today. Details are still emerging, but the massacre is sure to send shockwaves throughout the region. Brian and John speak with Sputnik News analyst Walter Smolarek. The New York Times is reporting that former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn’s lawyers have cut off communication with Donald Trump’s legal team -- an indication that he may be planning to cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller’s prosecution. Jim Kavanagh, editor of ThePolemicist.net, joins Brian and John.In rambling addresses to U.S. troops on Thanksgiving, Donald Trump praised his own administration for a wide range of accomplishments in nearly every field. But perhaps his most amazing assertion was that the United States has turned the tide in Afghanistan and is now winning the war. Joining the show is Vijay Prashad, author and professor. Thomas Friedman, the foreign policy establishment’s favorite pundit, has just published an op-ed singing the praises of de-facto Saudi leader Mohammed Bin Salman, despite the young Crown Prince’s reckless military and political offensive across the entire Middle East. Brian and John speak with Alexander Mercouris, editor in chief of The Duran. Zimbabwe has a new president -- Emmerson Mnangagwa -- following the military takeover of the country that forced the resignation of long-time leader Robert Mugabe. What does Mnangagwa’s presidency mean for the future of the country? Dr. Gerald Horne, professor at the University of Houston, joins the show along with Eugene Puryear, host of By Any Means Necessary.

Loud & Clear
Is the UN a Figleaf for U.S. Foreign Policy?

Loud & Clear

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 18, 2017 108:51


On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Christopher Black, an international criminal lawyer who is on the List of Counsel before the ICC, and Jim Jatras, a political analyst and former U.S. diplomat.The UN General Assembly debate opens today in New York. As world leaders grapple with the conflicts, crises and tensions that seem to be intensifying by the day, Donald Trump has slammed the United Nations as inefficient and unfair. Scores of people have been arrested as demonstrations and outrage continue in St. Louis against racism and police brutality following the acquittal of police officer Jason Stockley in the killing of Anthony Lamar Smith. Kofi Ademola, an organizer with the Black Lives Matter movement, joins the show from London to talk about the incident. Hamas has announced that it is prepared to dissolve its government in Gaza. Could a Palestinian unity government finally be formed after over a decade of bitter division between the West Bank and Gaza? Journalist and filmmaker Dan Cohen, talks about the issue. Donald Trump’s hostility towards Cuba is no secret, but after a series of alleged “sonic attacks” on diplomats, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has said that the administration may go as far as closing the embassy in Havana. Arnold August, a lecturer, journalist and author, joins the show. Former CIA employee Jeffrey Sterling’s sentence has been extended, as the U.S. government’s war on whistleblowers continue. Activist Arn Menconi talks about these developments.

Loud & Clear
Will Saudis Face UN Trials for Yemen War Crimes?

Loud & Clear

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 30, 2017 57:59


On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker is joined by Medea Benjamin, the co-founder of CODEPINK. A coalition of 62 organizations has urged the United Nations to establish an inquiry into human rights abuses in Yemen, where the brutal, intensifying civil war has caused the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Donald Trump and Jeff Sessions want to give the Chicago police a green light to continue their reign of terror over Black and Latino communities, but after sustained pressure in the streets and the courtroom from Black Lives Matter activists Illinois’ Attorney General has stepped in to sue the CPD. Kofi Ademola and Aislinn Borsini, both organizers with the Black Lives Matter movement in Chicago, join the show. As Hurricane Harvey batters the Gulf Coast, the life-and-death issue of climate change is back in the spotlight. Is climate change causing extreme weather events? What role does capitalism play in climate change. Joining the show to address these and many other questions is Fred Magdoff, professor emeritus of plant and soil science at the University of Vermont, as well as the co-author of “What Every Environmentalist Needs to Know About Capitalism” and “Creating an Ecological Society: Toward a Revolutionary Transformation”.

The Lit Review Podcast
Episode 23: The Life & Struggles of Stokely Carmichael with Kofi Ademola

The Lit Review Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 21, 2017 54:27


Most of us know Stokely Carmichael as the charismatic leader in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) during the 1960's and as the person who coined the term "Black Power," but what else was behind the life of Stokely Carmichael, aka Kwame Ture? ​Monica and Page chatted with Black Lives Matter-Chicago co-founder Kofi Ademola about Ready for Revolution: The Life and Struggles of Stokely Carmichael, a posthumous autobiography that traces Stokely's life from Guinea to the Bronx to the Delta South and then back to Guinea where he passed in 1998.