Podcast appearances and mentions of mark sleboda

Vladimir Putin's visit to China has created one more opportunity for China and Russia to celebrate and strengthen their cooperation. Beijing and Moscow have signed more than ten agreements during Putin's trip. Xi Jinping says the current relationship was not easily gained, so it ought to be cherished by the two sides more than ever before.Why are China and Russia good friends and partners? What can their partnership bring to the international community?Host Ding Heng is joined by Professor Alexey Maslov, Director of the Institute of Asian and African Studies, Moscow State University; Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations & security analyst; Dr. Zhang Xin, Deputy Director of the Center for Russian Studies, East China Normal University.

Episode 65 of "The Mother of all talk shows" in podcast format!Recorded September 13th 2020Professor Richard WolffAuthor Bob Wylie on his book 'Bandit Capitalism'Mark Sleboda on Belarus elections Dr Ranjeet Brar: NHS Consultant, physician & surgeon will update us on the spread of coronavirus Become a MOATS Graduate at https://plus.acast.com/s/moatswithgorgegalloway. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Make sure to follow this week's guest Mark Sleboda on X at @MarkSleboda1 Find me and the show on social media @DrWilmerLeon on X (Twitter), Instagram, and YouTube Facebook page is www.facebook.com/Drwilmerleonctd   Announcer (00:06): Connecting the dots with Dr. Wilmer Leon, where the analysis of politics, culture, and history converge. Dr Leon (00:14): Welcome to the Connecting the Dots podcast with Dr. Wilmer Leon. I am Wilmer Leon. Here's the point. We have a tendency to view current events as though they occur in a vacuum, failing to see the broader historical context in which events take place. During each episode of this program, my guests and I have probing, provocative, and in-depth discussions that connect the dots between current events and the broader historic context in which they occur. This enables you to better understand and analyze the events that impact the global village in which we live on today's episode. The issue before us is the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and why does the United States keep throwing good taxpayer dollars after bad. To discuss this, we are joined by my guest Mark Sloboda. He's a Moscow based international relations and security analyst. Mark, as always, welcome back Mark Sleboda (01:18): Dr. Leon. Thanks for having me. It's always an honor and a pleasure to be on connecting the dots. Dr Leon (01:23): So it's been reported that an attack on a convoy of Ukrainian military equipment in the esque people's Republic was carried out with the use of short range ballistic missiles. And it also seems as though with all of this hand wringing in the US Congress about funding for Ukraine, all the US and NATO is doing, or seems to be doing, is sending more targets for Russia to destroy your thoughts, mark. Mark Sleboda (01:52): Yeah, there's some rather dramatic developments really under-reported in the Western press that have very large implications going forward for the conflict in Ukraine. The current situation on the ground, I think the Western mainstream media has finally their propaganda narrative bubble has finally burst. Look, in a span of how short a period of time we have gone from Ukraine is winning to (02:34) Stalemate, it's a stalemate on the battlefield to, oh my God, we're losing to Nigeria with snow. I mean, that's the rather dramatic change in the propaganda narrative, and I think we can see it reflected in the political elite as well with the panic and desperation that is starting to sit in and become rather obvious among European leaders who really have the most to lose from this conflict, rather other than the Kiev regime in Ukraine itself. And this all occurs, these latest incidents in the final weeks of and the aftermath of the Russian breakthrough of the Kiev regime's most heavily fortified fortress city, these extensive defenses and fortifications trenches, concrete bunkers, pill boxes, networks of tunnels, layers of minefields, you name it, Inca, which is really quite close to Dan City, and a western journalist a couple of years ago already referred to it rather poetically if quite awfully as a knife pointed at the heart of Dansk. (04:10) They meant that in a good way. Another way, of course, looking at it was a Jack boot pressed to the neck of the people of Donbass because it is from aca and the settlements shielded behind it that the Ki regime forces brutally shelled the people of Dansk for the last decade pretty much regularly. They didn't shell military facilities, they shelled civilian areas with artillery, with cluster munitions, with pedal mines. And this was to punish the people of done bus for choosing wrong, for not accepting the overthrow of the government by the Westback Maan butch back in 2014, and with the intention with driving Russian ethnic people who did not accept the new Ukraine into Russia. That was the intention and one of the primary reasons for the Russian intervention in the Ukrainian civil conflict, not the only one. There were security concerns as well, but this was loudly voiced as well. (05:22) And when the Russians broke through it aga, they did it rather dramatically towards the end. It ended up much shorter than say the siege of Bach Mu, despite the defenses in a DKA being considerably stronger, and this is because of a sea change on the battlefield. The KI regime's initial a integrated Soviet legacy air defense network, the backbone of which was the formidable S 300 systems had been largely deteriorated at this point already a few months ago. And on top of what hadn't been destroyed, they were absolutely out of interceptor missiles for it, and there were none left in countries that are now part of the west former Eastern Bloc countries. Their supplies were all exhausted. So there was an attempt to put together a hodgepodge piece meal air defense system not properly integrated with using Western systems, but that has also been attributed away over the last few months. (06:35) Russia launched an extensive campaign over the winter, and that was a primary target of their missile and drone campaign. So in afca, Russia fully unleashed the fab guided glide bombs on these defenses. And these are old dumb munitions with smart glide kits that turn them into precision weapons being able to fire from air at a distance of tens of kilometers. And because these are bombs, not artillery shells, they have a considerably bigger payload. They come in 500, 1000 and 1500 kilogram capacities and they just annihilate. I mean, if the Ki regime turns, say what they did pretty much to every building in the city, turning it into a mini fortress that has to be individually stormed one fab bomb, and it's gone. And particularly at the larger end, the 1500, they have an incredibly demoralizing effect on anyone within the radius of experiencing the explosion, the concussion and the like. (07:57) And in the closing days of a dka, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense, they dropped over 500 of these, oh my God, on the fortresses in just the last few days, right? So that's why they collapsed so quickly and dramatically at the end and why there was such a route. And they're able to do this now because they can fly with a considerable degree of impunity over the battlefield because first, the Soviet legacy and now the Western Air Defense system sent us a replacement, have largely been destroyed. And immediately in the aftermath of Dfca, the Russian forces far from being exhausted, as many Western military analysts drinking their own propaganda Kool-Aid tried to claim claiming high casualties as they always do without evidence to back it up other than the say so of the regime in Kiev. Russian forces were not exhausted because they had not suffered any considerable attrition because they had been standing off and dropping an extremely large bombs from Sue, 30 fours from fighter bombers on ev dca, which is what did at least at the end the majority of their work for them once they were already ensconced in the outskirts of the city. (09:24) So they continued on fallback positions in the next line of villages that Kiev regime forces had retreated to and were hastily trying to dig themselves in because they had not built proper defenses. And for instance, Laska and Severna lasted two or three days, and as Russia moved on the second line of villages even further, and we faced a real breakthrough in the Kiev regime defensive lines at this point, the Kiev regime became desperate to try to at least slow down. We're not even talking stop, but to slow down the Russian advance to give themselves more time to hastily dig as the Western headlines have now been talking about what the Kiv regime needs to do to dig new trenches, to dig new fortifications. So they moved a large number of what air defense systems they had left elsewhere in the country into an area far too close to the battlefield. (10:32) And Russia at this point, not only of course, enjoys air superiority over the contact line, but they also enjoy drone superiority. And Russia has put a rather larger number of military satellites into the orbit in the last year, last few months that have started to come online. So they were able to track these air defense systems fairly well, and it's more than just three patriot launchers that have been destroyed. Also, one of the remaining older S 300 air defense systems, several NASS air defense systems supplied by the US and Norway, and also a number of books and smaller systems. By my count at least 11 air defense systems have been destroyed in the last two weeks over the area immediately to the west of F dca. And this is adding to the butcher's bill. Previously, the Kev regime has adopted a new tactic in several areas. (11:50) We saw it over the sea of, we saw it also in Belgo where that Ill 76 transport plane shut down the KI regime shut down its own plane full of prisoners of war A couple of months ago, if you remember forced to admit it, they've been sending in an attempt to try to stop the Russian dominance of the skies. They've tried to use essentially not mobile air defense systems in a mobile capacity to set up ambushes for Russian planes to instill a degree of caution and restraint. But that has proven very costly for them because they've also lost air defense systems in that way as well, because of course, Russia was actively hunting them down and despite their claims to have shut down large numbers of Russian aircraft, there is zero evidence providing this zero. I mean, and there have been plenty of evidence, for instance, of the Kev regime's own aircraft, remaining aircraft being shot down when they're shot down. (13:06) There is video footage, there is air wreckage and the like. So really questionable claims they may have sacrificed other than this, of course, the POW plane, which everyone noticed, but that was an undefended transport plane flying in what it assumed a mission of peace bringing POWs for an exchange. So they've lost a huge degree of whatever hodgepodge air defense they had left. Now, Forbes speaking just of the events in F dca, not of the rest of it, says that just in those engagements that the Kev regime lost 13% of its air defense capacity speaking specifically of the Patriot systems provided to it. And that's on paper because they're not acknowledging earlier patriot systems that have been shot down. So I would suggest that they have at this point lost far more. They probably have a number of patriot launchers in the single digits left in Kiev, for instance, possibly in Odessa. (14:22) But the implications of this going forward is that Russian use of air superiority and even now close air support over the contact line is going to dramatically increase because there is no air defense left to deal with them, which means the pace of Russian advances are going to increase. And this is when even Western analysts and Ukrainians are talking about rather large concentrations of Russian forces behind the lines that have been built up but not committed yet. And there is the suspicion that they're going to launch a large scale big arrow offensive sometime later this year. In fact, the Kiev regime has just in the past week evacuated the entirety of Harko region. Some 85 settlements ordered the civilian evacuation because they fear a big offensive in the harko direction in the coming probably months, perhaps weeks. Dr Leon (15:36): President Biden told us during his State of the Union address that Ukraine can stop Putin, Ukraine can stop Putin if we stand with Ukraine and provide the weapons that it needs to defend itself. That's all he says. In fact, there are no American soldiers at war in Ukraine. My question is, who's operating these US supplied Patriot air defense systems and are there US special forces trainers that are on the ground training these forces? Mark Sleboda (16:14): Okay, so first to the last point, Joe Biden is lying genocide. Joe is flat up lying and we know it because the Western mainstream media has told us already in the summer of 2022 in the New York Times and the Washington Post talking about unusually large numbers of US intelligence and US and European commandos on the ground in Ukraine. Then later we heard there were hundreds of uniformed US troops on the ground, again from the western mainstream media that were doing tracking of Western supplied weapons. Now, if that's really what they were doing, then they weren't doing a very good job because it was only weeks after that we heard that the West couldn't track these weapons at all. So I mean either they were completely incompetent or they are doing something else on the ground Dr Leon (17:15): On top of them. Wait a minute, are these also, aren't these the same stories that a lot of these weapons are showing up in other battles in other countries? Mark Sleboda (17:24): Yes. Yes. With the idea that a tithe essentially of Western weapons is being sold through corruption in the Ukrainian military and the distribution networks off because of the prevalent corruption in the country to pad their own pockets. And then I don't think there's anything question about that. The Western mainstream media has long reported about that. In fact, early on, CBS noted that some 70% of the weapons supplied by the west were not reading the front lines. This was early on in the conflict. So on top of those commandos, we now the Russian government has long complained that these high-tech systems supplied by the west from the US in particular the high Mars and multiple launch rocket systems in the Patriot air defense systems, as well as some French air defense systems, Polish crab artillery systems, British storm shadows, cruise missiles, that these are all being operated by western military specialists who are being sent there under the guise of mercenaries or humanitarian and aid workers and the like, because it is impossible to train the Kiev regime forces in such a short period of time to operate these advanced western systems. (19:09) The Russian government's been saying this for a considerable amount of time, but this was confirmed by no less a person than the German chancellor Olaf Schultz, who in an apparent spat back and forth with the French leader, Emmanuel Macron, and to the British as well, when the British were pressuring Germany to deliver the Taurus missiles, the context of Ola Schultz is we can't do what the British, the French, and the Americans are doing and have people obliquely. He admitted that the West had their military forces on the ground operating their systems and that Germany could not be seen as doing that. And this was reinforced in these leaked military calls from the German Air Force planning, a series of cruise missile attacks inside Russia with the expected to be delivered towards cruise missile system, at least expected by them. The political elites in Germany aren't saying that, but they also revealed that the German cruise missiles could perhaps be operated on the ground by the rather large number of Americans of people on the ground wearing civilian clothes with American accents, which of course is a roundabout way of saying US military personnel not in uniform on the ground in Ukraine. (20:58) So I mean, they just have to Dr Leon (20:59): Be curious from Kansas that are wandering the fields and the step of Germany and Russia and Ukraine. Mark Sleboda (21:07): Yeah, they're not wearing boots. They're wearing ballet slippers or figure skates or something, I guess. So that's a lie. Second of all, the Kim regime can defeat. Well, Ukraine can beat Putin, right? The childish way that western leaders and media try to demonize any opponent down to just one leader and so forth. But if that was true, if Western military aid in Ukrainian regime hands was enough to beat Russia, then what happened over their failed summer counter offensive that was armed trained, financed intelligence planned and war gamed out by nato, primarily US by the Pentagon, that's who did it. They failed. They failed badly. They were mauled. They never even got past the first of Russia's five echelon defensive lines and suffered horrible casualties in the process. No one denies that. So there is no indication that however additional tens of billions of dollars of aid are sent that the West will ever again able to build an offensive force like they did for Ukraine in the summer offensive because they simply don't have the weapons in inventory to replace everything like that. (22:50) They do have some things, they got plenty of Bradleys if they want. Obviously they're very reticent to allow the rather small number of Abrams that they've sent to be used in combat. Four of them have been destroyed after just appearing on the battlefield in the last week. But the rest of the Western militaries that supplied weapons, they're tapped out. France, Germany, Denmark, the United Kingdom, they've all said, we can't supply anymore because we've already dug past our stockpiles into our own military supplies and we can't replace these systems fast enough. For instance, one French Caesar self-propelled Howitzer, a total of 36 of these between France and Denmark were supplied to the Kiev regime for the course of that offensive. And they're practically through all of them, they have very few of them left because Russia's been hunting them down. And also they are subjected to considerable wear and tear, and they're not actually built for high intensity combat like this, much like the US' M triple sevens and the Paladins and the like. But it takes the French 18 months, the French military industrial complex, 18 months. 18 months Dr Leon (24:20): To Mark Sleboda (24:21): Build one Dr Leon (24:22): That's a year and a half Mark Sleboda (24:23): One Caesar. But we heard that they have shortened that time to 15 months. Oh Dr Leon (24:30): Wow. That makes me feel a whole lot better. You just mentioned the leaked recordings from the German Air Force, and is it a coincidence that after these conversations were leaked where the Germans were talking about taking out bridges in Russia with cruise missiles that Victoria Newland resigns because there are some who say that her name was mentioned in on these tapes and that the German Air Force officers were really talking about conversations either they had with her or ideas that she was presenting about these attacks inside Russia? Mark Sleboda (25:16): Yeah, there's a possibility there, and if that is the situation, then it appears that she was probably forced out by the Biden administration. But are I think there are other considerations in play. Victoria Newland, the Queen NeoCon of the us, she's married to Robert Kagan who is the arch NeoCon of the United States. Robert Kagan, his books, check them out if you're unfamiliar with his sinister work. I would say she has long dominated through several presidencies US policy towards Ukraine. She was instrumental in the actual Westpac, my Don pooch, if not the key architect of it. She was caught on recordings with then US Ambassador Jeffrey Piat, talking about how they needed to midwife this thing, bring then Obama's Vice President Joe Biden into midwife it picking the new Prime Minister of Ukraine, Arsen Ya from the leaders, the figurehead leaders of the Maidan, and then famously saying F, the when the idea that the Europeans might want someone else for Ukraine's next prime minister was presented. So I mean she's been instrumental and she briefly left office during the Trump administration and then came right back. She has been serving as under Secretary for political affairs, which despite the rather kafkaesque bureaucratic name is actually the third highest official within the US Department of War. I'm sorry, not the US Department of War, US Department of State. My bad. Dr Leon (27:23): I can understand the confusion. Mark Sleboda (27:24): I said the difference. Yeah, she a third highest official and she was actually operating as the second highest official just below the Secretary of State for about a half of year when Wendy Sherman, the previous Deputy Secretary of State stepped down. So she was doing the number two and number three job and it was widely expected that she would be permanently assigned to that position, a permanently elevated to Deputy Secretary of State. But we found out that just a month ago she was passed over for this position by Kirk Campbell. The Biden approved someone else, and Kirk Campbell is an Asia specialist. He's a specialist on China, which to my mind tells me that the Biden administration is tiring of this conflict in Ukraine and they're already looking past it despite the bad situation. Their proxy regime is in to China, which may indicate a planned change of policy or at least prioritization or at the very least an unwillingness to escalate further, I say may. Dr Leon (28:48): So does that mean then that the Biden administration is now following along the previous Obama administration's tilt towards Asia? Mark Sleboda (29:02): Yeah, that's entirely possible. I believe that's what the Biden administration always wanted to do. They wanted the Middle East to remain quiet and it was not a priority for them. That didn't go out down so well. Just a week before the October 7th, seventh launching of the all Axel flood operation by Hamas on Israel, Jake Sullivan was in an essay talking about how nice and quiet the Middle East was, which allowed the US to concentrate on other areas. Well, that didn't go so well then since then. But they wanted the Middle East to be quiet. They expected to finish off Russia quickly. They expected their sanctions to destroy the Russian economy, Putin to be overthrown, and because of the economic commiseration of the country Dr Leon (29:58): They wrong Mark Sleboda (30:00): And that they would now, their biggest concern would be dividing up Russia into smaller pieces and how to go about that. That appears to have been their plan. Okay, so not so good on the plan thing, but then they hoped they thought that would be finished quickly and then to pivot hard to China. I think that was always their plan to finish Russia off quickly, ignore the Middle East and pivot hard to China. And none of that, of course has gone according to plan. So with A and B having failed, they're trying to go to C anyway in very likely the months at this point that they have remaining to them. And I think that the passing over of Victoria Newland for that is a sign that the Biden administration is already lost interest, possibly due to inability to achieve their desired goals and is shifting to the next goals that they can't probably accomplish even more so I would say if they think that they're going to defeat China in some type of conflict off of their own coast in the Taiwan Straits and South China Sea. But anyway, I expect that Victoria Newland was extremely unhappy about being passed over. She was probably, she can see the bureaucratic writing on the wall that the prioritization is changing away from her reason for existence, which is fighting Russia. And I think that that probably at least as much if not more so played a role in her deciding to quit or being forced out. We don't know the real truth of that yet, although I imagine that she won't be able to keep her mouth shut forever on that score Dr Leon (31:51): Or her husband. So political reports that France finds Baltic allies in its spat with Germany over Ukraine troop deployment, that France is building up an alliance of countries to open potentially that are open to potentially sending Western troops to Ukraine. That Mark sounds to me like there's a lot of tension within nato. And going again back to President Biden State of the Union, he told us America is a founding member of nato, the Military Alliance of Democratic Nations, and that to prevent war, we've made NATO even stronger, which is the point that I was trying to get to about this element of his speech that we've made NATO even stronger, and now he also assigns or attributes Finland joining NATO as evidence of NATO's strength. It doesn't sound like, it doesn't sound like it's all good in Mark Sleboda (32:59): Yeah, I mean definitely. I mean, Hungary and Slovakia of course are the most egregious examples of this because they are completely against the proxy war now being fought on Russia in Ukraine completely. They won't have anything to do with it. But yeah, there are definitely, I think tensions and cracks emerging and a bit of a panicked blame game going on right now with different European countries all trying to blame each other saying You haven't done enough. And with Macron coming out now in the aftermath of the taking of a DKA coming out and openly talking about putting NATO troops on the ground, I think this is not something that is a secret, something that has not been discussed for, and something that contingency plans are not already in place to do in the future. They just aren't in a political situation to have it said out loud. Now, I think that's the real problem that Germany and other countries have. It's causing them, no one is ready to do it now, and the fact that it has been brought up now, they see as politically detrimental to them in their own countries Dr Leon (34:29): As in the farmers' protests in Germany, Mark Sleboda (34:32): Yeah, in Poland, yes, Poland. I mean there are protests across Europe, but also, yes, the fragile coalition government in Germany, the rise of the A FD, the alternative for Germany, the alternative for Deutsche Man, yeah, party in Germany. These are all blowback from the European involvement in the conflict in Ukraine, and they just did not need this. Now, I think Macron has pointed out two things. One is that levels of escalation in this conflict, red lines that we will not cross in terms of escalation have been passed again and again and again. I remember back in February and March of 2022 when Joe Biden saying that US tanks and jets us would never supply tanks and jets to Ukraine because that would mean World War iii, right? But US tanks are now burning in the urban agglomerations of the Donez region, and US F sixteens are supposedly on their way within the next couple of months to the Kiev regime. (35:55) So again and again, these lines have been crossed, and I believe this line will be crossed eventually, but not yet. The second point, and Macron pointed this out, what we once thought was unacceptable has become normal operations repeatedly during this conflict as they've crawled further up or down the escalation ladder, however you choose to look at it. And he also then made a point that when French troops might be sent into Ukraine, when Russian forces move on Kiev or Odessa, which is most likely some time away, probably more than a year, maybe longer than that. So yeah, I mean, right now fighting Russia has a lot of advantages on the battlefield, but big advances can still be measured in a handful of kilometers, a tree line, a small village. (37:04) The writing is on the wall in terms of the logistics of a war of attrition and everything, but I think there's still a lot of hard ground slogging into the future. Macron sees that as well, so they're panicking now. I think he's right that when Russia moves towards Kia or Odessa, there will be probably greater support for his suggestions, but we've already seen support from the Baltics. The Baltic leaders have come out and said, yes, we're ready to send the handful of troops that we have now, because if there's anything the Baltics country need is to come out on the losing end of this conflict, having sent their own troops to war with Russia and having a NATO either fall apart or turned into a toothless tiger as a result of this really, really bad geopolitical move to my mind. I mean, because they're of course the most vulnerable. (38:05) They've got large populations of Russian ethnic populations that they have been rather seriously politically and linguistically culturally repressing, particularly over the last two years, even trying to expel as many Russian ethnic people from their countries as they can, practically inviting some type of Russian backed efforts against those governments in the Baltics, really not a smart move, but also Poland has made the Polish foreign minister Sikorsky back again, by the way, has also seemed to suggest contrary to statements by the Polish president, that at some point down the line, Polish troops could be sent into Ukraine and also Canada. Trudeau has also volunteered Canadian troops as well in non-combat roles of course, because that's what you do with your military troops. You send them into a conflict zone Dr Leon (39:16): Very as non-combatants Mark Sleboda (39:19): Like trainers. First you have trainers and advisors, then you have non-combatants. We know the way this goes, so obviously there is already, and check the Czech president has also suggested he is a former NATO official himself, a very big hawk on Russia, and he has also hedged his words and seemed to suggest that Czech might be able to consider it. So these are countries who are already coming out and we're just past aca, which is really only about 12 kilometers away from Donis city, right? I mean, there's a lot more to come and the panic and desperation will increase, and I think Macron will definitely find more countries down the road when it becomes completely impossible to deny as it will become in the future, the writing on the wall that the regime cannot hold militarily. The New York Times has already talked about the possibility, and I think it's a very strong possibility of later this year cascading collapses along the Kiev regime's, defensive lines, not me, but the New York Times has raised that as is talking to anonymous western military intelligence analysts about the probable course of the Ukrainian battlefield over the next half a year. Dr Leon (40:51): We mentioned Sweden joining NATO and Finland has joined nato, and we know about the very strong and robust social programs that those countries have because they, up until this point, have had a position of neutrality in conflict, which means they haven't had to send the public resources over to a defense budget. Now that that seems to be changing, are we looking at Finland and Sweden as having to shift those resources? We now see more NeoCon policy as well as what we'll call austerity measures. Can we expect austerity measures to creep their way into social policy in Finland and in Sweden? Mark Sleboda (41:49): Yeah, inevitably, I think we've already seen it to a certain degree. They've already, of course, suffered heavy economic consequences from their own sanctions on Russia, probably more significant than have been experienced by the Russian economy. Finland in particular did a very good cross border business. I was on the Finnish Russian border just a year ago at kind of a wilderness vacation place on the border there, well, actually a couple of years ago before the conflict, but very nice, and it was normal to cross the border from Russia and Finland to go to the store, for instance. Someone had this better, someone had that better, and there was a great deal of cross border business that has immensely suffered as a result already hurting the finish economy. The Swedes have suffered the same thing, perhaps to a lesser degree without sharing an open border, but experienced it as well, and now, I mean they've exhausted a great deal. (42:58) Finland and Sweden have both provided outsized military resources to the Kiev regime already, and those resources like so much else, are largely gone. They're either up in smoke or filtered away in the Kiev regime's corruption, so on top of the Kiev regime, of course, loudly demanding more, more, they also have to replenish their own military stocks, and now they have to militarize their own borders, which were UNM militarized, particularly in the case of Finland, which has a very large border. It was demilitarized, it was not a militarized border. There was police presence, but it was not a militarized border that is now changing and of course, facing the prospect of Finland joining NATO and US forces on finished soil, Russia has reordered, completely changed military districting on the border there and provided tens of thousands of new troops to be placed on the border as having to potentially deal with US troops being stationed in Finland as defensive contingencies, Finland is going to bear an increased burden with military. I do not see how this makes them more secure than they were before. I mean, they weren't targeted with nuclear missiles, and now they will be. (44:36) I guess that is the price of joining the cool Western Kids Club in nato, which it seems that the Finnish political elite wanted more than not creating economic and military problems with their much larger southern neighbor. Dr Leon (44:57): I read a story recently that elite units of Ukrainian armed forces are discussing overthrowing zelensky. Is that a rumor? Any traction of that story there in Moscow and any insight into commanders and soldiers in elite units of the Ukrainian armed forces? They're dissatisfied with the reshuffling of the leadership and they're talking about ousting VMI Zelensky. Mark Sleboda (45:30): Yeah. When Zelensky got rid of zany, and let's be clear, this didn't happen because of his military failures on the battlefield. It was done for political reasons because he saw zany as a threat as possibly running for president himself for staging a military coup and the possibility there were plenty of signs that the US was actually for a time considering switching horses, which is why he forbade elections in Ukraine, citing the martial law emergency powers, and so that he didn't have to face zny in an election, which the polls say he would've lost because zany has more support in the country than he does now. He didn't only get rid of ny, he got rid of whole streams of top down to low level commanders who were seen as loyal to ny. There was a huge reshuffling or replacement of Ukrainian of the Kev regime's military leaders. As a result of this, there's a lot of embittered military people because of this. We don't need to look in secret telegram chat rooms to hear this discussion because Dr Leon (46:56): Regime, which is where this story was originally attributable, yeah, the Mark Sleboda (47:00): Story is sourced from here, but there have already been open public statements by Kiev regime, military commanders on the battlefield saying to the Ukrainian journalists, this is wrong. There was a list signed by hundreds of Ukrainian military commanders serving on the battlefield, a petition asking Zelensky to get rid of Ky, whom he chose to replace Zelensky, whom is known as the Dr Leon (47:38): Butcher, the butcher Mark Sleboda (47:40): By his own forces, not because of the opponents that he kills, but because of his careless attitude towards the lives of his own people. So they made an Dr Leon (47:54): That's not a good moniker. As a commander, you don't want your own forces seeing you in the light of butchering them. Mark Sleboda (48:04): Yeah, I mean, my military experience tells me that that would not be the type of military commander that I wanted. Certainly, and I seriously doubt that they do as well. Plus Sirki is actually ethnic Russian. He was born in Russia in the Soviet Union. His family still lives in Russia, and they're actually quite Russian patriotic, so it's a rather bizarre situation, and in many ways there's a lot of Dr Leon (48:30): Parallels. It makes for a tough Christmas dinner. Mark Sleboda (48:32): I don't think it makes for a Christmas dinner at all. I'm pretty sure, and there are definitely parallels with the US Civil War to be drawn there and with so many other families across Russia and Ukraine. But yeah, they've made demands of Zelensky public demands that they replace, that they bring back zany and get rid of ky, and of course that was ignored and large numbers of those commanders were replaced. But if they're discussing it openly and he's already taking this vengeful action against them, there's no great surprise that they are talking about it in what they believe to be secret chat rooms about taking it into their own hands. It's rather interesting, of course, that the Russian intelligence chose to make this public because if they have penetrated this chat room, you can be totally sure that the key regime's military intelligence, let's say Ka bov loyal to Zelinsky, has penetrated this as well, and by going public with it, Russia might be forcing Zelinsky hand to take action against these coup plotting, even if it's in the very nascent, we hate this guy, why can't we get rid of him? Stage of, shall we say, trash talk. It might be forcing Zelinsky hand to take action now, probably because Russia sees Zelensky and KY in charge of the key regime, political and military as far better for them than ny, whom was not a brilliant military commander, but perhaps not an entirely incompetent one either. Dr Leon (50:36): Switching gears, the cradle is reporting US proxies fear, Afghan style withdrawal from Syria. The Syrian democratic force is the SDF. They're fearing that their US patrons will abandon them in favor of closer ties with Turk, what's happening here with the US military, their Kurdish proxies occupying northeast Syria and fearing a Afghan like pullout. Is that a serious cause for concern? Mark Sleboda (51:13): I mean, that has been a serious cause for concern since 2016, right? The Kurds have been thrown different Kurds, but Kurds have been thrown under the bus by the US government after having been turned into proxies again and again by the United States in Iraq multiple times in Syria, previously against Turkey. Turkey Dr Leon (51:38): Going all the way back to HW Bush, Mark Sleboda (51:40): Yes, Dr Leon (51:42): Throwing the Kurds under the bus. Yes, Mark Sleboda (51:44): It's primary routine, which really amazes me that Kurds keep willing to be US proxies when they see the long history, not just of the US abandoning proxies like say in Afghanistan, but the US specifically abandoning Kurdish proxies before and abandoning these same Kurdish proxies. When Turkey advanced into northern Syria, they still, of course controlled northern Syria while the US illegally military occupies East Syria. They with just withdrew their forces and said, we're not going to defend you. Sorry. You should probably pull back or the Turks will wipe you up. I mean, that has already happened. The Turks regard the SDF as the YPG, the Syrian branch of the PKK, which is opposed to the Turkish government and fighting for the cause of a Kurdish ethnic nation state that would have to be carved out of parts of Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and perhaps Iran. They are the biggest ethnic people in the world that do not have a nation state. (52:55) And it was inevitable that at some point, if the US failed to overthrow the government in Damascus with their jihadi regime change, that they would at some point leave East Syria and they haven't done so yet. And despite the rumors to the contrary, I don't expect them to do so in the near future, but it is inevitable at some point is you can't maintain an open-ended occupation of a very large amount of territory forever, despite sitting on the Syrias valuable oil and wheat fields preventing the economic stabilization of the country seemingly out of spite geopolitical spite. If nothing else, you can't maintain this forever, especially with the increase in the number of attacks on US bases in Syria and Iraq from local resistance groups like Katai, Hezbollah who don't want the US occupying their countries, right, meaning Syria and Iraq. There's certainly a cost that has to be paid there, but the cost is still not extremely high, and Biden already being seen as responsible for the disastrous Vietnam style withdrawal from Afghanistan leading the Taliban to completely retake the country in rather embarrassing fashion. (54:40) He does not want to be seen the same role in Syria, I think certainly not in the next year. Perhaps if he wins reelection against all odds, then there might be a possibility in his next administration. But a word of warning, if we do see Biden moving troops out of Syria and Iraq, the reason would probably be that they intend to strike Iran and they're moving their forces out of the range of Iranian ballistic missiles that would target them if that happened. There's a history of us withdrawals preceding attacks elsewhere when the US pulled out of Afghanistan. We found out later from the US Secretary of State that withdrawing from Afghanistan allowed the US to provide the resources to the Kiev regime in Ukraine that they would not have been able to do otherwise. So it seems that they already had intentions towards that regard, so watch it. If Biden does pull out of Syria, it may not actually be good for the Syrians or for anyone else in the region. It might actually be a signal that the US intends to escalate towards Iran. Dr Leon (56:08): Is there a possibility in terms of signaling here that we look at, of course, Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah is now talking about escalating in terms of coming through Lebanon. If this thing were to grow even more full, great even more bringing Iran in, you've got Ansar Allah in the game, does Syria get in the game as well? And so could the United States move out of Syria, be in preparation for a larger conflagration of that nature? Mark Sleboda (56:52): Yeah, I don't see that. First of all, I think the US and Iran are still doing everything possible to avoid direct conflict with each other, hence the stand down by Katai Hezbollah saying they wouldn't attack US military bases any further. And it is actually Israel who is talking about escalating against Hezbollah in Lebanon. I think the US and Iran are both doing everything they can to maintain their state's dignity and still dance around each other, avoiding direct conflict in the Middle East. That said, Israel is doing everything possible to incite conflict between the US and Iran, which makes that a non guarantee. But the Syrian government is in a very weak position economically. The US is still illegally occupying the entirety of the east of the country, including the country's oil and wheat resources. The country is, the government is unstable, it's economic, very hard times, and Turkey is still occupying the entirety of the north of the country, and they still have a hundred thousand jihadi under arms occupying those territories in northern Syria. And of course the US military occupation forces alongside the Kurdish YPG in East Syria. The Syrian government is in no geopolitical or military shape to contribute to a fight. I do not see this blowing up because no one wants to go to war with the US over Gaza. No one except for our sala. Dr Leon (58:45): Final question for you. The United States relative to Syria developing stronger ties with Toa, how can the US make Reproachment in this manner when Erdowan is so erratic and undependable? Mark Sleboda (59:05): Yeah, I don't think they can. Does Dr Leon (59:06): That make sense? Mark Sleboda (59:08): Yeah. I think Erdowan has become a perennial thorn in their side that they constantly need to keep appeased to prevent him from, shall we say, flipping into the bricks Eurasian camp, and Erdogan routinely plays the US and Russia off of each other to what he sees as his country's advantage. The US support of the Kurds in East Syria, of course, has infuriated him, as has the US withdrawal of the F 35 program from Turkey when Erdogan bought the S 400 Air defense system Dr Leon (59:50): From Russia, Mark Sleboda (59:51): Yes, from Russia, he also regards the US as at least being, if not complicit, then at least having knowledge of the coup attempt against him several years ago. Very bad relations there. The US cannot rely on Turkey and Turkey. Well, it sees itself as being betrayed by the United States. I don't see any ability to improve relations between the two until there is regime change perhaps in the United States, but more than likely it will require Erdogan passing on one way or another for a substantial change in Turkish US relations. Dr Leon (01:00:37): I know I said that was my last question, but this is my last question. Since you mentioned the coup in Turk a few years ago, Golan is still, I believe, somewhere in Pennsylvania at a property in Pennsylvania. Are you surprised that he has not been turned over to Turk as a way of appeasing erdowan, and do you think that Golan can be fairly confident that he's not going to be turned over as a fig leaf for better relations? Mark Sleboda (01:01:16): Yeah, I think the US constantly sees him as a bit of leverage. The US likes to keep shadow governments in place for just about every country in the world. Somewhere in the United States, leaders forces Dr Leon (01:01:30): The Shah's Sun is still roaming around Northern Mark Sleboda (01:01:32): Virginia. The Shah's son, Joe Biden just declared Yulia Navalny and then Yolanda, whoever she is, to be the new leader of the Russian opposition. You've got Juan Gau still out there. This is actually absolutely normal. There are entire communities outside Langley that are just exist of us backed shadow governments ready, waiting to be installed in foreign countries. But I have to say that I don't actually think the Golan movement had anything to do with the coup against Erdogan that occurred several years ago. This was almost entirely, once again, a military attempt to restore a kaist state in Turkey against Erdogan's Islamism. It was just sprung early by the Turkish government under what it believed to be controlled conditions, and then rather than admitting a secular Islamist divide in the country, they simply blamed it on a convenience scapegoat, which was the ING gong. I don't think that he actually had anything to do with that QI think that's just a rather vocal if unconvincing bit of Turkish propaganda that everyone has just played along with. So as not to anger Erdogan. In fact, the Russian president when asked about it a couple of years ago, when asked about their responsibility for the coup, his comments were pretty much to the point of if Erdogan says that's what happened, who am I to say otherwise? Dr Leon (01:03:26): Mark Sloboda, man, thank you so much. I always appreciate you carving out the time for me and for the show that you do. Mark Shada, really appreciate you joining me today. Mark Sleboda (01:03:38): Thanks for having me. Dr Leon (01:03:40): And folks, thank you all so much for listening to the Connecting the Dots podcast with me, Dr. Wiler Leon. Stay tuned for new episodes every week. Also, please, please follow and subscribe, leave a review, share the show. We're growing tremendously, but we can only grow as you allow us to follow us on social media. You can find all the links below in the show description. And remember, folks, that this is where the analysis of politics, culture, and history converge because talk without analysis is just chatter, and we do not chatter on connecting the dots. See you again next time. Until then, I'm Dr. Wier Leon. Have a great one. Peace. We're out Announcer (01:04:31):  

This week our guest is the incomparable Mark Sleboda! You can find me and the show on social media by searching the handle @DrWilmerLeon on X (Twitter), Instagram, and YouTube. Our Facebook page is www.facebook.com/Drwilmerleonctd All our episodes can be found at CTDpodcast.com.   Transcript: Dr Wilmer Leon (00:48): Welcome to the Connecting the Dots podcast with Dr. Wilmer Leon. I'm Wilmer Leon. Here's the point. We have a tendency to view current events as though they occur in a vacuum, failing to understand the broader historical context in which most events take place. During each episode of this podcast, my guests and I will have probing, provocative, and in-depth discussions that connect the dots between current events and the broader historic context in which they occur. This will enable you to better understand and analyze the events that impact the global village in which we live. On today's episode, we will discuss the recent belt and road form for international cooperation. Recently, over 500 people were killed as a result of an Al Ali Arab Hospital bombing in Gaza. And the US has provided Ukraine long range attack s missiles for insight into this. Let's turn to my guest. He's a Moscow based international relations and security analyst, mark Sloboda. Mark, let's connect some dots. Mark Sleboda (01:58): Pleasure to on connecting the dots. Dr Wilmer Leon (02:02): So Russian President Putin recently went to Beijing to participate in the third Belt and Road forum for international cooperation. Mark, how significant was this meeting? Mark Sleboda (02:17): Yeah, so I think that this meeting was significant for a number of reasons. First, for President Putin on a personal situation, it is the first time that he has left Russia since the Wess pushed international criminal court charged Vladimir Putin with the crime of helping families and caretakers in East Ukraine move their own children out of the range of Kiev regime artillery that had been bombing them for the last 10 years, also known as abducting children, which evidently is a crime when Russia does it in a time of conflict, but is not a crime when the US does it, when they move thousands of children out of Afghanistan and many thousands of children out of Vietnam in a previous generation of conflict. But besides that, the Russian Chinese relationship bilaterally, I think is probably the most important bilateral relationship for both countries. And both presidents seem to have a good working relationship, often described as a friendship and a deep understanding with each other. (03:47) And each time one of the others has been reelected to their positions. The first country that they go to is each other's, and I think that is a symbolic sign of the relationship, how important it is with each other's countries. But in a wider perspective, this Belt and Road Forum summit, it is actually the 10th anniversary of China's launching of the Belt and Road Project with the goal of which is to build deep infrastructure all along certain geographic pathways along a lot of what could have been considered the old Silk Road to facilitate trade and connections between the countries of this part of the world. And this is something that China does wherever it goes and does business is build infrastructure because it considers that as a long-term investment, not only in the process of conducting trade, but of helping their trade partner develop to a level where they can better trade with each other. (05:09) So physical infrastructure, but also schools, hospitals, things like this. Now a lot of Russian and Chinese and many other countries, leaders have done a lot about talking about the construction of a new, more multipolar, fairer and more equitable world order. And this would stand, I think, in contradiction and an obvious opposition to the current rules based orders. We make the rules, we give the orders of US led Western global hegemony, but in this emerging, shall we say, nascent being born multipolar world order, there are several countries that come to the fore as the first among equals, but certainly China and Russia, our foremost political drivers amongst that. And China stands of course head above the rest if only in terms of their population and their economic strength, which by many measures already exceeds that of the United States. And if there is a meeting and a display of this alternate world order of which China is playing such an important part, a China centric world order, if you want to call it, that was on display in this Belt and road summit. (07:00) It was a bringing together of all the countries participating in this physical implementation of a more multipolar world order. The only Western leader in attendance, very interestingly is the right wing prime minister of Hungary, the foreign policy black sheep, victor or Bond who has refused to participate in the West's proxy war in Ukraine. And its existential economic war of sanctions weaponizing its control of the global financial and economic architecture against Russia, primarily from a Hungarian national interest perspective rather than any great love of Russia or the Russian president, which is I think a position that most people would agree is something that should be something that every world leader should aspire to, that they put their own nation's interest and people above all others. Although in the current world that's not even specific. It's not, we know that it's not the case. Dr Wilmer Leon (08:25): Just asked Olaf Schultz in Germany that question you mentioned each time gee and Putin get elected, we keep hearing from Western narrative, particularly from Biden authoritarians, authoritarians G is an authoritarian, Putin is an authoritarian, can just briefly explain the fact that they're elected, they don't control their elections. They have different electoral processes than we do. They have different democratic constructs than we have, but that doesn't mean that they're authoritarian. Mark Sleboda (09:14): Yeah, I mean this is a label that is tapped on essentially to any country now that lies outside of US-led western global hegemony that does not align itself and does not meet the West's self-reflective standard of what democracy looks like. And it really, it is a way of exerting moral superiority. The idea that we are both morally and systemically superior than those people over there who are our adversaries in a different time. It was communists of course, and there have been other labels in history and certainly labels are applied to the Western countries. They are imperialists. They are hegemons. This is a standard othering device. I live in Russia, I immigrated to Russia from the United States, and I have lived here for most of two decades. And I have to be honest, after having some experience as a volunteer for the US Democratic Party, I find that politics in Russia on a whole is no more or less substantive than the democratic nature beneath the sheets of politics in the United States. I don't want to go out of the way to make it seem like it's a democratic utopia or anything like that far from it. But on a whole, knowing the warts inside and out of political systems in US and Europe and now Russia, I think that over in a general context that they're expressed themselves roughly equally. There is Dr Wilmer Leon (11:18): Politics plus they also reflect the intricacies of their cultures. And so I was having a conversation with some folks a couple of days ago and I said they were, oh, well G is an authoritarian. And I said, well, I've seen polls from Harvard and Princeton and some other western universities that show like 96% of Chinese people like their government. And I think it was 87% of Russians polled like their government support government. So if it's working for them, then who in the world am I to say that it's not good, it's not right, or what we have is better. I know Joe Biden would love to see 60% approval rating, let alone 96% approval rating. Mark Sleboda (12:15): Yeah, I think not only approval of the current government, but I've seen similar polls that asking peoples of different countries whether they think they live in a democracy and quite overwhelmingly, certainly over the 50% margin, the people of Russia feel they live in a democracy and certainly the people in China do as well to an even greater degree. Again, it doesn't look like western liberal democracy, but perhaps you could consider it of a more technocratic bureaucratic nature. But as you point out, there is a thousand multi-thousand year history of Chinese bureaucratic constructs that they are laying their future and their choices on top of. Meanwhile, in the United States, people generally feel that they don't live in a democratic system, that their government is not responsive to their needs and interests. And you could say that that is, oh, I mean all the people in Russia and China are ignorant. (13:35) They don't know the real situation of what they live and what we live in. And I got to tell you, Russian people, even Chinese people, despite the great Chinese firewall, their coordinate of the internet generally have a far higher degree of reading and understanding western media than the other way around. That is they hear our perspective and thoughts, but as Westerners, you quite often don't hear at least on your own media unless you go actively looking for it, the opinions and perspectives of other countries. So I think that assumption that all the people over in that other part of the world, they don't live in a real democracy and that they think they do is only a sign of how brainwashed and ignorant they are compared to us enlightened people on the shining city on the hill. That is a hallmark of the supremacist ideology of exceptionalism that unfortunately has come to dominate not American political culture, but I think far more important, the American political elite, the ruling class. And that has disastrous consequences for us foreign policy and the world. Dr Wilmer Leon (15:05): You are absolutely right. I've been to Iran twice and was very blessed to lecture at probably somewhere between 10 and 15 universities throughout the country. And as I traveled throughout Iran, I was amazed at how well informed the questions that these students asked me. They were right on it, man, in terms of an understanding of the politics of the moment. And again, the questions that they asked me were spot on. It indicated that they were going beyond the rhetoric, they were going beyond the talking points. And it was shocking to me how well-informed in spite of the wall that you talk about in terms of the internet, they were on point, man. Mark Sleboda (16:11): Yeah, I think it's interesting that this label is applied to adversaries like Russia and China, Russia, which has opposition parties and elections. They don't do very good right now because since the economic catastrophe of the nineties, I think the Russian population has been more united in their political vision of a path out of that and forward and retaking what they see as their place in the world after the self dissolution of the Soviet Union. That will not last forever. And a lot of people question whether it will last after Putin at all. But there is opposition political structures. The biggest opposition political party in Russia is the communist party of the Russian Federation, which polls generally somewhere around 15% of the population. And in foreign policy, it must be said, they largely agree with the current government of Vladimir Putin, but in domestic issues, they constantly fight for the Duma for things that leftist parties always fight for, more social benefits, more spending on education and medicine and other things. And if anything, I think probably the communists would probably, if they were leading the country, would probably take a more hard line foreign policy position than the current government. I think that when the US Dr Wilmer Leon (18:02): Speak to that, because a lot of people listening this will say, wait a minute, a harder line than Vladimir Putin. Oh my God. You can't get a harder line than that when the people making those observations have never listened to the man, have never read any of the speeches that he's given. And so they, again, he's evil, he's insane, all of these, he's a dictator, all of these kinds of things. Mark Sleboda (18:36): Yeah. Again, the fact that they don't hear what Vladimir Putin has to say for himself because the western media specifically does not reproduce it for them. And I have to say that Russian media does this. I mean, there are still government funded projects in Somi that translate word for word western articles in print media and televised and put it out there for Russians to listen to, not only from the United States and Europe, but from all over the world. That tradition doesn't exist on the west. It's not that it is banned, although in some cases in Europe, Artie and Sputnik are banned, aren't they? Or everything is done to take them off the airwaves as is done in the United States, and of course not just with RT and Sputnik, but now with press TV from Iran. And there are calls of course to do the same to the Chinese CCTV and now even Al Jazeera in the current climate because as the state media arm of Qatar, they are now seen as being anti-Israeli. (19:55) So a very similar phenomenon is now taking place. And in a previous conflict, there was very much the same argument being made about Al Jazeera over the situation in Iraq. So this rears its head regularly, but why is the authoritarian label not linked to actual authoritarian countries? That is dictatorships, that are politically geopolitically allied with the United States, right? Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, these are states that are starting to diversify their foreign policy. Saudi joining Brix and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is a dialogue partner and identifying China as their most important trade partner, but still they are very much linked to the United States, and certainly they have been for decades. Qatar has a giant US army base, similarly in Kuwait, the UAE. Why are the actual monarchic oligarchic dictators of these countries not referred to as authoritarian? Because the label is more about oppositional geopolitical alignment than it is in domestic, Dr Wilmer Leon (21:27): Domestic government leadership, Mark Sleboda (21:29): Any real assessment of their domestic political system. And I have to Dr Wilmer Leon (21:34): Say mbss is chopping heads. I mean Mark Sleboda (21:38): Literally as a chopping more than heads, these bones aren't sorry. Right. As a veteran, well, I'm both a military, a US military veteran and shall we say a veteran of the US political system with all the warts that the US political system has with its systemic suppression of third party movements. And I'm talking, I mean Americans don't even know this for the most part, but their own two parties of power, the Republicans and Democrats regularly sue third parties to keep them off the ballot, right? I mean, they regularly go to court every election cycle to keep them off the ballot and the whole structure of 50 separate elections and the intricacies run by the party in power, either the Republicans or the Democrats in the state does everything possible to prevent the emergence of any other voice than those two and the electoral college and the eternal problems with campaign finance and lobbying. But Americans somehow feel their political systemic superiority so strongly that they don't even think when their political and media elites judge the political system of another country. And as far as most Americans reflexively are concerned, they think they are the only democratic country on earth and the only good people, which is really kind of another iteration of we are the chosen people of God, political meme throughout history. Dr Wilmer Leon (23:35): What is more authoritarian than not having a presidential primary in a system that is based on primaries? What is more of a dictatorship than imposing Joe Biden upon Democrats instead of holding a primary look at what the Democrats did to Bernie Sanders during the Hillary Clinton campaign, hence Julian Assange's email leaks, which demonstrated all the machinations that the Clinton campaign went through to see to it that Bernie Sanders could not become the Democrat nominee. What is more authoritarian than that? Mark Sleboda (24:28): I got to tell you. Dr Wilmer Leon (24:31): Am I right? Mark Sleboda (24:32): Yeah, you're absolutely right. And I don't want to go too much myself into US domestic politics because Dr Wilmer Leon (24:40): I just raised that Mark Sleboda (24:40): As examples myself from that. I don't want to cast stones. I don't necessarily feel that it's my place to, but I'm actually a confession. I'm originally from Scranton, Wilkesboro, Pennsylvania. That's where I was born. Anyway, that's also Joe Biden's hometown, where he was born. And I distinctly remember the video. I mean, I was too young at the time to remember it politically, of course, but I've seen the videos of Joe Biden running for Congress admitting open, right, that the system is corrupt, that corrupt people are elected to office, and that at the time, the only reason he wasn't corrupt is because he wasn't given the money by the oligarchs, by the rich of the country that he had asked for because he was too untested of yet, but that if he was, he would've taken, I mean, I think there is no greater condemnation of the US political system than admissions like that coming from the very seat of the president, or I mean, shall we take the words of prior presidents Jimmy Carter coming right out and saying, America is no longer a democracy. It is an oligarchy. Dr Wilmer Leon (26:11): You mentioned that President Putin went to China for the conference and that this was the first time that he had left the country in quite a while. That to me speaks volumes in how comfortable he must be in the midst of the Russia, Ukraine conflict. His country is at war, and he feels comfortable enough to leave his go to China for a couple of days. That to me says that he's comfortable not only in his position domestically, but he's also comfortable in his country's position internationally. Mark Sleboda (26:59): Yeah, I don't think Putin does. He perfectly understands, I think as a leader what he knows and what he doesn't know. And he has made it quite clear that he does not micromanage his generals in the conflict and in the intervention, the special military operation as they call it in Ukraine, the intervention in the Ukrainian civil conflict that has been going on for a decade. Also, of course, neither Russia nor China, nor it must be said, or the United States or India, are signatories to the Rome statute of the international criminal court. So that is not an issue on the trip. In fact, when the international criminal court tried to bring charges against the US, US leaders and military leaders for crimes, alleged crimes, yeah, committed in Afghanistan, in Iraq, they sanctioned the court, they sanctioned the judges, they sanctioned the prosecutor, they threatened to remove funding from the United Nations. They put arrest warrants out for the judges and the prosecutor until the issue was withdrawn. From my understanding is there were even threats made against the families and lives of Dr Wilmer Leon (28:44): SDA was the judge. Yes. I don't remember her first name, but her last name is sda, and her family was sanctioned and threatened. Mark Sleboda (28:54): Yes. So I don't place any credits to that. And one of the reasons I don't place any credits on these charges is anything more than an instance of geopolitical capture of a un institution, which unfortunately happens far more often than it should. But my full disclosure, my wife is from Crimea, which is considered, at least according to the us, to still be part of Ukraine. And we have family all over East Ukraine, and there are some 5 million Ukrainians living and working in Russia. And that is a side of that conflict. The fact that there has been a civil conflict in that country since the openly US backed overthrow of the government there in 2014 is the internal divide in that country. And again, I know Americans think that through their propaganda bubble of the New York Times, the Washington Post, the ancient three networks and Fox and CNN, that they have a better idea what is going on in Ukraine than most Russians do. No, they don't because there are 5 million Ukrainians living in Russia who tell them all the time on tv, in media and in person because of how much families are interrelated on both sides of the border, they know far, far more about what is happening and has been happening politically in that country, not only for the last year or two, but of course going back decades. And it is the height of hubris, I think, to think otherwise. Dr Wilmer Leon (30:48): Switching gears a bit, recently, over 500 people were killed as a result of the Al Ali Arab Hospital bombing in Gaza. And we are seeing this escalation of the conflict in occupied Palestine. As I've been listening to President Xi, as I've been listening to President Putin, they have been trying to find a way to first of all bring about a ceasefire and second of all, negotiate a settlement. I listened to Joe Biden talk about peace, but all he really seems to say is we back Israel a hundred percent. We'll provide more weapons into the region, but we need to have peace. So Mark Sleboda (31:44): Go ahead. Joe Biden has also said, you don't need to be Jewish to be a Zionist. And I think Dr Wilmer Leon (31:49): And has said very clearly that he is a Zionist Mark Sleboda (31:52): And has said that if Israel did not exist, then the United States would have to create it to pursue its interests in the Middle East because it serves such as a convenient platform for the US projection of power into the Middle East. Dr Wilmer Leon (32:11): Wait a minute, lemme throw one more in there. Tony Blinken said the last time that he was in the region, he said, I am not only here as a Secretary of state, I am here as a Jew. So forget independent thinking. Forget being a neutral arbiter here in a Jewish state. That sounds more like imperialism and Mark Sleboda (32:38): Neocolonialism than anything. Mark Sabota. Yeah. Tony Blinken also by the way, mentioned that his family were originally from Russia and that they left the country, his grandfather because of pilgrims in Russia. And I'm really interested in the timing of pilgrims and his grandfather because certainly in the distant past there were pilgrims against Jews in Russia as there were many countries, but within the lifespan of his grandfather, it would make me really seriously question that characterization and feel he's inflating his family's political disagreements within the country. But that certainly also says in the current tensions with Russia in Ukraine and the proxy war there, that he also has a personal ax to grind as do so many people driving US foreign policy on the region like Victoria Newland, whose own family is originally from Ukraine, so there is that as well. But Putin, the Russia has already put forward at the UN Security Council a resolution calling for immediate ceasefire, and this was shot down by the US and Western countries with the US saying that the resolution could not, they couldn't vote for it because it did not criticize Hamas enough, which is obviously the most important thing when you're trying to craft a ceasefire to stop people from actively killing each other. (34:24) Russia and China have been in lockstep on their calls from this. They to a certain extent have been trying to be neutral in the sense that they are refraining from, I think overt criticism of one side or the other in the interest of attaining that ceasefire. Brazil, by the way, also put forward a UN security council resolution calling at least then for humanitarian ceasefires. And that was actually vetoed by the United States as well as France and the UK in lockstep there. Russia and China have been clear, while they don't support the tactics of Hamas, they feel that this is just the latest consequence of a long-term policy of a pretense of a peace process while backed by to the hilt by the us. Israel goes about its process of what it calls settlers, which is a policy of ethnic cleansing and colonization of Palestine, of the Palestine. (35:41) America, of course, does not recognize the state of Palestine, Russia and China both do, and they think they've made it clear that this is a result of the West, the world, but most importantly the West because they're not do it, not recognizing the Palestinian state, not granting its sovereignty and its own borders, and its right, of course, to defend its own country and borders and people a right that they extend to Israelis, but not to Palestinians. Because you'll hear from multiple US politicians and political elite that they don't believe that the Palestinians are a people to, which I would say you really, really need to go visit Gaza or the West Bank then. And Americans also seem to not understand, and I'm not so sure it would make a difference, maybe it would that a third of the Palestinians are actually Christians. I mean, would that help their perception, help them get past the inherent Islamophobia involved in the issue? (36:54) I don't know, but maybe people should point that out to them that it might help the situation some. But yeah, Russia and China have been quite clear net. Putin has talked to Netanyahu. He has also of course talked to the Palestinian leader, ABAs in the West Bank, and his government has been in contact with Hamas and the other political factions in Gaza. He's also been nonstop on the phone with every major Arab and other world leader that has interests in this conflict, Iran, Hezbollah the like. And he has been trying to do his best towards trying to come to some kind of sane cessation of hostilities. But instead, what we get obviously from the Biden administration, from the eu, the Western countries in general, is they have obviously given a green light to Israel to do a ground operation in Gaza. And Israel has demanded of the, it's a city of some more than 2 million people that has been rightly called the world's largest concentration camp or an open air prison with walls built around it. The real solution is the recognition of the Palestinian state, and that's the only way to relieve the pressure of the people in Gaza. Dr Wilmer Leon (38:59): One of the things that I found incredibly telling and quite a contrast was as Tony Blinken was on his Middle Eastern tour talking to US allies, the foreign minister of Iran was on his tour of the region talking to Iranian allies. In fact, lemme take a step back. When Trump assassinated Qem soleimani, the revered Iran in general, Iran said, we will retaliate. And a lot of people thought that that meant, oh my goodness, well, over the next few days, Iran's going to do something and Iran didn't do anything. Now we've got Tony Blinken, he was on his trip. Joe Biden was there on his trip, and at the same time, the Iranian foreign minister was talking to Iranian allies, and now the Iranian foreign minister has come out and said, Israel, your time is up. Talk about what an even height, another escalation of this conflict could mean in the region and what it could mean in the world. Mark Sleboda (40:21): Yeah, there was an interesting article out yesterday in the Financial Times where an anonymous US official acknowledged that as a result of the US and the rest of the West, so wholeheartedly backing Israel in this to the degree that they have, and this obvious green light for the ground operation, which is a ethnic cleansing of Gaza, of the Palestinian population, ordering 1 million people to get out of the way. Of course it's an impossibility, where would they go is the most obvious question, even if you were able to order a million people at a time to leave their houses. But there is an alignment of global sentiment and forces, political forces going on the financial Times. This US official and the Financial Times laments that as a result of this, that this is incredibly damaging to us influence in what the US usually likes to call the global south, where if you think of the West, you think of the rest and he says they will never listen to us again. I mean, if they were already, then we've lost them, not just the Islamic world, but more broadly. And because of the recent reproach month between Saudi Arabia and Iran, the normalization of diplomatic relations, thank Dr Wilmer Leon (42:18): You, China. Mark Sleboda (42:19): Yeah. It's brokered by China and not all peaches and cream. But the last week saw the first direct phone call between the president of Iran and the Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman, and they both agreed, they expressed a common position on what is happening in Palestine, in Gaza, and is what Israel is doing and how unacceptable it is. And that is already an amazing geopolitical change. Like the world has shifted, and I have to constantly ask myself, is this real right that the world has changed so much? And there's a saying attributed to Lenin that decades pass and nothing changes. And then at other times in weeks, decades pass decades of change ensue. And we're I think, living in one of those periods, one of those latter periods now where things are changing so fast and we Dr Wilmer Leon (43:37): Minute, wait a minute, a minute. Because to that point again, China helped to broker the reproach mon between the Saudis and the Iranians and the United States was in the process of brokering a reproach mon between the Saudis and Israel, and then Hamas attacks Israel and the Saudis say out Israel, that conversation we were about to have, let's put that on hold because that decade of change has taken place in the matter of a day. Mark Sleboda (44:17): Yeah, Saudi Arabia was really looking for under, shall we say, a newly foreign policy mature Moham bin Salman, who has obviously changed himself a lot in recent years from what he was when he first came into power as the heir to the ailing king who has really been running the country. He is looking for a multi-vector foreign policy with a minimal amount of conflict. So he wanted to have the foreign policy options with bricks, with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, but it doesn't mean that he wanted a complete severance of relations with the United States either. And since the Trump administration, the US has been pushing very, very hard on their policy of trying to get Arab countries to recognize in Israel and to normalize relations, diplomatic relations, and others, which would also be tantamount to accepting Israeli occupation of large parts of Palestine and ever increasingly more so, you can see where the Palestinians probably regarded a normalization deal being pushed by the US between Saudi Arabia and Israel as an existential issue for them. (45:55) Because as by many standards, the most important Sunni Islamic country, because of its holding not only of world's energy reserves with oil, but also the two holy mosques, the way Saudi Arabia goes, the rest of the SUNY Arab world would inevitably follow, and that would end any hope of Arab support for them if this deal went through. It. Also, by the way, the sweetener is a security guaranteed deal with Saudi Arabia, which would effectively elevate Saudi Arabia in security technical terms to the status of the relationship between the US and Israel, IE preferential deals on weapons systems, access to more advanced military technology, full access to intelligence training. Everything that the US provides now to Israel would also be provided at the same level, the same prices and so forth, more or less to Saudi Arabia. That was the sweetener of the deal, and I believe that Hamas' motivation in the, they killed civilians. I mean, there's been a lot of, I think, obvious beheading of babies. That's Kuwaiti incubator, baby type disinformation ized to, but that's not to excuse that they use terrorist tactics. They killed civilians. On the Dr Wilmer Leon (47:36): Other hand, wait a minute, and don't forget the Russian killing of babies in the Ukraine, the women's hospital that wasn't a women's hospital. Mark Sleboda (47:48): That is I think, a case for the point, again, for the way the US wages information war mostly against its own people, which is another fascinating at a rabbit hole to go down. But I mean, it's not to say that Israel doesn't routinely kill, I mean, on an essentially daily basis, Palestinian civilians through its process of settling, ethnic cleansing, political Dr Wilmer Leon (48:18): Oppression, it bulldozers, villages, indiscriminately arrests, detains people without charge, and basically Mark Sleboda (48:29): Regularly summarily executes people who resist that, Dr Wilmer Leon (48:34): Right? Mark Sleboda (48:35): So anyway, I believe that Hamas' primary motivation in launching this attack, a wasting military resources that they had spent years building in secret plans that they had. The timing of this tells me that it was to prevent that Saudi Israeli reproach month deal being pushed by the US from going through, because they saw it as existential for them. And if that was the goal, then it has been successful because as a result of Saudi's disproportionate response to, if Israel had said, we are going to do a targeted anti-terrorist operation in Gaza against the Hamas and the Islamic Jihad leadership who were responsible for this, and the people who carried it out, I think there would've been a very different global reaction to this. If instead we didn't have Israeli leaders saying that we're going to destroy Gaza, that we're going to wipe Gaza off the face of turn it to Dr Wilmer Leon (49:54): Dust, Mark Sleboda (49:54): Dust, and that all Palestinians civilians are the enemy. We heard that from Naftali Bennett. That would've been a very different situation. And there is, I think a much more substantial reaction, not only from the usual suspects, we've heard that from Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, the Sufi, sorry, the Shia organization there. That is demonized wrongly in this particular case because it doesn't use terrorist tactics by the US and Israel, and no country in the world really outside the West as a terrorist organization that if Israel goes a ground operation and begins cleansing Gaza, then Hezbollah will open up a second front war on the Israeli north, and then there will be a two. Iran has voiced very similar that prospects that if the Israeli government's atrocities against the Palestinian people, which as a result right now are approaching 4,000 dead, which by the way is almost four times the number of people that the Hamas' operational s of flood attacks killed four times. (51:35) So obviously proportionality is not an issue when it comes to Israel, but that Iran would feel the need to intervene. We've heard even further, surprisingly, from the government of Jordan and the king of Jordan, right? Not called authoritarian by the way, but because he was educated in Oxford, I mean, he's largely regarded across the Arab world as a western puppet, as a western aligned Arab leader with a very large Palestinian refugee population, and a people who feel very close to that situation. Jordan has come out and said that if Israel looks set to drive the Palestinians out of Gaza as they appear to be planning to do, then Jordan would consider it an act of war. Which I mean, that totally surprised me coming from the modern. Now, a lot of it is probably motivated out of self-interest of the Jordanian king. If I don't react the way my people want me to, they will overthrow me in order to be able to do something. (52:53) But regardless of his personal motivations for it, it is certainly something I did not expect. And if Jordan does, so other countries around will become involved, and then there's the prospect of other countries or say Hezbollah as an organization becomes involved, that the US becomes involved. The US has two aircraft carriers. Well, the second one's steaming on its way to the Israeli coast right now, as well as a marine amphibious expedition ships with some at least 2000 Marines. And Joe Biden has kind of, I don't know on some type of idiotic loop reel, been saying about Hezbollah and Iran don't even, as it shovels tens of billions of dollars of emergency military support of crucial military supplies into Israel. And Biden is calling for 10 billion in military emergency, military or financial aid, sorry to be transferred as well. Russia is sitting there. Russia has military bases in Syria, naval base, several other military bases where it helped prevent a US backed jihadi overthrow of the Syrian government there with the us it must be said, still illegally occupying eastern Syria, east of the river, Syria's oil fields and wheat fields, and Turkey still sitting in northern Syria with a hundred thousand Jihadists still on its payroll. (54:46) But Russia has these military bases in Syria, and it sees the US just down the coast a little bit with two aircraft carriers. And Putin has asked the question, what are you going to do with those two aircraft carriers? And they're resulting fleets, Hezbollah seriously. And Putin was obviously expressing that he doesn't believe that. So Putin ordered that Russian jet fighters, they're most modern variants, fifth gen fighters will now be patrolling the Black Sea, the extent of it with al hypersonic long range missiles that have a range of a thousand kilometers. And he very directly pointed out that fired from the Black Sea that those missiles can hit US aircraft carriers where they're sitting in the Eastern Mediterranean and again, hypersonic. Hypersonic, yeah. So very, very hard to shoot down, if not impossible. And he said, this is not a threat. This is a response. (56:03) And basically he is saying, if you attack Syria, and it has to be said that Israel has already bombed Damascus airport very heavily again, and they've been shelling Southern Lebanon, if you attack our military bases in Syria, then will take out your aircraft carriers, right? I mean, you see where this spiral of escalation is leading, right? Israel goes into Gaza, Hezbollah, maybe Iran go in, Israel conducts cleansing operations in Gaza and Jordan and probably half of the rest of the Arab world join in. They join in, and the US joins in the US attacks Syria as part of this, because Iran power projects through Syria, Russia has bases in Syria. Russia bases get attacked. Russia attacks the US boom. We're in World War III in another conflict, right, that is going on simultaneously with ripple effects from the geopolitical tension and the conflict going on in Ukraine. So all of this has me feeling very much as my used to say, as a long tailed cat in a room full of Dr Wilmer Leon (57:22): Rocks, rocking chairs, and I want to reiterate hypersonic missiles. That means that Joe Biden has basically sent two targets for Russia to attack. Mark Sleboda (57:40): Now, Russia is not going to just attack American aircraft carriers Dr Wilmer Leon (57:45): World Mark Sleboda (57:46): War ii realize. No, I realize that it's meant as a deterrent, Dr Wilmer Leon (57:50): Which, so what is a deterrent that does not deter? Mark Sleboda (57:55): That's a good question. Unfortunately, I think Russia has seen several red lines be crossed in the recent years with the US escalation in Ukraine and hasn't responded, which has led numerous White House officials to say outright, we don't believe in Russian red lines. That means that we can keep poking the bear. And no matter what they do, they won't respond because they fear a nuclear conflict more than we do. That is, well, it's more than madness. It is the death of mad. It is the death of mutually assured destruction, which takes us back to a very early Cold War era that we should all be afraid of. Dr Wilmer Leon (58:44): Just really quickly, we have just about two minutes left, and I'm glad you made that point, because whether it's Ukraine, whether it's Syria, whether it is the Black Sea, the United States seems to continue to believe a, when Vladimir Putin or when Xi Jinping says something, they don't mean it. And when they make a commitment, they will not honor it. And what I have come to see over the years is they don't bluff. They don't play, they don't joke. We got a minute. Mark Sleboda (59:22): Yeah. So how to mesh that difference between, I think demonstrable reality and what the US ruling administration as seeing as their politicized reading of their opponents, that does not match up with reality. That's a recipe for disaster, Dr Wilmer Leon (59:46): Really. Wow. Well, I want to thank my guest, mark Sloboda. Mark, thank you for joining me today. Mark Sleboda (59:54): Thanks for having me, Dr. Leon. It's been an honor and a pleasure to be on the show. Dr Wilmer Leon (59:58): Thank you, mark. Big shout out to my producer, melody McKinley. Thank you so much for joining the Connecting the Dots podcast with me, Dr. Wimer Leon. This is where the analysis of politics, culture, and history, converge talk without analysis is just chatter, and we don't chatter on connecting the dots. Stay tuned for new episodes every week. Also, please follow and subscribe. Leave a review, share my show, follow me on social media. You can find all the links below in the show description. I'll see you next time. Until then, treat each day like it's your last, because one day you'll be right. I'm Dr. Wier Leon. Peace and Blessings. I'm out.

https://www.rt.com/shows/modus-operandi/583480-hate-exportation-mark-sleboda/ Whether we look at the conflict in Ukraine, or civil unrest in virtually any part of the world, dig a little deeper and you will find hate at the root of it. In this episode of Modus Operandi, Manila Chan will explore the exportation of hate from country to country, from the US to anywhere and vice versa, with international relations and security analyst Mark Sleboda. #2023 #art #music #movies #poetry #poem #photooftheday #volcano #news #money #food #weather #climate #monkeys #horse #puppy #fyp #love #instagood #onelove #eyes #getyoked #horsie #gotmilk #book #shecomin #getready

Joining me from his home in Moscow, Professor Mark Sleboda shared a perspective on the war in Ukraine that you will not find in the Western mainstream media. Get your tickets to UNREGISTERED WEEKEND IN CHICAGO with Curtis Yarvin, Ben Burgis, Batya Ungar-Sargon, and Thaddeus Russell (October 21-23): https://www.unregisteredacademy.com/chicago/p/unregistered-weekend-in-chicago   BECOME A MEMBER OF THE UNREGISTERED ACADEMY Go to https://www.unregisteredacademy.com/ for courses you won't find in college: Reading Bronze Age Mindset Malcolm X Reading James Burnham's The Managerial Revolution with Curtis Yarvin Anarchism World War II: The Great Blowback History of the CIA The Religious Right with Neil Young and Gio Pennacchietti History of NATO with Scott Ritter and James Carden The Politics of COVID with Geoff Shullenberger and Jeffrey Tucker Reading The Unabomber Manifesto Reading Mark Fisher's Capitalist Realism

Frank Morano interviews Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based International Affairs & Security Analyst and a Former Contributing Political Analyst at RT about the war in Ukraine, the effects of American sanctions on Russia, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the increase in focus on Aleksander Dugin in the aftermath of the recent death of his daughter, Daria Dugina, in a car bombing, we have begun what will be a series of shows about Dugin. We start our series by reading from "War For Eternity: The Return of Traditionalism and the Rise of the Far Right" by Benjamin Teitelbaum. support us: www.patreon.com/theantedote https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/29/russia-alleges-second-ukrainian-involved-darya-dugina-killing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostankino_Tower https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darya_Dugina https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOYicMQzmy0 (Max Blumennthal interviewing Mark Sleboda) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Friberg https://www.benjaminteitelbaum.com/scholarship/ https://poddtoppen.se/podcast/1208767895/the-infinite-fringe/war-for-eternity-steve-bannon-donald-trump-and-the-occult-part-1-with-ben-teitelbaum https://www.unz.com/audio/kbarrett_charles-upton-on-dugin-vs-dugin-charles-messina-on-shia-isla/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Upton_(poet) https://crescent.icit-digital.org/keywords/dugin-against-dugin-a-traditionalist-critique-of-the-fourth-political-theory https://www.unz.com/audio/kbarrett_jeremy-rothe-kushel-challenges-my-anti-liberal-stance/ https://www.unz.com/audio/kbarrett_jim-fetzer-breaks-news-on-supreme-court-local-court-cases-on-sandy-hook-lawsuits/ [Barrett asks Fetzer about Jeremy's critical stance in last half] --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-antedote/support

Video on The Grayzone's YouTube Channel Dugin targeted as US-Ukraine shadow wars expand Analyst Mark Sleboda joins The Grayzone to discuss the assassination of the daughter of Alexander Dugin, the radical ideology of the Russian academic and agitator, and the reality of his influence on the Kremlin. Aaron Mate will also join to cover the FBI's raid on Trump's residence and new calls from British state operatives to censor The Grayzone. ||| The Grayzone ||| Find more reporting at https://thegrayzone.com Support our original journalism at Patreon: https://patreon.com/grayzone Facebook: https://facebook.com/thegrayzone Twitter: https://twitter.com/thegrayzonenews Instagram: https://instagram.com/thegrayzonenews Minds: https://minds.com/thegrayzone Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@thegrayzone Max Blumenthal: https://twitter.com/MaxBlumenthal https://rokfin.com/MaxBlumenthal Mark Sleboda: https://twitter.com/MarkSleboda1

On tonight's edition of the Other Side of Midnight: Frank Morano hits reply all. We're in a three-guest zone here on the Other Side, kicking things off with Steve Kirsch, Silicon Valley entrepreneur and philanthropist who founded the COVID-19 Early Treatment Fund on the issue of COVID-19 vaccines for kids under 5. Later, Dr. Philip Metzger, planetary physicist at the University of Central Florida and longtime NASA employee, makes the case for Pluto regaining planetary status. And, last but not least, Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international affairs & security analyst and a former contributing political analyst at RT, discusses all-things Ukraine. We go through your mail, spill the tea on Republican Gubernatorial primary drama, plan the ideal stay-cation, and find out exactly who "Count Rushmore" is. Oh, and we have a birthday boy in our midst, the one and only Matt Blaze! It's definitely an eventful episode of TOSOM. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Frank Morano talks about Ukraine with Mark Sleboda, Moscow-Based International Affairs & Security Analyst and a Former Contributing Political Analyst at RT. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

GUESTS Scott Ritter : military analyst, former UN weapons inspector Tony Kevin : former Australian Ambassador to Poland & AU diplomat in Moscow Alexander Mercouris: legal and political analyst Mark Sleboda : political analyst in Moscow, radio host

Apologies for the audio dropout in Joe Lauria's introduction. This is what he said: "The Russian intervention in Ukraine is now one week old and the situation on the ground is subject to an information war that makes it hard to assess what is happening. Western media is saying that things are going badly for Russia, while Russian President Vladimir Putin says things are going according to plan. But what that plan is, is not entirely certain. Putin said the object of the intervention is to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine. How that is to be achieved is only slowly emerging. Western media reports say Russia is purposely targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure, which Russia denies. Video and photographic evidence appear to show destruction to civilian targets, but it is not clear if this was intentional or return fire to populated areas where Moscow says extremists are operating from. Russia says it has no intentions of occupying Ukraine, but it's unclear how long Russia forces would have to remain to pacify the country. Will the continuing arming of Ukraine, and C.I.A. training of guerrilla units mean the U.S. is intending to bog Russia down in a quagmire? Is the U.S. intention to give Russia its “Vietnam”, the way the U.S. gave the Soviet Union its “Vietnam” in Afghanistan? There are open calls from Western capitals for regime change in Moscow. In the past week, the economic war against Russia has intensified, with the sanctioning of its central bank and the removal of many Russian banks from the SWIFT international banking system. What impact will the sanctions that have on the Russian and world economies? Meanwhile Western governments have shut down English-language Russian media, while the BBC continues to broadcast in Russia. The Moscow Times, critical of Putin, continues to publish, but the radio station Echo of Moscow has been shut down by Russian authorities. Our guests are Mark Sleboda, a former U.S. Navy nuclear engineer, political analyst and raido host. He joins us from Moscow. And Scott Ritter, a former U.S. Marines counterintelligence officer and U.N. weapons inspector. He is in upstate New York." With Scott Ritter, military analyst & former UN weapons inspector; and Mark Sleboda, political analyst in Moscow & radio host

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.

Peter Oliver, journalist and RT correspondent in Berlin, joins the show to talk about how Russia launched what it is being referred to as a special military operation in Ukraine last night, with the stated goal of demilitarizing and denazifying the government there. Michelle and Peter talk about how diplomacy has failed to resolve security concerns long held by Russia, which has escalated tension and led to military conflict. Mark Sleboda, international affairs and security analyst, joins the show to talk about Russian President Vladimir Putin's early morning announcement and the sanctions against Russia that followed. They talked about how Western sanctions target Russia which include freezing Russia's financial assets. They discuss the potential impact it could have on businesses and individuals living in the region and how much pain will be felt beyond Russia's borders? Dan Lazare, journalist and analyst, meets up with the Misfits to talk about the economic state of flux now that Russia has moved into Ukraine, Will there be a global energy shock? They also talk about the Russian electorate. How do Russians feel about military action and occupation of Ukraine? Does it help Putin with voters? And what will Putin decide to do with Western parts of Ukraine once the breakaway republics are secured? The Misfits sign off for today. We will be back tomorrow in this space to bring you the latest news and analysis.Till tomorrow…

On this episode of Fault Lines, hosts Jamarl Thomas and Austin Pelli talk about Biden continuing to downplay Russia's security concerns, the president pivoting to war after failing domestically, why truckers are revolting, and a paper calculating war in China emphasizing the U.S. must weaken Russia.Guests:Mark Sleboda - International Security Analyst | Biden Doubles Down on Downplaying Russian Security ConcernsFaran Fronczak - Anchor for RT America | After Biden Failed Domestically, War is His Only Hope Ted Rall - Political Cartoonist | After Biden Failed Domestically, War is His Only Hope Bob Bolus - Convoy to D.C. Organizer | Why Truckers Are Revolting and Driving to D.C.Kit Klarenberg - Investigative Journalist | 2016 Paper Strategizing War with China Emphasizes Plan to Weaken RussiaIn the first hour Mark Sleboda joined the show to talk about Biden continuing to downplay Russia's security concerns, if latest developments will spell the end of a unipolar geopolitical system, and predictions for how Russia's allies will react to their operations in Ukraine.In the second hour Faran Fronczak and Ted Rall joined Fault Lines for a panel discussion on Russia's moves in Ukraine, Biden's address to the nation that promises harsher sanctions than simply removing Russia from the SWIFT system, and what Americans should expect from the conflict. We were also joined by Bob Bolus to talk about his convoy to D.C. as a protest against Covid restrictions, what the convoy expects to accomplish, and what truckers would accept as a win.In the third hour Kit Klarenberg joined the conversation to talk about a 2016 RAND paper strategizing war in China that advocates baiting Russia into overextending itself by arming Ukraine, among other tactics. We also talked about how U.S. and European sanctions on Russia will put money in the pockets of elites but make ordinary citizens poorer.

Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations security analyst, joins us to discuss Ukraine. Russia has officially recognized the breakaway republics in Eastern Ukraine and is in the process of working out aid and protection measures. The collective West now must formulate a strategy in light of losing their Ukraine invasion trope.Prof. Linwood Tauheed, associate professor of economics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, joins us to discuss the potential economic fallout from the recent geopolitical actions in Eastern Europe. The US has threatened severe sanctions against Russia, but now faces significant potential blowback. Will the US and EU risk crushing their economies in an effort to gain revenge against the Russian Federation? Ray McGovern, former CIA analyst and co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity, joins us to discuss the recognition of the breakaway republics in light of the larger world geopolitical landscape. Ray examines the likelihood that the move was coordinated between Russia and China, and reveals the current thoughts of an ex-US ambassador to the USSR.John Burris, civil rights attorney, joins us to discuss two recent court cases. Officer Kim Potter received a sentence of two years in the killing of Daunte Wright. The Wright family is arguing that this is a miscarriage of justice. Also, jury deliberation is underway in the Ahmaud Arbery hate crime case. Laith Marouf, broadcaster and journalist based in Beirut, Lebanon, joins us to discuss the Middle East. There are reports that the US and Iran are close to a nuclear deal, but recent events are creating skepticism. Also, the US claims to be rejecting Israel's criticism of the negotiations. Dr. Ken Hammond, professor of East Asian and global history at New Mexico State University, joins us to discuss China. China has responded to the Russian recognition of the breakaway republics with measured support. Also, China argues that the US plans to expand its military reach in Southeast Asia puts it on a path for confrontation with Beijing. Netfa Freeman, host of Voices With Vision on WPFW 89.3 FM, Pan-Africanist and internationalist organizer, joins us to discuss Haiti. The President of Cuba has spoken out about the moral obligation to provide unconditional cooperation with Haiti. Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic of Cuba, argued that years of plunder and foreign intervention are at the heart of Haiti's problems.Dan Lazare, investigative journalist and author of "The Velvet Coup: The Constitution, the Supreme Court and the Decline of American Democracy," joins us to discuss censorship. The US government is targeting another independent news and editorial site as a purveyor of Russian disinformation. The highly trafficked site "Zero Hedge" is in the crosshairs of the deep state media and intelligence complex.

Austin Pelli, co-host of Fault Lines which can be heard on Radio Sputnik 7:00a -10:00a ET Monday through Friday, calls in to update the Misfits about the breakup of the Freedom Convoy in Ottawa over the weekend. Austin reports that over 70 trucks were towed,150 arrests were made and most people were taken to the city limits and asked not to return. There were no deaths or serious injuries, according to Austin. They also talked about the bank seizure of donations and bank accounts held by protestors. Mark Sleboda, reporter and foreign affairs analyst, joins the show to break down the latest in Eastern Europe. They talk about the geopolitical significance of Russia officially recognizing the independence of Donetsk and Lugansk Republics. They also talk about whether or not a larger incursion past DPR and LPR into Ukraine could ensue and what impact this could have on global oil prices and inflation. Next up is longtime educator and activist Dr. Bill Ayers, who is a former professor of education at the University of Illinois at Chicago where he held the titles of Distinguished Professor of Education and Senior University Scholar and specialized in teaching social justice, urban educational reform, narrative and interpretive research, and children in trouble with the law. Ayers joins the conversation to discuss the recent recall in San Francisco of three of the city's school board members. The ousted members were recalled primarily over the closure of schools and other covid-related restrictions. Ayers explains that the recall was sponsored by a few billionaires costing $1.9 million. Recalls are often utilized as a political mechanism that takes advantage of low-voter turnout, resulting in an election result that does not necessarily reflect the will of the general electorate, according to Ayers.For the top of the last hour, Miranda Devine, reporter at the New York Post, Daily Telegraph and the author of the bestselling book “Laptop From Hell,” joins the Misfits to talk about the latest development out of the Hunter Biden corruption investigation. They talk about what was Hunter Biden doing in China and Ukraine. They also talk about Hunter's spending habits and what the federal probe is looking into, particularly Biden's finances, taxes and business dealingsFor the last segment, Jeremy Kuzmarov joins the program. He's the Jay P. Walker Assistant Professor of American History at the University of Tulsa. He's also managing editor of Covert Action Magazine, and the author of three books, most recently “The Russians Are Coming–Again: The First Cold War as Tragedy, the Second as Farce.” He joins the show to talk about how the media is describing events unfolding in Ukraine. They talk about reports over the weekend that Russia is preparing a “kill list” and a full blown invasion of Ukraine. The question that the Misfits discuss with Kuzmarov is why are we being asked, yet again, to just take the government's and the media's account of all that is actually happening in the region?

In this episode of By Any Means Necessary, hosts Sean Blackmon and Jacquie Luqman are joined by international affairs and security analyst Mark Sleboda to discuss Russia's recognition of the Luhansk and Donetsk People's Republics and how it factors into the current tensions between NATO and Russia, the history of the two republics and the aggression from Ukraine that contributed to Russia's recognition of their independence, the US' collective punishment of Luhansk and Donetsk for choosing “wrong” just like they did when Crimea chose “wrong” with sanctions, the far-right ultranationalists who have been integrated into the state structures of Ukraine, and the impacts of Germany halting progress on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.In the second segment, Sean and Jacquie are joined by Carlos Martinez, author and activist, co-founder of No Cold War, and co-editor of Friends of Socialist China to discuss the increasing role of China in Latin America's development, the accusation of imperialism lobbed by western officials at China's involvement in the region, how China's investment in the region contrasts with the US and western involvement historically and contemporaneously, and the myth of the debt trap narrative pushed by the western corporate media.In the third segment, Sean and Jacquie are joined by technologist Chris Garaffa, the editor of TechforthePeople.org, co-host of the ReBoot podcast to discuss the New York Times purchase of the wildly popular game “Wordle” and its addition of ad-tracking to the game, Google's smoke-and-mirrors campaign concerning its use of ad-tracking technology on Android phones, the privacy concerns around New York City's pilot program to automate of noise pollution ticket enforcement with camera and microphone technology, and the widespread adoption of similar surveillance programs across the country and the world.Later in the show, Sean and Jacquie are joined by Dr. Gerald Horne, Moores Professor of History and African American Studies at the University of Houston, and author of dozens of books, most recently “The Bittersweet Science: Racism, Racketeering, and the Political Economy of Boxing” to discuss Joe Biden imposing sanctions on Russia over the current tensions around Ukraine and how it fits into world politics, the western corporate media's misrepresentation of the facts and history of the Ukraine situation and complicity in pushing for war with Russia, and the misplaced understandings of the Canadian trucker convoy by some elements on the left.

Austin Pelli, co-host of Fault Lines, which you can hear every day, Monday through Friday from 7:00a-10:00a ET on Radio Sputnik, calls in from Ottawa to give the Misfits an update on an anticipated crackdown by police to clear protesters from the Canadian capital. It has been widely reported that law enforcement is preparing to clear the capital over the weekend, and protesters say they plan to remain in place. Austin told the Misfits that two leaders of the Freedom Convoy were arrested this morning.Mark Sleboda, international relations and foreign affairs analyst, joins the show to break down the latest developments out of Ukraine. They talk about Secretary of State Antony Blinken's speech to the United Nations Thursday warning of a possible “false flag operation.” Blinken said Russia or pro-Russian Ukrainians could allege a provocation that would then give them cause to enter Ukraine. Dr. Kenneth Surin, Professor Emeritus of literature and professor of religion and critical theory at Duke University, joins the show to talk about the recent UK law called the Official Secrets Act that is used to prosecute anybody accused of leaking classified, sensitive, or national security information, including journalists. It's a law that American prosecutors have often said they would like to see in the United States. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's conservative government is now poised to greatly expand on the Official Secrets Act to allow the government to prosecute and jail whistleblowers and journalists. Ted Rall, award-winning political cartoonist, columnist, author whose his latest book is "The Stringer," and co-host of the DMZ America podcast with Ted Rall & Scott Stantis, joins the show to talk about the recent ruling by a New York state judge ordering Donald Trump and his children Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr. to testify in depositions within three weeks. The court order relates to New York state's investigation into the Trump organization's business practices. Then, the Misfits talk with Ted about Elon Musk tweeting that he's being harassed by the SEC trying to “chill” Musk's right to free speech. Finally, Michelle and John ask Ted about rising inflation and recent reports that sixty percent of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck with little to no savings to fall back on.Dr. Iyabo Obasanjo, professor of public health at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA. joins the show to discuss the impact of hybrid immunity to COVID-19. They discuss the science, where it stands now on natural immunity versus vaccine-induced immunity, and whether one form of immunity is notably more effective than the other. They talk about how federal guidelines will adapt to rising rates of immunity.The Misfits close Friday's show with Stories of the Weird.We sign off till Tuesday.

On this episode of Fault Lines, hosts Jamarl Thomas and Austin Pelli talk about the ex-president of Honduras getting arrested on drug charges, Democrats playing defense on culture war issues ahead of midterms, and the U.S. embarrassing itself as Russia still hasn't attacked despite intel.Guests:Camila Escalante - Journalist | Ex-President of Honduras Perp Walked on Drug ChargesTed Rall - Political Cartoonist | Democrats Losing Culture War with RepublicansMark Sleboda - International Security Analyst | Ukraine Survives Another Day, Contrary To U.S. IntelligenceIn the first hour Camila Escalante joined the show to talk about the ex-president of Honduras and former U.S. ally getting arrested and what took so long given his connection to drug traffickers had been known for years.In the second hour Fault Lines was joined by Ted Rall for a discussion on Democrats getting slammed on culture issues like critical race theory by Republicans, what John Durham's latest revelations about spying on Trump means for Democrats, and the judge in Sarah Palin's defamation case saying he'll throw it out no matter what the jury decides.In the third hour Mark Sleboda joined the conversation to talk about the U.S. repeatedly proclaiming an imminent Russian attack, even including a specific date that has since passed. We also talked about Russia's military exercises as a form of hardball negotiation tactics as the U.S. and NATO continue to dismiss security concerns.

Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations security analyst, joins us to discuss the Russian invasion predictions. US officials squabble over semantics as the "Russian invasion" hoax flops and Russian military units return to barracks. US officials argue that the claims of a Russian pullback around Ukraine are false.Martin Sieff, senior fellow at the American University in Moscow, joins us to discuss the Pentagon budget. The Biden administration is reportedly prepared to ask for up to $800 billion in their 2023 defense budget as US inflation runs wild and the fear of recession looms in the US empire. Also, we discuss the long-term effect of massive military spending by the US government.The Critical Hour Co-hosts Dr. Wilmer Leon and Garland Nixon come together to discuss censorship. The Biden administration's proposals for domestic terrorism laws are examined. The newest iteration of the domestic terrorism legislation appears to create an environment in which anyone who holds thoughts that run contrary to the official government narrative may be defined as a terrorist.Gerald Horne, professor of history at the University of Houston, author, historian, and researcher, joins us to discuss Africa. France is withdrawing from Mali as the people of the African nation take to the streets in massive demonstrations and civil disobedience against French colonial rule. Also, the Burkina Faso coup leader was inaugurated as president.Laith Marouf, broadcaster and journalist based in Beirut, Lebanon, joins us to discuss the Middle East. Israel has reportedly launched fresh attacks on Syria near Damascus. Also, we discuss the US policy of using the entire Middle East as a free-fire zone resulting in years of merciless civilian slaughter, and settlers destroying 50 Palestinian olive trees near Salfit.Dan Lazare, investigative journalist and author of "The Velvet Coup: The Constitution, the Supreme Court and the Decline of American Democracy," joins us to discuss the NATO crisis. The invasion hoax is dissipating, but the crisis along the Russian border has not been abated. Also, there is increased shelling along the contact line in Eastern Ukraine, and some fear a US-sponsored Ukrainian offensive is in the offingLeo Flores, Latin America coordinator for Code Pink, joins us to discuss the Global South. The US Empire is using the Venezuelan people as pawns as they maintain brutal sanctions that cause untold suffering in the Bolivarian republic. Also, the Cuban communist party supports Syria's fight against terrorism and imperialism.Prof. Linwood Tauheed, associate professor of economics at the University of Missouri- Kansas City, joins us to discuss the economy. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has stated that she is pleased with the direction of the economy, but is still quite concerned about rising inflation. Also, based on historic patterns, bond yields are showing signs of an impending recession.

Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations security analyst, joins us to discuss the NATO security crisis. Presidents Putin and Biden spoke by telephone Saturday to work on addressing the unprecedented hysteria that is being whipped up over the Eastern European security crisis. Also, we discuss the effect of Ukraine lobbyists on US foreign policy.Dr. Marvin Weinbaum, director for the Middle East Institute's Center for Pakistan and Afghanistan Studies, joins us to discuss Afghanistan. President Biden is getting significant pushback from anti-war activists and foreign policy experts regarding his decision to withhold billions of dollars from starving Afghan citizens and award it to surviving family members of 9/11 instead. Austin Pelli, co-host of Fault Lines, joins us to discuss the Canada truckers convoy. Austin is on the ground in Ottawa covering the protest against the vaccine mandates. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is facing major political pressure as he holds on to strict covid measures as other nations begin to go in the opposite direction.Dan Lazare, investigative journalist and author of "The Velvet Coup: The Constitution, the Supreme Court and the Decline of American Democracy," joins us to discuss the US-proposed sanctions against Russia. The proposed sanctions against Russia are almost certain to cause massive economic blowback on the US empire and its European vassal states. Laith Marouf, broadcaster and journalist based in Beirut, Lebanon, joins us to discuss the Middle East. Israeli military personnel have renewed their assault on the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood for a second night. Also, Yemen's Houthi movement has revealed why they attacked the UAE.George Koo, journalist, social activist and international business consultant, joins us to discuss China. China argues that the Ukraine crisis should serve as a lesson for secessionists in Taiwan. Also, we discuss the US-Indo Pacific strategy that includes tilting towards a number of Pacific islands.KJ Noh, activist, writer, and teacher, joins us to discuss South Korea. South Korean elections next year could have a significant effect on Asian security issues. The conservative candidate has called for a more hard-lined approach to his northern neighbor and this could raise the stakes on the peninsula. Scott Ritter, former UN weapon inspector in Iraq, joins us to discuss the potential disintegration of NATO. He argues that the current security crisis on the Russian border has set in motion a series of events that is almost sure to result in the disintegration of NATO.

Mark Sleboda, foreign affairs and policy analyst, joins the show at the top of the hour to break down the latest from diplomatic talks over the weekend. Today, President Putin met with Foreign Minister Lavror and Defense Minister Shoygu to talk about de-escalation. Shoygu said that Russian troops are about to finish their military drills and will soon return to their permanent bases. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy is asking the US for proof of Russian intentions because the US insistence that a Russian invasion is imminent is spreading panic in the country. Even airlines are canceling flights to Ukraine because they can't get insurance to operate them.Then, Austin Pelli, co-host of Fault Lines, which you can hear every day Monday through Friday, from 7:00a-10:00a ET here on Radio Sputnik, calls in from Ottawa, Canada, to give us an on-the-ground perspective covering the Freedom Convoy. Austin says that protesters are peaceful, keeping the streets clean and salted, contrary to media accounts of Confederate flags and trash.Leila Mechoui, journalist and co-host of the Red Star Radio podcast, also called in from Ottawa. Leila talks about who is supporting the protest and those who remain opposed. She says that the Trudeau administration is planning to lift pandemic-related mandates as soon as February 28, but Trudeau is not saying that it has anything to do with pressure from protesters. Truckers protested a specific issue, and now that issue may be resolved soon.Next, Daniel Mc Adams, executive director of the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity, joins John to talk about the rising populist anti-war conservatism that is ascending within the GOP. John and Daniel discuss the primary season and the competitive Senate races. The redrawing of districts following the 2020 census and which senators are up for election will have an impact on how many and who turns out to vote this November.For the last segment, Kevin Gosztola, journalist, writer for Shadowproof.com and co-host of the podcast Unauthorized Disclosure, joins the show. Remember Russiagate? John and Kevin discuss the recent news that Justice Department Special Prosecutor John Durham filed a motion on Friday related to potential conflicts of interest in connection with the case of Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussman, who has been charged with lying to the FBI. Sussman allegedly told the FBI that he was not acting on Hillary Clinton's behalf when he gave the FBI documents that supposedly linked the Trump campaign to a Russian bank. But records show that he later billed the Clinton campaign for doing exactly that. The limited information that Durham has released so far indicates that nothing about Russiagate was true.

On this episode of Fault Lines, hosts Jamarl Thomas and Austin Pelli talk about German leader Olaf Scholz's mousy demeanor at his presser with Biden, a fossilized Mitch McConnell breaking with his party over Jan. 6th, and Democratic governors attempting to take credit for ending the pandemic.Guests:Mark Sleboda - International Security Analyst | Olaf Scholz Slammed for Appearing Weak on RussiaTyler Nixon - Counselor-at-Law | A Fossilized Mitch McConnell Needs to Move OverMichael Goodwin - Columnist for NYPost | Democratic Govs. Look to Take Credit for Ending PandemicIn the first hour Mark Sleboda joined the show to talk about German leader Olaf Scholz's mousy demeanor at his presser with Biden and the consequences Russia warns of if NATO continues to ignore it's security demands. We also talked about Biden's broken promise to end the war in Yemen as violence continues to escalate.In the second hour Fault Lines was joined by Tyler Nixon for a discussion on Mitch McConnell rebuking his own party on Jan. 6th, calling the day a “violent insurrection” and if it's a sign that the GOP has outgrown the senator with 37 years in office under his belt.In the third hour Michael Goodwin joined the conversation to talk about Chris Cuomo suing his former employer for $60 million as brother Andrew reportedly gears up for a doomed political comeback. We also talked about Democratic governors lifting mask mandates as a response to public backlash rather than a change in science.

Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations security analyst, joins us to discuss the diplomatic process in Europe, Russia, and DC. German President Scholz is coming to Washington, DC to meet with President Biden, while French leader Emmanuel Macron is heading to Moscow to push his vision for a diplomatic solution to the NATO crisis. George Koo, journalist, social activist, and international business consultant, joins us to discuss Eurasia. The announcement of a number of major energy and technology deals between Russia and China have sent shockwaves through the European and Asian business community. Also, we discuss the importance of hypersonic technology in today's national defense discussion.Margaret Kimberly, editor and senior columnist at Black Agenda Report and author of "Prejudential: Black America and the Presidents," joins us to discuss the media. The US State Department's infamous press briefing has gone viral and mainstream sources are now questioning the Russian invasion narrative. Also, the New York Times opinion articles are overwhelmingly hawkish and in favor of military action.Gerald Horne, professor of history at the University of Houston, author, historian, and researcher, joins us to discuss Africa. Thousands in Mali celebrate the expulsion of the French ambassador as Africa shakes off the chains of colonialism. Also, we discuss President Biden's policy towards the Sahara region of Africa.Laith Marouf, broadcaster and journalist based in Beirut, Lebanon, joins us to discuss the Middle East. We evaluate the Middle East policies of the Biden administration one year in. Also, the PLO is meeting to choose the top Palestinian negotiator. Dan Lazare, investigative journalist and author of "The Velvet Coup: The Constitution, the Supreme Court and the Decline of American Democracy," joins us to discuss Canada's Deputy Prime Minister. Deputy Prime Minister Christina Freeland has frightening familial connections to Hitler's Nazi regime. We discuss the truth behind claims that her grandfather was a supporter of Germany's fascist government during WWII. Dr. Richard Wolff, professor emeritus of economics at the University of Massachusetts, economist and publisher of "Capitalism Hits the Fan: The Global Economic Meltdown and What to Do About It," joins us to discuss the economy. Professor Wolff argues that American politicians spend their time papering over problems that are caused by profit-driven capitalism.Dr. Jack Rasmus, professor in economics and politics at St. Mary's College in California, joins us to discuss Ukraine. Dr. Jack reviews his reasoning as to why the US wants Russia to invade Ukraine.

On this episode of Fault Lines, hosts Jamarl Thomas and Austin Pelli talk about the State Dept. spokesman getting roasted over failing to provide evidence that Russia is planning a false flag op, what standard procedure is when reporting classified info, and if vaccinating young children is worth it.Guests:Mark Sleboda - International Security Analyst | New Age of McCarthyism as U.S. Fearmongers Over Russian and Chinese UnityJohn Kiriakou - Former CIA Officer | State Dept. Can't Prove Russia False Flag Claim, What's Standard Practice?Dr. Mikhail Kogan - Physician | Vaccinating Children Under 5: A Regulatory GambleIn the first hour Mark Sleboda joined the show to talk about the fiery exchange between State Dept. spokesman Ned Price and AP writer Matt Lee, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping warming up to each other in the face of Olympic boycotts and NATO pressure, and the rise of a second era of McCarthyism. In the second hour Fault Lines was joined by John Kiriakou to discuss what standard procedure is when reporting and sharing confidential information, the U.S. working with Israel to obtain notoriously powerful spyware software, and why Idlib has been such a hot target for U.S. commandos.In the third hour Dr. Mikhail Kogan joined the conversation to talk about whether marijuana and its compounds could effectively treat COVID-19. We also talked about how COVID vaccines affect women's menstrual cycles and if the benefits of vaccinating children under 5-years-old outweigh the potential side effects.

Robert Fantina, journalist and Palestine activist, joins us to discuss Syria. A US special forces raid in Syria that was described as "successful" was found to have killed six children and four women. The Washington Post reported that US personnel said the civilians were killed by a terrorist, but observers question the veracity of that claim.Alexander Mercouris, editor-in-chief at theduran.com and host of "The Duran" on YouTube, joins us to discuss the EU. The Croatian president has slammed the US/UK approach to Russia's security issues and is demanding a diplomatic resolution to the stalemate. Also, we discuss how the latest escalation split the EU.Dan Lazare, investigative journalist and author of "America's Undeclared War," joins us to discuss McCarthyism. The White House spokesperson has attacked a GOP Congressman as a Russian propagandist for pushing for a quick diplomatic resolution to the NATO security crisis. Jim Kavanagh, writer at thepolemicist.net and CounterPunch and author of "Pawn Takes Pawn: The Joe Rogan Brouhaha," joins us to discuss the John Durham investigation. Aaron Mate has penned a new piece in which he compares the claims made in the FBI's Horowitz report to the evidence reported from the John Durham investigation.Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations security analyst, joins us to discuss the death of the Russian invasion into Ukraine narrative. The White House has announced that they will change their rhetoric regarding the Ukrainian crisis and no longer use the word "imminent" to describe the probability of a Russian military invasion.Teri Mattson, Latin America coordinator for Code Pink, joins us to discuss Cuba. Today marks the 60th anniversary of the Cuban embargo. We discuss the history of this political and economic US attack on the tiny island nation.Dr. Colin Campbell, DC senior news correspondent, joins us to discuss the military-industrial complex. In another embarrassing moment for the F-35 program, the radar-absorbent skin of many of these planes is turning to rust after a few months at sea. Also, we are finding out that defense contractors have input into what the government deems classified and unavailable to the public.Dr. Iyabo Obasanjo, professor, epidemiologist, veterinarian, and the daughter of former Nigerian President Mr. Olusegun Obasanjo, joins us to discuss Ethiopia. The motives behind the US support of the TPLF in their attempt to overthrow the government of Ethiopia are unclear. We discuss some possible motives and the direction that the nation has currently taken.

We begin with Mark Sleboda, international affairs and security analyst, who joins the show during the first segment to break down the latest in Ukraine. Hungary and Ukraine expand their deal on gas imports to alleviate dependence on Russian natural gas. Mark points out that the “lethal aid” which the Western alliance has provided Ukraine since 2014 has been used by Ukrainians to kill fellow Ukrainians. John and Michelle ask Mark about the UK, Poland, and Ukraine working on a trilateral security pact.Next, Paul Wright, managing editor of Prison Legal News and executive director of the Human Rights Defense Center, joins John and Michelle to discuss the latest news that all federal prisons are in a nationwide lockdown today following the murder of two prisoners at the US penitentiary in Beaumont, Texas. The dead are apparently both members of the MS-13 street gang. The BOP is in disarray and stressed over multiple factors, including the latest gang incident and having trouble finding people to hire and keep on staff. John explains that the eligibility to be a prison guard is remedial and problematic, which is exacerbating the problem of hiring qualified prison workers.For the first segment in the second hour, we are joined by Jon Jeter, author and two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist with more than 20 years of journalistic experience. He is a former Washington Post bureau chief and award-winning foreign correspondent on two continents. Jon catches up with the Misfits to talk about the impact of the pandemic economy and recent news from the New York Times highlighting Paycheck Protection Program fraud and missing money. More resources should have been given to workers who create consumer demand rather than fund a trickle-down economics approach to stimulus that emerged, which supplies the rich and draws down on the consumer, according to Jeter.For the last segment, Keean Bexte is on the ground in Ottawa, Canada. He's reporting on the latest developments from the Freedom Convoy, and checked in with Michelle and John to talk about the truckers protest over the weekend. Keean clarified their demands: since the Justin Trudeau administration implemented pandemic mandates, ten to fifteen percent of truckers lost their jobs. The convoy is demanding an end to all pandemic related mandates. The group has amassed a whopping $10 million. Keean says the convoy has enough cash to idle at the capital of Ottawa for about two and half years.Michelle and John end the program by sharing news about the killing of Peter Spencer, a Jamaican immigrant living in Pittsburgh who went on a trip in the woods with his white coworkers and was discovered dead a few hours later. No charges have been filed. More about this story on tomorrow's broadcast.

Guest: Mark Sleboda. We talk about the likelihood of Russian intervention in Ukraine, the options available to them, and the overall situation with the standoff between NATO and Russia.  Mark Sleboda is an International Affairs & Security Analyst, a US Navy veteran, a university lecturer and a foreign policy realist. FOLLOW Mark on Twitter @MarkSleboda1 and look for his appearances on RT, Sputnik and other international channels.  Around the Empire aroundtheempire.com is listener supported, independent media. SUBSCRIBE/FOLLOW on Rokfin rokfin.com/aroundtheempire, Patreon patreon.com/aroundtheempire, Paypal paypal.me/aroundtheempirepod, YouTube youtube.com/aroundtheempire, Spotify, iTunes, iHeart, Google Podcasts FOLLOW @aroundtheempire and @joanneleon.  Join us on TELEGRAM https://t.me/AroundtheEmpire Find everything on http://aroundtheempire.com  and linktr.ee/aroundtheempire Recorded January 26, 2022. Music by Fluorescent Grey. Reference Links: Around the Empire: Ep 213 Ukraine Escalation feat Mark Sleboda Around the Empire: Ep 157 Crisis of Confidence in Ukraine feat Mark Sleboda Around the Empire: Ep 120 Ukraine Political Transformation? feat Mark Sleboda Around the Empire: Ep 99 Ukraine feat Mark Sleboda Around the Empire: Ep 141 Maidan Massacre in Ukraine feat Ivan Katchanovski A Year After 1/6, Ukraine's War Draws U.S. Far-Right to Fight Russia, Train for Violence at Home, Tom O'Connor, Naveed Jamali, Newsweek

Dr. David Oualaalou, author and international security analyst, joins us to discuss the crisis on Russia's eastern border. Officials from Russia, France, Germany, and Ukraine met in Paris and appear to have to come to an agreement in which Kiev will adhere to the 2014 ceasefire agreement. Also, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) is arguing that there is no military solution to the crisis.David Schultz, author and professor of political science and law at Hamline University, joins us to discuss the retirement of Justice Stephen Breyer. Democrats are having internal arguments as to who the nominee will be and whether Senators Manchin and Sinema will be a hindrance.Marjorie Cohn, Professor Emeritus at the Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, California, joins us to discuss Julian Assange. Professor Cohn joins us to discuss her latest article about Julian Assange. Assange has been granted the right to appeal the court's decision to extradite him to the US.Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations security analyst, joins us to discuss the US ignoring Russia's security agreements. The Kremlin has shrugged off Russia's security demands. Also, Russia has advised that they will not be able to provide gas to Europe if the US disconnects them from the SWIFT payment system. Laith Marouf, broadcaster and journalist based in Beirut, Lebanon, joins us to discuss the Middle East. Iran is arguing that the Syrian crisis cannot be resolved until the illegal occupying forces leave the nation. Also, protesters are calling for the US to abandon the sanctions against Afghanistan.Miko Peled, author and activist, joins us to discuss Israel. Miko discusses his latest article, in which he talks about the reality that some Jews in Israel are made uncomfortable by Zionist policies. Ajamu Baraka, former vice presidential candidate for the Green Party, joins us to discuss Ukraine. The Democrats are preparing a sanctions bill in the US Congress against both Russia and Germany that could have dire consequences for the European economy. Gerald Horne, professor of history at the University of Houston, author, historian, and researcher, joins us to discuss Africa. The coup in Burkina Faso is very complicated: while Western powers are implicated, the people are pushing back and unrest is growing in and around the Horn of Africa.

On this episode of Fault Lines, hosts Jamarl Thomas and Austin Pelli talk about the U.S. delivering a written response to Russia's security demands, Biden's politically confusing promise to get a Black woman in the Supreme Court, and risk factors for developing long-haul Covid.Guests:Mark Sleboda - International Security Analyst | How Does Russia Move Forward After U.S. Rejected Security Guarantees?Daniel Lazare - Independent Journalist | Tokenism or Progress? Biden Promises to Put Black Woman in SCOTUSDr. Gene Olinger - Virologist | Delta Variant Accident in Taiwan, Did the Same Happen in Wuhan?In the first hour Mark Sleboda joined the show to talk about the U.S. delivering a formal written response to Russia's security demands, Ukraine's fear that U.S. saber rattling could cause unjust panic, and what Russia's options are militarily if diplomacy fails.In the second hour Fault Lines was joined by Daniel Lazare for a discussion on Biden's politically ineffective promise to push a Black woman into the Supreme Court, debated if affirmative action is actually an effective tool to fight racism, and talked about Republicans' foiled plan to overturn the 2020 election.In the third hour Dr. Gene Olinger joined the conversation to talk about a lab leak of the Delta variant in Taiwan that infected over 100 people and how these outbreaks happen. We also talked about four distinct risk factors for developing long-haul Covid and why the FDA ceased the use of monoclonal antibody treatments for Omicron.

Robert Prokop, author and retired intelligence analyst for the US Department of Defense specializing in the Soviet Union, joins us to discuss the EU/Russia border crisis. Russia has said that it will formulate its response to its security demands once it receives the written response from the US. Also, French President Emmanuel Macron is set to share his vision for a path to de-escalation regarding the crisis on Russia's western border.Dr. Yolandra Hancock, board-certified pediatrician and obesity medicine specialist, joins us to discuss covid. Several studies seem to show immune system problems arising from multiple boosters. Also, Pfizer and other companies are now creating omicron-specific vaccines. Scott Ritter, former UN weapon inspector in Iraq, joins us to discuss Iran. Neocon hawks in DC are restarting their campaign for a disastrous war with Iran. Also, we discuss the issues that are creating a difficult environment for the US to return to the deal in a manner that Iran accepts as fair and reasonable.KJ Noh, activist, writer, and teacher, joins us to discuss China. President Xi Jinping will chair a summit marking 30 years of China's ties with other central Asian nations. Also, there has been an accident in which a F35C fighter crashed in the South China Sea.Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations security analyst, joins us to discuss Ukraine. There are multiple reports that Kiev is preparing for an all-out assault on Eastern Ukraine. Also, the CIA may be training Ukrainian Nazis for European terrorist missions.John Burris, civil rights attorney, joins us to discuss the SCOTUS. The Supreme Court is set to review race-conscious university admission policies.Leo Flores, Latin America coordinator for Code Pink, joins us to discuss Venezuela. Venezuela has doubled its oil production with Iran's assistance. Also, Russia's ambassador to Venezuela has stated that Juan Guaido does not represent anyone. Dan Lazare, investigative journalist and author of "America's Undeclared War," joins us to discuss NATO as an international tool for US hegemony. The article we review argues that NATO is simply a tool of US armed supremacy and that the expansion of the organization into the China/US adversarial conflict, along with its actions in the Global South, is strong evidence to support that theory.

International affairs and security analyst Mark Sleboda joins Misfit hosts John Kiriakou and Michelle Witte to discuss the newfound “unity” US President Joe Biden has supposedly achieved among European powers in facing down Russia. Mohammad Marandi, professor of English Literature and Orientalism at University of Tehran, updates us on the status of talks between Iran and Western powers on the country's nuclear program, and identifies the stumbling blocks in the way of any new accord. Author and journalist Dan Lazare breaks down the shambolic reaction of the US legal system to mask mandates and asks how much former President Donald Trump should fear the investigation into his election pressure in Georgia. He also outlines the affirmative action cases soon to be heading to the Supreme Court. Paul Wright, executive director of the Human Rights Defense Center and editor of Prison Legal News and Criminal Legal News magazines, discusses the punitive use of solitary confinement and “communication management” in prisons, and talks about what it would take to reform the Bureau of Prisons.

Scott Ritter, former UN weapon inspector in Iraq, joins us to discuss the CIA's playbook for Russia. Ritter joins us to discuss reports that the CIA is training unconventional (terrorist) forces in Ukraine. Ritter argues that the operation may be a psychological operation aimed at deterring Russia from attacking Ukraine at best and a foolish plan doomed to failure at worst.Dr. David Oualaalou, author and international security analyst, joins us to discuss Ukraine. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is traveling to Ukraine amid increased tensions and a destabilized government. Also, US Senators promise more weapons for Ukraine as the Eastern European nation is transformed into a weapons depot for the US empire. Dr. Linwood Tauheed, associate professor of economics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, joins us to discuss the economy. The White House and some allies are split on the plans to address inflation. Also, President Biden has a new crop of nominees for the Federal Reserve. Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations security analyst, joins us to discuss the security crisis in Eastern Europe. As she arrived in Moscow for talks, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock stated that her country sees no alternative to stable relations with Russia. Also, the US is claiming that Russia is planning a false flag operation in Ukraine, and Petro Poroshenko returns to Kiev to face treason charges.Laith Marouf, broadcaster and journalist based in Beirut, Lebanon, joins us to discuss the Middle East. Houthi fighters have launched a devastating drone and missile attack on the UAE city of Abu Dhabi. Also, the Israeli Prime Minister has said that he has no intention of pressing for peace with the Palestinians.Niko House, political activist, independent journalist, and podcaster, joins us to discuss the folly of the Democrats. Paul Begala, a former Clinton administration official and a media operative for the Democrats, is being chastised for recent comments on CNN. Begala argued that the blame for President Biden's failures should be placed on the voters rather than party leadership. Also, protesters ask Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) to take concrete anti-war actions.Teri Mattson, Latin America coordinator for Code Pink, joins us to discuss the Global South. Venezeulan President Maduro doubled down on his nation's commitment to socialism and economic independence in his annual speech. Also, we discuss the role of Nicaragua in establishing the international poles in the new world order.Ramzy Baroud, media consultant, author, columnist and editor of Palestine Chronicle, joins us to discuss Palestine. A recent hunger strike by a Palestinian prisoner shined an international light on the Israeli practice of detaining Palestinians indefinitly without charges.

On this episode of Fault Lines, hosts Jamarl Thomas and Austin Pelli talk about Russia preparing for the worst ahead of talks with the U.S., Trump wrestling with Florida's DeSantis for the 2024 nomination, and talk tech as the airline industry urges the tech sphere to put the brakes on the 5G rollout.Guests:Mark Sleboda - International Security Analyst | Russia Prepares for the Worst Ahead of Talks With U.S.Ted Rall - Political Cartoonist | Trump, King of the GOP, Already Wrestling DeSantis for 2024 NominationKendrick Jackson - Tech Analyst | Big Tech Squares Off With Airline Industry Over 5G RolloutIn the first hour Mark Sleboda joined the show to talk about Ukraine's former president Petro Poroshenko returning home to face treason charges after he ended his term with plummeting approval ratings. We also talked about U.S. Sec. of State Blinken and his Russian counterpart Lavrov meeting again as Russia evacuates their embassy in Ukraine, likely preparing for the worst.In the second hour Fault Lines was joined by Ted Rall for a discussion on Trump and DeSantis butting heads as they both eye the same 2024 presidential ticket and we debate the merits of each candidate. We also talked about Biden's first press conference of the year, marketed as a ‘reset' for Democrats trying to get legislation passed amid declining popularity.In the third hour Kendrick Jackson joined the conversation to talk about if it's possible for 5G to rollout safely despite pushback from the airlines industry, U.S. Olympic athletes being told to leave their phones and computers at home for fear of Chinese hacking, and Microsoft's massive acquisition of video game giant Activision.

Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations security analyst, joins us to discuss US-Russia relations. The US Congress is signaling that it may consider a fresh round of sanctions on Russia, including senior officials and President Putin. Meanwhile, the Russians are signaling that a move such as this will precipitate a complete break in relations between the two world powers.Netfa Freeman, host of Voices With Vision on WPFW 89.3 FM, Pan-Africanist and internationalist organizer, joins us to discuss Africa and France. President Biden considered reducing support for France's operations in Africa, but eventually sided with DC neocons and upped the ante. Also, a car bomb has struck Mogadishu, killing eight.Dr. Ken Hammond, professor of East Asian and global history at New Mexico State University, joins us to discuss the Russia/NATO meeting. The Russians left the meeting stating that they see "no positive agenda" in sight. Their position is that they have no intention of invading Ukraine and that the border nation is the greatest threat to peace in Europe today.Mnar Adley, founder and editor at MintPress News, joins us to discuss Iran. We discuss the history of General Soleimani and the West's propaganda after his death. Also, the US position on reentry into the nuclear deal makes it impossible to agree.Laith Marouf, broadcaster and journalist based in Beirut, Lebanon, joins us to discuss the Middle East. The Lebanese economy is in a major tailspin, as labor unions go on a general strike to protest the economic crisis. Also, US lawmakers are pressing President Biden to oppose the Arab States that are normalizing diplomatic ties with Syria.Jim Kavanagh, writer at thepolemicist.net and CounterPunch and author of "Danger in Society: Against Vaccine Passports,” joins us to discuss Julian Assange. Julian Assange has now been held in Belmarsh prison for one thousand days without officially being charged with a crime. Supporters have gathered outside of the prison to protest and commemorate the date.George Koo, journalist, social activist, and international business consultant, joins us to discuss China. China has acknowledged that outside forces were involved in the attempted coup in Kazakhstan and has pledged to work with Russia to quell further incidents in the Eurasian community. Also, Syria has joined China's Belt and Road network of nations.Scott Ritter, former UN weapon inspector in Iraq, joins us to discuss the US-Russia conflict. Scott Ritter has penned a piece in ConsortiumNews explaining the hazards of a kinetic war between the US and Russia.

In this segment of By Any Means Necessary, Sean and Jacquie are joined by international affairs and security analyst Mark Sleboda to discuss discussions between the US and Russia over NATO aggression in Ukraine and Eastern Europe, attempts to pull Ukraine into NATO since the overthrow of Ukraine's democratically-elected government in 2014, the misleading statements about Russian troop movements near the Ukrainian-Russian border, and the reality of the attempted coup in Kazakhstan.

In this episode of By Any Means Necessary, hosts Sean Blackmon and Jacquie Luqman are joined by Paki Wieland, volunteer with CODEPINK: Women for Peace to discuss the anniversary of the first detainees arriving at the Guantanamo Bay prison, the human impact of renditions to Guantanamo,the struggle for reparations for people who were detained at Guantanamo to alleviate the impact that their detention has had on their lives, and the obscene cost of maintaining the prison.In the second segment, Sean and Jacquie are joined by international affairs and security analyst Mark Sleboda to discuss discussions between the US and Russia over NATO aggression in Ukraine and Eastern Europe, attempts to pull Ukraine into NATO since the overthrow of Ukraine's democratically-elected government in 2014, the misleading statements about Russian troop movements near the Ukrainian-Russian border, and the reality of the attempted coup in Kazakhstan.In the third segment, Sean and Jacquie are joined by technologist Chris Garaffa, the editor of TechforthePeople.org to discuss Google's secret anti-union campaign and its profiting from human rights violations, the millions Google spent on anti-worker consultant firms, John Deere's new self-driving tractors and its role in the potential growth of agribusiness and threats they pose to the right to repair and ownership of data.Later in the show, Sean and Jacquie are joined by Ajamu Baraka, National Organizer of the Black Alliance for Peace to discuss ongoing tension over Ukraine and what it means to Black people in the US, the extraordinary impact that aggression from NATO and the US over Ukraine could have on the entire world, how the Ukraine issue is conveniently acting as a diversion from the rampant spread of COVID-19 in the US, the commitment of alternative media to have conversations excluded from the mainstream media, especially on issues of imperialism.

Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations security analyst, joins us to discuss the US and Russian diplomatic meetings in Geneva. Though Russia leaders had previously indicated that they do not have high hopes for above board negotiations from the Biden/Blinken team, there are "ever so slight" indications that the US/NATO bloc may be willing to move on some issues. Scott Ritter, former UN weapon inspector in Iraq, joins us to discuss Kazakhstan. There are significant indicators coming out of Western Asia that the recent violence and chaos were part of a Western backed coup attempt. Prompt actions by the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) seems to have crushed the regime change plan, and a number of terrorists have been captured and killed.Steve Poikonen, national organizer for Action4Assange, joins us to discuss Julian Assange. In what appears to be a move of state-sponsored censorship, Twitter has inexplicably suspended the account of the "unity4J' Twitter community. Also, Chris Hedges argues that "the sentencing of Assange will signal the end of all investigative inquiries into the inner workings of power."Dr. Emmit Riley, political scientist and assistant professor of Africana Studies at DePauw University, joins us to discuss domestic politics. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) is now signaling that he will not support the earlier commitments that he made for parts of the Build Back Better legislation, effectively killing any hope of reviving the bill.Laith Marouf, broadcaster and journalist based in Beirut, Lebanon, joins us to discuss the Middle East. Iraq elected its speaker of parliament as its chaotic political situation continues. Also, there are rumors coming out of Libya that the US is working to undermine the nation's elections because the US State Department is unhappy with the candidate that is most likely to win.Medea Benjamin, co-founder of Code Pink, joins us to talk about her latest article. Medea has co-authored an article in which she exposes critical data about the number of bombs that the United States has dropped over the last 20 years. She goes on to argue that the failure of the US media to disclose this vital information has allowed the carnage to continue. Caleb Maupin, journalist and political analyst, joins us to discuss the US-Russia talks. There is pressure on the Biden administration from a number of peace and political groups to reach a diplomatic agreement with Russian representatives to resolve the crisis in Eastern Europe. Robert Fantina, journalist and Palestine activist, joins us to discuss Iran. Iranian diplomats are putting a positive spin on JCPOA talks, arguing that a deal is easily achievable if the US simply agrees to re-enter the deal. Also, Israeli representatives now argue that they will not respect the outcome of the process and will not abide by any deal that the United States approves.

Misfits John Kiriakou and Michelle Witte speak to international security analyst Mark Sleboda about the negotiations underway between Russia, Europe and the United States over Ukraine. What's actually being discussed might be much more specific than the generalities the mainstream focuses on. Mustafa Santiago Ali, vice president of environmental justice, climate, and community revitalization at the National Wildlife Federation, joined to discuss the future of the Build Back Better agenda and what Congressional Democrats could be doing to rally support for their policy priorities ahead of the midterm elections. Journalist and author Dan Lazare helped break down the violence in Kazakhstan and the way Russia's involvement has been spun. He also brought an update on nuclear negotiations with Iran and discussed the role of the NYPD in New York politics. In the Miss the Press segment, John and Michelle dissected the typical American myopia when it comes to the foreign affairs and relationships of other countries, and scoffed at American politicians accusing other countries of maintaining spheres of influence.

Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations security analyst, joins us to discuss Kazakhstan. Multilateral peacekeeping forces have begun arriving in Kazakhstan to stop the violent uprisings and stabilize the situation. The troops include security and protection for Russia's space center and related facilities.Dr. Yolandra Hancock, board-certified pediatrician and obesity medicine specialist, joins us to discuss COVID-19. A critical increase in Omicron infections is having a dramatic impact on the economy as many businesses are unable to field enough employees to operate. Ajamu Baraka, 2016 US vice presidential candidate for the Green Party, joins us to discuss Ukraine. Baraka explains the situation in Ukraine, and argues that those who desire peace should be motivated to try and halt this potentially extinction-level disaster foisted upon the world by the Biden administration. George Koo, journalist, social activist, and international business consultant, joins us to discuss Asia. In another move to increase tension in the Asia Pacific region, Japan and Australia have signed a defense treaty that will allow their militaries to enter and leave each other's nations with much less effort. Also, North Korea began the year with another missile test.Laith Marouf, broadcaster and journalist based in Beirut, joins us to discuss the Middle East. For the third day in a row, US bases came under attack in Iraq. While no one was injured, it appears that 2022 will be a year of continuous attacks against US troops in Iraq and Syria.Leo Flores, Latin America coordinator for Code Pink, joins us to discuss the Global South. The neoliberal economic model in Brazil is producing miserable working conditions and pay for most workers. Therefore, it appears that the nation will follow the rest of the continent in a leftward direction when, and if, former leader Lula De Silva is swept back into office.Nick Davies, peace activist and author of "Blood on Our Hands: The American Invasion of Iraq," joins us to discuss the Pentagon budget. William Hartung writes about many of the issues that are created by selling weapons to despotic regimes. He explains why these moves undermine US security interests worldwide.Dan Lazare, investigative journalist and author of "America's Undeclared War," joins us to discuss the upcoming meeting between US and Russian diplomats regarding Russia's security demands.

On this episode of Fault Lines, hosts Jamarl Thomas and Shane Stranahan talk about Iran vowing revenge on the U.S. for the assassination of their military leader, Biden holding Jan. 6th memorials as his popularity plummets, and get the full scoop on why Kazakhstan finds itself in chaos.Guests:Scott Ritter - Former U.N. Weapons Inspector | Iran Vows Revenge if Trump and Pompeo Aren't ProsecutedMisty Winston - Activist and Analyst | As Biden Lectures D.C. on Jan. 6th, His Popularity PlummetsMichelle Witte - Host of Political Misfits | Social Context of Kazakhstani RiotsMark Sleboda - International Security Analyst | Initially Peaceful Protests in Kazakhstan Hijacked by Shady MilitantsIn the first hour Scott Ritter joined the show to talk about how the U.S. fabricated a so-called imminent attack from Iran to justify assassinating their military leader Soleimani, as Iran calls for Trump and former Sec. of State Pompeo to be prosecuted for the killing.In the second hour Fault Lines was joined by Misty Winston for a general discussion on domestic politics as Biden's approval ratings fell to new low on the memorial of January 6th. We were also joined by Michelle Witte to talk about the chaos in Kazakhstan as a violent uprising triggered by public unrest over inflation and soaring gas prices takes place.In the third hour Mark Sleboda joined the conversation for a foreign policy analysis on the unexpected violent uprising in Kazakhstan, typically thought of as a stable and well off country, after initially peaceful protests were infiltrated by shady and violent individuals as an attempt to take power

On this episode of Fault Lines, hosts Jamarl Thomas and Shane Stranahan talk about Russia's' uncomfortable position of drawing red lines on rapid NATO expansions, the upcoming anniversary of January 6th, and Chuck Schumer changing his position on filibusters at the worst possible time.Guests:Mark Sleboda - International Analyst | Putin: “Nowhere to Retreat” from Rapid NATO ExpansionsTyler Nixon - Legal Counsel to Roger Stone | January 6th and Politically Weaponizing Law EnforcementTed Rall - Political Cartoonist | FLASHBACK: Sen. Schumer Warns of ‘Banana Republic' If Filibusters Are EliminatedIn the first hour Mark Sleboda joined the show to talk about Putin's goal to win over Ukrainians peacefully rather than going to war as rapid NATO expansions continue to pose a security threat to Russia.In the second hour Fault Lines was joined by Tyler Nixon for a discussion on the upcoming anniversary of the January 6th riots and what he describes as the danger of partisan leaders putting law enforcement in a stand-off position against protesters.In the third hour Ted Rall joined the conversation to question Chuck Schumer reversing his position on Senate filibuster rules after warning of becoming a ‘banana republic' in 2005… the same year that his party is poised to become the minority.

Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations security analyst, joins us to discuss US Russia relations. Presidents Putin and Biden spoke again on Thursday evening in preparation for upcoming security talks over NATO expansion. Also, US and Russian officials are preparing their respective teams and issues for critical meetings in Geneva and Brussels.Professor Nicolai Petro, professor of political science at the University of Rhode Island specializing in Ukraine and Russia, joins us to discuss Ukraine's crackdown on opposition media. Ukrainian president Vlodomor Zelensky has again moved to close the opposition media. Three companies related to the main opposition party have also been heavily sanctioned. The Biden administration's lack of response is viewed as tacit support for the acts of blatant censorship. Also, far-right neo-Nazis are again marching to support World War 2 Nazi collaborators.Laith Marouf, broadcaster and journalist based in Beirut, joins us to discuss the Middle East. Israel has attacked civilian targets in Gaza once again claiming that their actions are in response to rocket attacks. Also, US bases in Iraq are facing drone attacks and some suspect that the new year will bring increased activities of this nature.Gerald Horne, professor of history at the University of Houston, author, historian, and researcher, joins us to discuss Africa. Sudan's military rulers are maintaining power with the help of the US empire but the citizens are less than happy with their authoritarian leadership. Also, the US empire has transformed Djibouti into a tool of international military aggression.Nick Davies, peace activist and author of "Blood on Our Hands: The American Invasion of Iraq," joins us to discuss the Pentagon budget. The Pentagon is projected to hand over almost a half-trillion dollars to military contractors in 2022. Also, the $778 billion military budget in the face of massive debt and public strife may be the final nail in the coffin of the US empire.Peter James Hudson, associate professor of African American Studies and History at the University of California, Los Angeles and author of the book Bankers and Empire: How Wall Street Colonized the Caribbean, joins us to discuss Haiti. Frederick Douglass was briefly the Ambassador to Haiti. We discuss how his brief tenure helps to define the imperial project in the beleaguered island nation.Jim Kavanagh, writer at thepolemicist.net and CounterPunch and author of "Danger in Society: Against Vaccine Passports,” joins us to discuss Ghislaine Maxwell. Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted of several counts in her recent high-profile trial. We ask many questions including why the media and investigators seem to have such little interest in pursuing the powerful people who were active in the child trafficking network. Marjorie Cohn, Professor Emeritus at the Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, California, Marjorie Cohn has penned an article about an important recall effort in San Francisco. Cohn argues that the recall effort is based on the basic paradigms related to the reason for the existence of crime.

Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations security analyst and Scott Ritter, former UN weapon inspector joins us to discuss Eastern Europe. The US is at a tense standoff on the border of Russia that has the potential to end in a disastrous war. Also, we talk about President Putin's options if the West rejects his security demands and the inherent instability of the US colonial protectorate Ukraine.KJ Noh, activist, writer, and teacher and George Koo, journalist, social activist, and international business consultant, join us to discuss China. We discuss the aftermath of the Putin Xi meeting in light of the current standoff between the US and Russia. Also, the UAE has scrapped a deal with the US for F/35 fighter jets and the US is having little success building an anti China coalition in Asia.Danny Shaw, Professor of Latin Studies and Teri Mattson, Latin America coordinator for Code Pink joins us to discuss the Global South. China has taken the social and economic offensive in the Global South as many nations that faced oppression and genocide at the hands of the US empire now turn eastward for strength.Dr. Colin Campbell, DC senior news correspondent, and Margaret Kimberley, editor and senior columnist at Black Agenda Report and author of "Prejudential: Black America and the Presidents," come together to discuss this week's stories. The democrats face disaster in 2022 as the failure to keep campaign promises exposes President Biden as a corporate politician. Also, the NDAA budget passes at 778 billion dollars and TV news channels are crashing after the loss of the Trump ratings bonanza.

Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations security analyst, joins us to discuss the NATO crisis on the Russian border. The Kremlin has explained why they made their security demands public. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov explained “We have made our initiative public, as explained by President Putin and the Foreign Ministry, because we are aware of the West's ability to obfuscate any uncomfortable issues for them.” Dan Kovalik, writer, author, and lawyer, joins us to discuss Syria. There is ample evidence that the US and UK provided material support for jihadist forces during their "dirty war" against the Syrian people. Also, Israel has increased attacks on Syria under the guise of attacking Iran-linked targets.Gerald Horne, professor of history at the University of Houston, author, historian, and researcher, joins us to discuss Africa. The Ethiopian government was able to turn the tide against TPLF rebel forces using a combination of Turkish and Chinese drones. Also, we discuss the coup in Sudan and the AFRICOM and French connections.Jim Kavanagh, writer at thepolemicist.net and CounterPunch and author of "Danger in Society: Against Vaccine Passports,” joins us to discuss Julian Assange. Jonathan Cook argues that the persecution of Julian Assange is a clear and intentional message to all independent journalists. Cook argues that the message is that they must remain silent to the war crimes of the US empire or face the same fate. Scott Ritter, former UN weapon inspector in Iraq, joins us to discuss NATO's Waterloo. Patrick Lawrence has a brilliant article in Consortium News in which he reviews the situation on the Russian border. He argues that Europe is now the western end of Eurasia rather than the eastern shore of the Atlantic. Also, we talk about Ukraine as NATO's equivalent to Waterloo. Ajamu Baraka, 2016 US vice-presidential candidate for the Green Party, joins us to discuss the Global South. In a move of comedic farce, US puppet Juan Guaido has extended his interim government into 2022. The so-called interim government has been ongoing for two years and has only been used to pilfer money from international financial holdings of the Venezuelan government.Niko House, political activist, independent journalist, and podcaster, joins us to discuss domestic politics. The lack of accomplishment on either domestic or foreign policy seems to portend significant midterm losses for the Democratic Party.Martin Sieff, senior fellow at the American University in Moscow, joins us to discuss Ukraine's infestation with Nazis. Recently, only the US and Ukraine voted against a UN resolution condemning the Nazi ideology. Also, we review the Nazi volunteer battalions of the Ukraine military.

Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations security analyst, joins us to discuss Russia. Reports say Russia "is not bluffing by putting forward the security safeguard proposals on a part of NATO and the US and will make every effort to facilitate the West's awareness of it, " according to Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov. Also, President Putin suggested repercussions could be possible, warning that he could take “adequate military-technical measures” if NATO continues its “aggressive” course “on the threshold of our home.”Ray McGovern, former CIA analyst and co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity, joins us to discuss Ukraine. Ray has an article entitled, "Washington Prepares to Fail in Ukraine," which talks about the US's refusal to acknowledge Russia's vital strategic interest in Ukraine. It also discusses Washington's plans to subject Ukraine and the NATO alliance to "a dangerous and unnecessary test by confronting Russian conventional military power."Dr. Yolandra Hancock, board-certified pediatrician and obesity medicine specialist, joins us to discuss covid. Dr. Hancock points to the frightening number of people around the country aggressively lashing out in response to policies they dislike regarding Covid. She also discusses The Federal Aviation Administration's 1,000 + investigations into unruly passenger incidents this year, more than five times as many as in all of 2020. Patricio Zamorano, political analyst and Director of the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, COHA.org, joins us to discuss Chile. Marco Teruggi penned an article for the Orinco Tribune, talking about the expected results of the new progressive government saying that the expectation of Chileans is "that not only things will change in their country, but also the integration with their neighbors and the continent."Obi Egbuna, activist and US Rep for The Zimbabwean Newspapers, joins us to discuss Ethiopia. Since the federal government forces of Ethiopia cornered the TPLF back into Tigray state, the US-backed TPLF has asked for peace negotiations. In return, the Ethiopian government has called for the abolishment of the TPLF as well as the surrender of its leadership. Miko Peled, author and activist, joins us to discuss the Middle East. This past Sunday, Israel's government approved a $317m plan to double the Jewish settler population in the occupied Golan Heights of Syria.Scott Ritter, former UN weapon inspector in Iraq, joins us to discuss the military. He discusses an article in Responsible Statecraft that exposes the gap between the US military's reputation and its actual performance in the post 9/11 wars.John Kiriakou, journalist, author, and host of The Back Story, joins us to discuss his article titled, "Those Nasty Russians." In it, Kiriakou discusses the recent New York Times article that claims Moscow is preparing its public for a potential war in Russia. Kiriakou shows why these claims are preposterous, refuting the Times' claims that Russia had already “massed troops on the border with Ukraine,” a lie that has been perpetuated in the mainstream media all across the United States.

Ukraine is at the center of soaring geopolitical tensions, with the U.S. and Kyiv accusing Russia of planning a military attack on its southern neighbor. Moscow denies the allegation. What is the direction in which the Ukraine crisis is developing? Host Ding Heng is joined by Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations & security analyst; Wyn Grant, Emeritus Professor of Politics at the University of Warwick; Professor Qu Bo from China Foreign Affairs University.