Tag: 2021

Gorilla Radio with Chris Cook, Ken Stone, Finian Cunningham November 18, 2021

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Welcome to Gorilla Radio, recorded November 13th and 14th, 2021.

True to its word, the Trudeau government is determined to spend billions for a revamped fighter jet force for Canada’s military. The main debate until now has been which foreign weapons-making company will get the sweet deal – a deal worth a reported 88 billion buckaroos over the next generation – and not whether Canada should be supporting such a deal in the first place.

Ken Stone is a long-time antiwar activist whose served as an executive member of both the Syria Solidarity Movement and Hamilton Coalition to Stop the War. Ken and the Hamilton Coalition are joining hands in a trans-Canada effort with Canadian Voice of Women, Peace Brigades International, the Regina Peace Council, and the Victoria Peace Coalition here in Victoria among many others to mount the No Fighter Jets demonstrations at Liberal MP’s offices from coast to coast to coast November 22nd.

Ken Stone in the first half.

And; more than a year after Ethiopia’s military launched a so-called “police action” to “restore order” in Tigray province, the fighting rages on. While thousands have died and hundreds of thousands more have been displaced, another casualty of the humanitarian disaster that ensued has been Western goodwill for the Nobel Peace Prize laureate prime minister Abiy Ahmed, who now faces sanctions – along with ally Eritrea – and the threat of American military intervention should the humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa nation continue.

To some on the American and European left that threat smacks of the kind of “humanitarian intervention” seen in Yugoslavia, Libya, and Syria; it’s something they say is no less than naked neo-imperialism, and prompting their support for Ahmed and Eritrean strongman, Isaias Afwerki.

Finian Cunningham is a prolific journalist and two-time Serena Shim Award for Uncompromising Integrity in Journalism recipient. His articles on international affairs appear at numerous online outlets, including Strategic Culture, where his March piece, ‘U.S. Paves Way for Intervention in Ethiopia, Horn of Africa’ is proving now to be prophetic.

Finian Cunningham and competing narratives in the ongoing Ethiopian disaster in the second half.

But first, Ken Stone and just saying “NO!” to new fighter jets.

Gorilla Radio with Chris Cook, Dr. Joan Russow, Steve Poikonen October 21st, 2021

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Welcome to Gorilla Radio, recorded October 16th, 2021

The Conference of Parties, or COPs will convene its 26th meeting October 31st in Glasgow, Scotland. The theme of this year’s confab is ostensibly monitoring, reviewing, and arm-twisting signatories to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change to bring all into compliance with the Paris Agreement signed in 2015.

President-designate of this iteration of the COP, Conservative Party cabinet minister, Alok Sharma stresses “emissions reductions, adaptation, finance, and working together” as the four keys to success at COP26. Greta Thunberg, speaking for a generation made jaded by empty rhetoric and repeatedly broken promises, summed up her expectations of the conference as simply being more “blah, blah, blah.”

Dr. Joan Russow is former leader of the Green Party of Canada who since stepping down from the Greens has spent her time keeping the United Nations’ feet to fire with the Joan, and as a serial reporter and filmmaker recording climate change conferences. She’s producer of the film, ‘Cooperatives: Counterpoint to Capitalism’, and also serves as editor and driving force behind PEJNews.com.

Joan Russow in the first half.

And; despite recent revelations of false testimony given in the Julian Assange case, the United States is determined to perpetuate the WikiLeaks editor’s persecution. Assange still sits in London’s Belmarsh Prison, isolated and awaiting the next step in the long process of an extradition petition filed by the U.S. At this point only the most dedicatedly obdurate among the American and British judiciary believe Julian Assange guilty as charged – they and their stenographers in the corporate and state-sponsored press holding fast to the demonstrably false, and politically-tainted narrative keeping him a prisoner.

Steve Poikonen is an activist and host of the ‘Slow News Day‘ podcast – available at Rokfin. He’s also an organizer with Action4Assange, co-host of the #FreeAssange Vigil, and has participated in and helped organized multiple actions for Assange in Washington, D.C., and elsewhere in the U.S.

Steve Poikonen and the continuing Assange case charade in the second half.

But first, Joan Russow and COP26’s pleas for unanimity of purpose in the face of a climate crisis.

Chris Cook hosts Gorilla Radio, airing live every Thursday between 11-Noon Pacific Time. In Victoria at 101.9FM, and on the internet at: https://cfuv.ca. He also serves as a contributing editor to the web news site, http://www.pacificfreepress.com. Check out the GR blog at: http://gorillaradioblog.blogspot.com

Ape Goes to Gaza, Palestine Solidarity Protest – Victoria, British Columbia May 20, 2021

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Went down to the demonstration today. Below is the poster that directed me; above the photo that brought me. – ape

THURS, MAY 20TH AT 5PM, At the Legislature: PALESTINE SOLIDARITY PROTEST

Allies and Palestinian people are holding space on the field of the BC Parliament Building (501 Belleville St. Victoria, BC) on the unceded traditional Lekwungen territory to raise awareness, show solidarity and protest Canada’s military exports to Israel. Masks and Social Distancing are REQUIRED.

This is not a Palestinian “problem”, this is a global humans rights issue consisting of ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, illegal occupation and settler colonialism.

BRING ANYTHING YOU NEED TO SUPPORT PALESTINE!!! (or just yourself☺️❤️) Flags, Posters, Etc.

We recommend wearing Green, White, Red, or Black as a show of solidarity

Gorilla Radio with Chris Cook, Karl Grossman, Robert Hunziker March 11, 2021

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Welcome back to Gorilla Radio’s Home Edition, recorded March 2nd, 2021 Sept. 17, 2016

This March 11th marks the tenth anniversary of the Fukushima tsunami-engendered nuclear disaster. And, what have we learned? Ten years after, even as Japan continues cleaning up the mess, there is no solution to the question of just what to do with irradiated debris already collected, or how to deal with the contaminated cooling water still being generated every day, and now amounting to millions of litres.

In fact, far from getting a handle on the problem, things are only getting worse; as JapanToday reports, “The decades-long challenge to scrap the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant… is becoming more complex as recent remote-controlled probes have highlighted just how damaged the reactors are.”

And yet, the nuclear industry is enjoying a renaissance, buoyed by concerns for climate change, and an unlikely partner in NASA and its collaborators who recently landed nukes on Mars.

Karl Grossman is professor of journalism at State University of New York/College at Old Westbury, and author of, ‘The Wrong Stuff: The Space’s Program’s Nuclear Threat to Our Planet’, and ‘Cover Up: What You Are Not Supposed to Know About Nuclear Power’. He’s also the host of the nationally syndicated television program, Enviro Close-UP with Karl Grossman, and is an associate with the media watch group Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR). Karl’s articles too appear at CounterPunch.org, and Nation of Change, among other places, where I found his latest, ‘Plutonium—the most lethal of all radioactive substances—in space’.

Karl Grossman in the first half.

And; what about the Olympic Games? In 2016, the IOC announced not only would Japan host the 2020 Games, it would do so in the nuclear shadow of Fukushima Prefecture. But, Fate intervened in the form of the Covid-19 pandemic. But, but, the IOC and Japan determined to carry on come pandemic Hell, or atomic high waters, rescheduling Japan 2020, to July 2021. And, despite 80% of Japanese polled saying the games should be postponed again, new Tokyo Olympic organizing committee president, Seiko Hashimoto is reassuring the public it will be safe to for the Games to go on saying, “The situation around coronavirus doesn’t go easy on us.”

About Fukushima’s lingering nuclear radiation and the threat it posed, Hashimoto had this to say, [crickets].

Robert Hunziker is an environmental journalist whose climate clarion calls appear in numerous journals and multiple languages around the World and across the internet. He’s also appeared in a variety of media to talk about global climate change and has written extensively about the ongoing aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. I spoke to Robert waaaaaay back in 2016 about the then newly announced winning Tokyo Olympics bid, and Japan’s “progress” cleaning up the World’s worst civilian nuclear disaster.

Robert Humziker revisiting Fukushima in the second half.

But first, Karl Grossman and Earth’s nuclear envoy to Mars.

 

Chris Cook hosts Gorilla Radio, airing live every Thursday between 11-Noon Pacific Time. In Victoria at 101.9FM, and on the internet at: https://cfuv.ca. He also serves as a contributing editor to the web news site, http://www.pacificfreepress.com. Check out the GR blog at: http://gorillaradioblog.blogspot.com

Gorilla Radio Impeachment Special with Chris Cook, Dave Lindorff January 14, 2021

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Welcome back to Gorilla Radio’s Home Edition recorded on this date, January 14th, 2021.

Last night, the U.S. House of Representatives voted again to impeach outgoing president, Donald Trump. Only ten Republican legislators joined the majority Democrats to make Trump the first American president twice indicted by the House.

The next step is a trial in the Republican dominated Senate, which failed to convict the first time around. All this all comes in the wake of the January 6th storming of the Capitol by Trump supporters following a rally in which Trump reiterated his stolen election mantra, exhorting the crowd to “fight like Hell” to take back their government.

Dave Lindorff is an award-winning journalist, author, and founding member of the media collective, ThisCantBeHappening.net. Lindorff’s book titles include, ‘The Case for Impeachment: Legal Arguments for Removing President George W. Bush from Office’ and ‘This Can’t Be Happening! Resisting the Disintegration of American Democracy.’

Today, Dave Lindorff and will Donald Trump’s last stand take American democracy down with him?

Chris Cook hosts Gorilla Radio, airing live every Thursday between 11-Noon Pacific Time. In Victoria at 101.9FM, and on the internet at: https://cfuv.ca. He also serves as a contributing editor to the web news site, http://www.pacificfreepress.com. Check out the GR blog at: http://gorillaradioblog.blogspot.ca/

Gorilla Radio with Chris Cook, Marjorie Cohn January 11, 2021

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Welcome back to Gorilla Radio’s Home Edition recorded on this date, January 11th, 2021.

An astonishing week past in the United States ensured, if nothing else Donald Trump’s place in history is guaranteed. Democratic legislators have promised impeachment should the president not resign “imminently” rather than finish out the nine days left in his term; while others are calling for the invocation of the 25th amendment to have Mr. Trump forcibly removed. Either way, America finishes in 2021 where it began four years ago; a divided nation fighting over the legitimacy of its new leader.

Marjorie Cohn is professor emerita of law at the Thomas Jefferson School of Law, San Diego. A past president of the National Lawyers Guild, Cohn currently serves on the Bureau of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers, and writes, lectures, and provides legal clarity to local, national, and international media outlets when invited to do so. Her book titles include: ‘Drones and Targeted Killing’, ‘The United States and Torture’, and ‘Rules of Disengagement’.

Early in her career she worked with the International Association of Democratic Lawyers and participated in delegations to Cuba, Russia, and Yugoslavia.

Her writing can be found at her website, MarjorieCohn.com, and for more than two decades at Truthout.org, where her series, Human Rights, Global Wrongs chronicling the abuse of both people and the legal process has appeared since, 2014.

Today, Marjorie Cohn on the crisis of faith in American democracy and prospects of a second Trump impeachment.

Chris Cook hosts Gorilla Radio, airing live every Thursday between 11-Noon Pacific Time. In Victoria at 101.9FM, and on the internet at: https://cfuv.ca. He also serves as a contributing editor to the web news site, http://www.pacificfreepress.com. Check out the GR blog at: http://gorillaradioblog.blogspot.ca/