Tag: Chrystia Freeland

Gorilla Radio with Chris Cook, Yves Engler, Yves Smith July 16th, 2022

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Welcome to Gorilla Radio, recorded July 13th and 16th, 2022.

The late, and truly great, British playwright, Harold Pinter summed up the age in his 2005 Nobel Prize for Literature acceptance speech. Delivered dramatically via video stream – something not so common then – and at the height of America’s military demolition of Iraq . The terminally ill Pinter spent most of his thirty two and a half minute address addressing the profoundly ignorant state in which We the people exist, and how we blithely allow the horrors of our times be committed in our name. Who hearing that speech could forget his hoarsely stentorian remonstration of the Bush claque and its cowardly coalition’s willful crimes? “It never happened. Nothing ever happened. Even while it was happening it wasn’t happening. It didn’t matter.”

Seventeen years later, and millions killed, maimed, dispossessed and made desperate the lying and killing continues apace. Pinter would be unsurprised, because as he said then, for the powerful, “… it is essential that people remain in ignorance, that they live in ignorance of the truth, even the truth of their own lives.” And so it is in Canada today, as we march towards another global war, standing on guard in ignorance.

Yves Engler is a Montréal-based activist, and author of 12 books, mostly on Canadian foreign policy, including his latest, ‘Stand on Guard For Whom? A People’s History of the Canadian Military’. He’s also a prolific essayist whose many articles appear at numerous sites online, including at his website, YvesEngler.com, where his recent article, ‘Is It Time for Canada to Apologize to Libya?‘ appears.

Yves Engler in the first half.

And; what’s old is news again: Inflation, the economy’s nemesis so long thought slain has resurfaced, its dragon’s teeth popping up in balance sheets and union negotiation positions, and most scarily, ravishing family budgets the World over.

Yves Smith is a Harvard Business School grad, blogger, and author whose investment banking and management career has intersected all the biggest names on Wall Street. In late 2006, seeing the financial ice bergs on the horizon and frustrated by the “obvious under-reporting…of the risk in all credit instruments” she started Naked Capitalism in an effort to “promote critical thinking through the medium of a finance and economics blog.”

Her 2010 book, ‘ECONned: How Unenlightened Self Interest Undermined Democracy and Corrupted Capitalism‘ followed, dissecting the “obvious” and inevitable 2008 financial disaster and the dismal Obama administration reaction to it. Yves’ has also written articles for many major publications, appeared on US network television and alternative online news programs like The Real News, Democracy Now, and the now-banned RT.

Her recent article at Naked Capitalism, ‘The G-7 is Still Pushing Its Nutty Russia Oil Price Cap Idea‘ reveals how at sea the West is in what is rapidly emerging as a truly New (economic) World Order.

Yves Smith and the stark state of a capitalist system in crisis in the second half.

But first, Yves Engler and “the considerable bearing of the truth on where the World stands now“.

Chris Cook hosts Gorilla Radio, airing since 1998; in Victoria at 101.9FM, and on the internet at: cfuv.ca.  Check out the GR blog at: http://gorillaradioblog.blogspot.com/

Gorilla Radio with Chris Cook, John Helmer, Molly Murphy, Dr. Jen Gobby January 20th, 2022

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Welcome to Gorilla Radio, recorded January 15th and 16th, 2022

Last week, Russian and American diplomatic representatives met in Geneva for talks ostensibly aimed at forestalling an escalation of political manoeuvrings into open warfare over NATO expansion into states bordering Russia, and America’s demand Russia return military units standing at the ready on their frontier with Ukraine back to barracks. Different now to long ongoing diplomatic friction between the nations, is a palpable sense of surrender on the Russian side – that is, the apparent abandonment of the hope America and its allies are capable of a reasoned solution.

John Helmer is a journalist, author, broadcaster, former political advisor to government, and principal behind the news website, Dances with Bears. Among Helmer’s many books titles are, ‘The Lie That Shot Down MH-17’ ‘Skripal in Prison’, ‘The Man Who Knows Too Much About Russia’, ‘Hitler Didn’t Die in Berlin – He Moved to Melbourne Where He Runs the State Government of Victoria: A True Covid-19 Thriller’, and his latest, The Dances with Bears Comic Book’. His recent article, ‘Is Geneva 2022 Munich 1938 without Chamberlain’s Piece of Paper? How to Read the US Paper for Peace in Our Time‘ breaks down the current diplomatic breakdown.

John Helmer in the first half.

And; you may have noticed police in Canada look a lot like soldiers these days. Especially if you’re within an “exclusionary zone”. It’s a place where the police uniforms go green as the law goes grey, and where citizens opposing extractivist business as usual get the “insurgent” treatment.

Molly Murphy describes herself as “a front line activist, builder, settler, and mother of three“. She’s also a BIPOC social justice warrior who counted as one among the more than 1,200 citizens arrested at Fairy Creek, (just up the road from Victoria). She’s also co-author of the Mudgirls Manifesto, and author of the recent Briarpatch Magazine article, ‘The C-IRG: the resource extraction industry’s best ally‘.

The piece is a disturbing exposé of the RCMP practice of collusion with industry, and was produced in association with Research for the Front Lines, a new initiative, led by activist, researcher, educator and author, Dr. Jen Gobby. Research for the Front Lines “connects grassroots communities and organizers on the front lines of the fight for environmental and climate justice in Canada with researchers with skills, time, and labour to offer.”

C-IRG at Work, Fairy Creek Photo Colin Smith. Briarpatch

Jen Gobby and Molly Murphy taking to the Front Lines in the second half.

But first, John Helmer and another front line, between America and Russia.

Chris Cook hosts Gorilla Radio, and 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 with Chris Cook, John Helmer October 31, 2021

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Welcome to Gorilla Radio, recorded September 31st, 2021

November 1st marks the day Russia formally ends its diplomatic mission to the Western alliance’s military arm, NATO. Explaining the move, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the press, “[T]he basic conditions for common work no longer exist.” NATO spokesperson, Oana Lungescu called the break in relations regrettable, saying, “We have strengthened our deterrence and defence in response to Russia’s aggressive actions, while at the same time we remain open to dialogue…”

The break ostenisbly follows the expulsion again from Brussels of Russian diplomats accused of being spies, but is really the culmination of years of allegations and unfounded charges levelled against the country by the West in what amounts to a determined campaign of diplomatic and media warfare.

John Helmer is a journalist, author, broadcaster, former political advisor to government, and principal behind the news website, Dances with Bears. Among Helmer’s many books titles are, ‘The Lie That Shot Down MH-17’ ‘Skripal in Prison’, ‘The Man Who Knows Too Much About Russia’, ‘Hitler Didn’t Die in Berlin – He Moved to Melbourne Where He Runs the State Government of Victoria: A True Covid-19 Thriller’, and the just hot of the presses, ‘Complete Dances with Bears Comic Book’, a “true to life comic book coated in laughter, the only antidote certain to neutralize Novichok in your underpants, or a BUK rocket headed for your jetliner.”

Helmer’s recent article, ‘Little Boy & Fatman – The Two Info-War Bombs Dropped on Russia‘ chronicles the continued hard cover and paperback edition assault on the country.

Today, John Helmer and the media crusade keeping the New Cold War with Russia on ice.

Gorilla Radio with Chris Cook, John Helmer April 11th, 2021

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Welcome back to Gorilla Radio’s Home Edition, recorded  April 11th, 2021

China’s meteoric rise to the uppermost echelon of international affairs is but one of the signals of America’s declining global stature. Russia too is testing its influence, both on its borders and further afield. In the past few weeks, events in both the Baltic and east Asia offer evidence the country no longer feels constrained by the whims, wishes or wants of the United States and its “international community”.

In Myanmar, Russia has stepped in to quell U.S./ U.K efforts to use UN Security Council sanction and threats of intervention to bludgeon the military coup government there; and, in the Baltic the country’s relentless drive to finish the Nord Stream 2 pipeline marches on, despite being engaged in a bizarre cat and mouse game with an off-the-hook Polish fishing fleet who, in concert with the Polish military, seem intent on provoking an incident involving the nearly completed operation.

John Helmer is a journalist, author, broadcaster, former political advisor to government, and principal behind the news website, Dances with Bears. Among Helmer’s many books titles are, ‘The Lie That Shot Down MH-17’ ‘Skripal in Prison’, ‘The Man Who Knows Too Much About Russia’, and his latest, ‘Hitler Didn’t Die in Berlin – He Moved to Melbourne Where He Runs the State Government of Victoria: A True Covid-19 Thriller’. His latest articles examine Russia’s foreign policy tightrope walk on the political knife’s edge in Myanmar and Europe.

Today, John Helmer and RUSSIA, MYANMAR, and UKRAINE – BALANCING ON A KNIFE’S EDGE.

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