Gorilla Radio with Chris Cook, Diana Johnstone, James Bissett December 17th, 2022

Welcome to Gorilla Radio, recorded December 17th, 2022.

Looking at Europe’s tattered union today it would be easy to mistake just who the target of America’s proxy war in Ukraine is. Germany, the continent’s economic engine, has sputtered through the last half year, its industrial base shuttered by gas shortages and soaring electricity costs. And yet, Germany’s political leaders are backing the broadening of a war ostensibly meant to send Russia back to its agrarian age roots; no matter the cost to its own citizenry. How to make sense of it?

Diana Johnstone is an author and journalist. Her book titles include ‘ From MAD to Madness: Inside Pentagon Nuclear War Planning,’ ‘Circle in the Darkness: Memoirs of a World Watcher,’ and ‘Fools’ Crusade: Yugoslavia, NATO and Western Delusion.’ Diana’s articles can be found at ConsortiumNews.com, where her recent piece, ‘The Specter of Germany is Rising‘ appears.


Diana Johnstone in the first half.

And; a major part of Germany and the EU’s expansion plans lay in the small and impoverished Western Balkan countries. Last month, European Union big wigs met in Albania for the ‘EU-Western Balkans Summit’. European Commission head, Ursula von der Leyen used the platform to express the EU’s “strong partnership” with the Balkans, saying, “…we are taking every opportunity to bring our regions and our people closer together.

But, togetherness is the last thing desired for Western Balkans neighbours Serbia and Kosovo – the latter hived out of Serbia during NATO’s war there in the nineties, and later recognized – in some quarters – as an independent state.

James Bissett is a former Canadian Ambassador whose tenure in Yugoslavia coincided with its 1991 dissolution. At century’s end, he was one of the very few government insiders to oppose NATO’s 78 day bombardment of Serbia in the name of “humanitarian intervention.”


James Bissett and flaws in the EU’s recipe for Balkan integration in the second half.

But first, Diana Johnstone and what Germany’s eastward attentions mean for Europe’s future.

Song: How Much is a Life Worth?

Artists: The Four Fathers

Chris Cook hosts Gorilla Radio, broad/webcasting since 1999. Check out the Archive at Gorilla-Radio.com, GRadio.Substack.com, and the GR blog at: https://gorillaradioblog.blogspot.com/

Gorilla Radio with Chris Cook, James Bissett, Ken Stone September 3, 2022

Welcome to Gorilla Radio, recorded September 3rd, 2022

In Serbia last week the drought-stricken Danube revealed the scuttled hulls of Hitler’s Black Sea fleet, sunk in hopes of slowing the Soviet advance west. Seventy-eight years later the potentially explosive hulks serve the perfect metaphor for both an increasingly volatile political situation in the “Western Balkans”, and as low-water mark in European East-West relations.

James Bissett is a former Canadian Ambassador whose tenure in Yugoslavia coincided with its 1991 dissolution. At century’s end, he was one of the very few government insiders to oppose NATO’s 78 day bombardment of Serbia in the name of “humanitarian intervention.”

James Bissett in the first half.

And; Europe’s economy has fallen victim to the war in Ukraine, and the destructive effects will likely supersede the financial sector before it’s done. The question begging to be asked now is whether that – highly predictable – outcome was merely collateral, or intentional.

Ken Stone is an executive member of both the Syria Solidarity Movement and Hamilton Coalition to Stop the War, who fought four-square the incarceration of Huawei executive, Meng Wanzhou, extradition efforts by the United States, and stand opposed to the odious AUKUS military pact threatening war with China in the Pacific. The Coalition’s website current features two excellent articles, by Moon of Alabama and economist Michael Hudson.

Ken Stone and addressing the aspect of the Ukraine war remaining sotto voce in the imperial presses, “Cui Bono?” in the second half.

But first, James Bissett and back to Kosovo to get a look at Ukraine’s future.

Chris Cook hosts Gorilla Radio, airing since 1999; in Victoria at 101.9FM, and on the internet at: cfuv.ca.  Check out the GR blog at: http://gorillaradioblog.blogspot.com/