Tag: Macron

Gorilla Radio with Chris Cook, John Philpot, Pablo Ouziel April 19th, 2023

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Welcome to Gorilla Radio, recorded April 19th, 2023.

Last week, Russia placed sanctions on more than 300 Canadians, barring the mostly government apparatchiks and media personalities access to the country. It was, the Russian Foreign Ministry said, in hopes of “...encourag[ing] those on the black list to change their behaviour“.

Wide-ranging sanction policies – including those Canada aims at Russia and Eastern Ukraine – are now so common, (Canada alone sanctioning a couple dozen countries and thousands of individuals and entities) they threaten the World’s economic system. Or so argues the recently published book, ‘Sanctions: A Wrecking Ball in a Global Economy‘.

John Philpot is a Montreal-based defense attorney in International Criminal Law. Long active in Palestinian and African support organizations, and campaigns to free political prisoners, Meng Wanzhou and Alex Saab, Philpot is too an executive board member of Just Peace Advocates and the Sanctions Kill Coalition. John will be one of three speakers touring the Canadian book release, starting tonight in Hamilton.

(For Montreal event Webinar livestream link here.)

John Philpot in the first half.

And last week, France’s Constitutional Court allowed some of President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reforms, notably the most contentious one; an age eligibility rise. Organized Labour there – who’ve rallied tens of thousands into the streets against the move over the last month – vows now to bring in a General Strike on the Workers’ holiday, May Day.

Meanwhile, Macron’s address Monday was delivered to a cacophony of pots and pans – a regular cacerolada banging outside the walls of power – where the workers chanted, “If Macron won’t listen to us, we won’t listen to him!”
Dr. Pablo Ouziel is a PostDoc at the Université du Québec à Montréal whose area of study is The European Union: Political, Legal and Economic Integration from Above and Below, and Settler Colonialism and Canadian Society.

Pablo’s book, ‘Democracy Here and Now: The Exemplary Case of Spain‘ chronicles the birth of the M15 movement against draconian government “austerity” measures, and the rise of authoritarianism there and across the western world. Pablo divides his time between Montreal and his native Catalonia.

Pablo Ouziel and “Oui Emmanuel, Paris IS burning” in the second half.

But first, John Philpot and Sanctions: the Hegemon’s desperate bid to hold back the tides of change.

Song: Juan Carlos El Bobon

Artist: Pablo Hasel – Youtube

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: http://gorillaradioblog.blogspot.com/

Gorilla Radio with Chris Cook, Diana Johnstone, Ingmar Lee April 15th, 2023

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Welcome to Gorilla Radio, recorded April 15th, 2023.

The World is changing – fast! And, nowhere is that more evident perhaps than in Europe, where the political class has decided to ditch liberal democracy in favour of an authoritarianism not seen there in almost a century. Germany and France are leading the regression, with policies and actions that have brought the citizenry into the streets demanding the restoration of rights and freedoms – so far to no avail.

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, ‘Germans Down & Russians Out: Anti-War Views Criminalized in Germany‘ appears.

Diana Johnstone in the first half.

And; regardless of which level of government or party affiliation, the political process in Canada is incapable of preventing the rampaging destruction of what remains of the natural ecology here. Though the people say they want to protect and preserve the environment, what they’re offered from on high is silence, or worse yet, dismissive lip service. On Vancouver Island, this means the destruction of trees and ecosystems more ancient than human history.

Ingmar Lee is a long-time BC-based environment defender who describes himself as a “rotten, belligerent, iconoclastic, ungrateful, unrepentant, and unpleasant treehugger.” He’s has spent a life-time making enemies of the “greedhead political fraudsters, money-grubbing business leaders, spinmeisters and journalistic hacks” working in the service of rapine corporations and their captured legislators.

Ingmar’s latest article, ‘Voracious Industrial Logging Between Klaskish & Klaskino Inlet’ recalls just what’s being sacrificed and on whose altar.

Ingmar Lee and the destruction of the final forest frontiers in the second half.

But first, Diana Johnstone and a resounding echo of Europe’s political past ringing ominously in the streets of Berlin and Paris today.

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: http://gorillaradioblog.blogspot.com/

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

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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, Diana Johnstone, Mickey Z. August 13, 2022

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Welcome to Gorilla Radio, recorded August 13th, 2022

In early August the ‘Western Balkans Democracy and Prosperity Act’ was read into the record of the US Congress. Democratic Senator, Jeanne Shaheen introduced the bipartisan draft law, (and a second regarding sanctions as laid out in the Dayton Accords) saying the initiative was necessary because, “Russian President Vladimir Putin’s intentions to spread malignant influence throughout Eastern Europe are evident.” Shaheen also says the Act, if passed “…[P]aves the way for wider Euro-Atlantic integrations.” among other things.

More seasoned listeners may better recognize those “Western Balkans” as elements of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, (and Albania) collapsed in the 1990’s, and it’s largest remnant Serbia subsequently bombed into further balkanization by NATO in the so-named “Kosovo War” at the end of the last century.

Diana Johnstone is an author, former press secretary to the Green Group in the European Parliament, and journalist whose writings on Yugoslavia received recognition from Project Censored among others. Her books 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.

Diana Johnstone in the first half.

And; with the cooler evening’s promise of a change of season coming, I find myself thinking of the cycles of time; everything changing while remaining, in a sense, the same. If that sounds a little more mystic than the usual prattle here, chalk it up to the weather. As the wheel of fortune would have it, it’s been eight years to the day since I spoke last with my second guest – and in that time a lot has changed for both of us – and much too has remained the same.

Mickey Z. is a New York City born and bred activist, author, lecturer and martial artist who has the only-one-in-the-world distinction of having appeared in both a political anthology alongside Noam Chomsky, and featured in a Billy Banks karate film. Mickey Z.’s book titles include: ‘Darker Shade of Green,’ ‘Self-Defense for Radicals: A to Z Guide for Subversive Struggle,’ ‘CPR for Dummies,’ 50 American Revolutions You’re Not Supposed to Know: Reclaiming American Patriotism,’ ‘The Seven Deadly Spins: Exposing the Lies Behind War Propaganda,’ ‘Occupy This Book: Mickey Z. on Activism,’ and his latest, ‘Occupy These Photos: NYC Activism Through a Radical Lens.’ Mickey’s newsletter and podcast can be found these days at his SubStack.com site, Post-Woke.

Mickey Z. and learning the “art of intellectual self-defense” in the second half.

But first, Diana Johnstone and NATO’s Fools’ Crusade reprised in the Western Balkans.

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/

Song: Smoke and Mirrors
Artist: When Humans Had Wings

Please support Mickey’s Helping Homeless Women – NYC (my one-man project of nearly 6 years)