Unauthorized Disclosure

Hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola welcome Margaret Kimberley, who is an editor and senior columnist for Black Agenda Report.

One of Kimberley's most recent pieces, which we discuss, is "Hybrid Warfare In Bolivia and Beyond."

Kimberley talks with us about how the United States empire navigates a citizenry that increasingly opposes deploying troops to intervene in countries and how propaganda seeps into our popular culture.

She explores how Democrats almost universally support American imperialism, along with Republicans, as well as the limits of liberal opposition to wars launched by the United States.

Kimberley comments on Bernie Sanders' foreign policy stances, including his latest comments on the coup in Bolivia.   

Later in the show, Kimberley highlights a piece she contributed to an anthology published by OR Books, "In Defense of Julian Assange." (It appears right after Kevin's contribution on WikiLeaks and Democrats.)

Direct download: S6E41_nonpatronedit.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:45am EDT

For this week's episode, Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola spend the full hour on the coup in Bolivia. The military and right-wing opposition forced President Evo Morales to resign after he won a fourth term.

The first half of the episode features Kevin Cashman, a senior associate for the Center for Economic Policy and Research (CEPR), who worked on a crucial report that analyzed the October 20 election returns and tallies. The analysis concluded there were no irregularities or fraud that affected the outcome.

As Cashman describes, the Organization for American States (OAS) put out a preliminary report that Western media relied upon to report there was "electoral fraud," when in fact it failed to prove there were “widespread or systematic irregularities."

The second half of the episode is spent highlight some of the figures who are seizing power through violence and the promotion of anti-indigenous hatred. The woman who appointed herself president of Bolivia, Jeanine Añez Chavez, believes indigenous ceremonies are "satanic." She is a religious zealot.

Luiz Fernando Camacho, as The Grayzone reported, is a Christian fascist. He stormed Morales' presidential palace. He held a Bible in his hand and a Bolivia flag in his other hand then pledged to purge the government of its native heritage.

Morales and several other government leaders from the Movement Toward Socialism Party were threatened and forced to resign. They managed to flee after Mexico agreed to grant them asylum.

In the final part of the show, Rania and Kevin recount how the United States Capitol Police showed up to Code Pink activist Medea Benjamin's home and attempted to arrest her for "assaulting" Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz at a press conference held to promote congressional support for the coup attempt in Venezuela. The police did not even know if the allegation against Medea was true or not, and they did not have a warrant.

Direct download: S6E40.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:03am EDT

Hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola welcome journalist Max Blumenthal back to the "Unauthorized Disclosure" weekly podcast.

Max is the editor of The Grayzone and co-host of the "Moderate Rebels" podcast.

In the first part of the interview, Max recounts how he was arrested by D.C. police essentially out of the blue. He was shackled and in jail for around two days before he was arraigned. He faces a charge of "simple assault" stemming from a baseless allegation from around five months ago when the Venezuela embassy in D.C. besieged by Venezuela opposition supporters.

Max talks about what unfolded in May of this year, as Code Pink and various other antiwar activists attempted to protect the embassy from being taken over by supporters of Juan Guaido, who mounted a coup attempt in Venezuela. He also describes the political cases that four embassy protectors face. They were arrested in a raid against a diplomatic building that violated the Vienna Convention.

Later in the show, Max and Rania talk about the familiar faction of people who enjoy seeing them attacked for engaging in journalism. They mention their recent trip to Syria and dissect the culture among reporters, who work for establishment media.

Direct download: S6E39.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:00am EDT

Hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola are joined by Renato Velez, a leftist academic in Chile. He has been involved in the protests and talks with us about how they were sparked.

Renato addresses the way in which the military police cracked down on demonstrations and highlights the ties that President Sebastian Pinera's administration has to the regime of Augusto Pinochet.

"This is the first time since the end of the dictatorship that the military has been involved in cracking down on protest. We haven't seen military on the streets after an earthquake or a natural disaster. But this is the first time that you have actual army cracking down on protesters," Renato states.

Later in the show, Renato describes the role of Chilean students in the uprising and their grievances against the neoliberal policies promoted by the government. He also details how people are pushing for a new constitution in the country. And Renato outlines how the government has responded to political developments in Venezuela (Juan Guaido) as well as Brazil (Jair Bolsonaro).

Direct download: S6E38.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:55am EDT

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