Unauthorized Disclosure

Hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola talk with Ollie Vargas, a reporter for Radio Kawsachun Coca who was in Bolivia to report on the election.

On October 18, Luis Arce of the Movement Toward Socialism Party won 55 percent of the vote against six candidates, avoided a runoff, and claimed victory over leaders of a coup that was backed by the United States.

This means Bolivians can begin to reclaim their country from right-wing extremists. They can end the violence that has run rampant against activists opposed to the regime, and eventually President Evo Morales will be able to return to the country.

In our interview, Ollie describes how the US-backed regime tried to shut down his outlet in Bolivia. He offers his reaction the election outcome and what lies ahead for Bolivians.

Ollie also addresses the neoliberal constraints that could still be imposed via an IMF loan that the coup government took out in April. He recounts how state projects aimed at ensuring Bolivia controlled its own resources (e.g. lithium) were suspended and contracts dissolved, which helped create conditions for a recession.

It was uncertain whether the regime would allow an election to take place, since they were going to lose. As Ollie makes clear, only by mobilizing the people were Bolivians able to take back their country.

Direct download: ollievargas_UD.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:26pm EDT

OPCW whistleblower Ian Henderson and former OPCW director José Bustani, who testified before the UN Security Council, were attacked by the United States, United Kingdom, France, and Germany during two UN Security Council meetings in which they provided testimony.

Bustani was blocked from reading his prepared statement on the OPCW's cover-up of what they uncovered when investigators examined the scene of an alleged chemical attack in Douma, Syria, in April 2018.

Henderson was accused of being part of a "disinformation exercise," even though he was personally involved as an investigator, and physicist Ted Postol and journalist Aaron Maté, host of "Pushback" and a contributor to The Grayzone, faced smears as well as they shared testimony.

For this week's episode, Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola talk with Aaron about what he experienced and his reaction to the attacks on Henderson and Bustani.

Aaron calls out U.S. media, in particular progressive media, that have totally ignored the OPCW scandal exposed by whistleblowers and WikiLeaks.

Later in the show, Kevin asks Rania and Aaron for their thoughts on the crisis at the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees Voice of America and other state media projects.

Employees there allege the Trump administration has politicized the organization and turned it into a propaganda outlet (even though that is what it always does—produce propaganda for the U.S. government).

We wonder when Facebook or Twitter will finally label VOA "US state-controlled media," given developments.

Direct download: aaronmate_UD.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:28am EDT

For this week's show, journalist Richard Medhurst, who was at the Old Bailey Criminal Courthouse to cover WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's extradition trial, joins Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola.

Richard shares his experience reporting on proceedings and why it was so important to him to be there in person to see what unfolded at the courthouse in September.

Since Richard and Kevin committed themselves to following the trial for four weeks (unlike numerous establishment and progressive media journalists), Rania asked them both to provide highlights from the extradition trial.

The conversation concludes with a conversation about the actions of United States empire that were effectively put on trial by Assange's legal team. They kept the focus on war crimes and torture committed by the U.S. government, which documents WikiLeaks published exposed.

And the legal team also detailed abuses of power and cruel conditions in U.S. prisons that should discourage any British court from allowing extradition, if they claim to uphold human rights.
Direct download: richardmedhurst_UD.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:16am EDT

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