Moderate Rebels

Nicaragua's Sandinista government has broken diplomatic ties with Taiwan and recognized the People's Republic of China. We discuss the historic decision and its huge geopolitical implications. A Chinese company plans to build an inter-oceanic canal in Nicaragua, to challenge the monopoly of the US-dominated Panama Canal.  And the same week, Nicaragua signed agreements strengthening ties with Russia and collaborating on nuclear energy projects. VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=EDADaUXL6kM

The United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) won the November 21 mega-elections in a landslide, getting more votes in 20 of 23 states and the capital Caracas. So the US government responded by trying to discredit the vote. Venezuelan journalist Diego Sequera speaks about the elections, the historic victory of the ruling party of President Nicolás Maduro, and Washington's attempt to de-legitimize the process. VIDEO: youtube.com/watch?v=p5ZrAMexvk8 Follow Diego on Twitter at twitter.com/QueraElse

Nicaraguan diplomat Michael Campbell Hooker speaks with Ben Norton about why they are leaving the Organization of American States (OAS), which he says is a “failed,” “coup-plotting” organization dominated by Washington. Campbell also responds to US attempts to discredit Nicaragua’s November elections, and explains the importance of autonomy for Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities on the Caribbean Coast. VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=DTRODfuRp6o TRANSCRIPT: https://thegrayzone.com/2021/11/21/nicaragua-leaving-oas-elections

Max Blumenthal and Ben Norton discuss Washington's new hybrid war on Nicaragua's Sandinista government, the US/EU/OAS refusing to recognize the election results, Congress passing the RENACER Act, and Biden imposing sanctions. We speak with British journalist Steve Sweeney of the newspaper Morning Star, who was due to travel to Nicaragua to observe the election, but was detained in Mexico in mysterious circumstances. Follow Steve on Twitter at twitter.com/SweeneySteve Read Ben's report from inside Nicaragua's elections: thegrayzone.com/2021/11/11/nicaragua-2021-elections

Max Blumenthal and Ben Norton speak with Stella Moris, the fiancée of imprisoned WikiLeaks journalist Julian Assange, about CIA threats, the appeal hearings in the US extradition case, and how this scandal threatens freedom of the press around the world.

Remember Russiagate claims of "Kremlin meddling"? Well, the US government is blatantly interfering in Nicaragua's elections. Ben Norton and Max Blumenthal discuss how, mere days before Nicaragua's November 7 elections, Meta/Facebook/Instagram, Twitter, and Google/YouTube purged thousands of pro-Sandinista journalists, activists, and media outlets. Meanwhile, the US Congress voted for more crushing sanctions. We address the gaping holes in Facebook's bogus report falsely claiming the Sandinistas it purged were "government-run troll accounts," which was written by former Pentagon-funded NATO press officer Ben Nimmo, a symbol of how social media corporations have effectively merged with the US government. Read Ben's report "Meet the Nicaraguans Facebook falsely branded bots and censored days before elections" here: thegrayzone.com/2021/11/02/facebook-twitter-purge-sandinista-nicaragua

Ben Norton speaks with Ángel Rodríguez Rivera, president of the Puerto Rican Association of University Professors, about the devastating neoliberal economic policies forced on Puerto Rico. Washington imposed an unelected fiscal control board, called the junta, to control Puerto Rico's finances. Now it is pushing through so-called "debt restructuring," in law PC1003, that will slash social benefits, defund public universities, and crush working-class people in order to pay off foreign corporate debt vultures. Meanwhile, the US-imposed privatization of Puerto Rico's electrical grid in a neoliberal public-private partnership has caused chronic blackouts, while executives at LUMA Energy make huge salaries.

Max Blumenthal and Ben Norton speak with economist Michael Hudson about his book "Super Imperialism: The Economic Strategy of American Empire." Professor Hudson just published a 3rd edition that updates his analysis for the 21st century, discussing the new cold war on China and Russia and the ongoing transition from a US dollar-dominated financialized system to a "multipolar de-dollarized economy." VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=Uiz934HVZjY Michael Hudson's website: michael-hudson.com

Max Blumenthal and Ben Norton discuss the Pandora Papers, how zero US politicians or oligarchs were implicated, and the CIA's growing use of "hack-and-dump" operations. The group behind the Pandora and Panama Papers, the ICIJ, is the anti-WikiLeaks. It is funded by regime-change organizations and billionaires, while working with US government front groups. We show how the Washington is increasingly weaponizing so-called "anti-corruption" efforts against Official Enemies as a form of lawfare (judicial warfare) and hybrid war.

Max Blumenthal and Ben Norton discuss shady Facebook "whistleblower" Frances Haugen and how her testimony only helps US spy agencies, justifying further government censorship while demonizing Washington's Official Enemies, from China to Iran, Myanmar to Ethiopia. VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=ilOl9bLfFgc

Max Blumenthal and Ben Norton discuss the CIA's plot to assassinate or kidnap WikiLeaks journalist Julian Assange, which was first reported by The Grayzone in 2020.

Max Blumenthal and Ben Norton discuss the absurd media propaganda about "Havana Syndrome," claiming without any evidence that Cuba, Russia, China, Vietnam, and Official Enemies of the US government are supposedly attacking CIA spies with microwave energy, or sonic weapons, or ray guns, or... something. In reality, scientists say it is most likely psychogenic, or psychological, a kind of mass hysteria for coup-plotting spooks.

Ben Norton analyzes the lies and misleading claims in US President Joe Biden's speech at the United Nations, and shows how the corporate media coverage is very misleading. VIDEO: https://rokfin.com/post/53970/Bidens-UN-speech-shows-further-US-commitment-to-war-and-meddling-not-diplomacy

Ben Norton speaks with journalist Brian Mier of independent news website Brasil Wire about the fascistic Jair Bolsonaro government in Brazil, the far-right's attacks on democracy, and the rumors of plans for a military coup to prevent popular leftist former president Lula da Silva from returning to power in the 2022 elections. VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=BiVixfNIfSs Check out Brasil Wire: https://brasilwire.com Follow Brian on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrianMteleSUR

Max Blumenthal and Ben Norton discuss the 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks with Professor Asad Abukhalil, and the millions of victims of the "War on Terror." We speak about US imperialism's constant meddling in the Middle East, and Washington's hybrid wars on Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen, and more. We also addressed how Bush-era neocons have been rehabilitated by and even merged with the Democratic Party and liberal "humanitarian interventionists." VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=Oca3UvG2HPA