Progressive Commentary Hour

CONVERSATIONS WITH REMARKABLE MINDS Understanding the coup in Turkey – and the history of CIA/US involvement with the Muslim Brotherhood and Islamic terrorism F. William Engdahl is an award winning geopolitical analyst, strategic risk consultant and author who specializes on the rise of the US as an international superpower. His writings deal with empire building through the roles of financial control of global banking, the food chain, medicine and bioengineering and energy, primarily oil. He holds a degree in politics from Princeton University and did graduate work in comparative economics at Stockholm University in Sweden. He has taught at Beijing University and lectured widely at business and economic institutions throughout the world including Russia, Turkey, London, Croatia and elsewhere. His articles appear in Global Research, New Eastern Outlook, Asia Times, Financial Sense and RT among others. William has written many important books, his latest being “The Lost Hegemon: Whom the Gods Would Destroy” which provides a history of the US intelligence’s relationship with the origins of Islamic terrorist and jihadi organizations and movements. His website is WilliamEngdahl.com

Gary discussed these 5 video clips plus news articles on Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton on NAFTA Why Hillary Clinton's War Record Matters Hillary Clinton lying for 13 minutes straight. SHOCKER! Clinton Caught by ABCNews ON CAMERA Pay-to-Play ?!! Nuclear Nightmare Megyn Kelly Exposes Huge Hillary Clinton Lie About Benghazi

Prof. Rebecca Gordon is a professor of political philosophy and theories of justice at the University of San Francisco where she is also associated with the school’s Leo McCarthy Center for Public Service and the Common Good. Through much of Rebecca's career she has worked in national and international peace and justice movements including the anti-apartheid movement in the US and South Africa; liberation struggles among the poor in Central America – much of 1984 living in the war zones of Nicaragua --, and anti-war efforts opposing the US’ invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq.   She is a founder of the Calfiornians for Justice, a statewide organization working on behalf of marginalized social, racial and ethnic groups.  Prof. Gordon holds a BA from Reed College and her doctorate in Ethics and Social Theory from Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. She has published several books dealing with conflicts in Central America, welfare reform, and the ethical issues concerning torture during the post 911 period. Her most recent book is “American Nuremberg: The Officials Who Should Stand Trial for Post 911 War Crimes.”  Her website is MainstreamingTorture.org

On "The Progressive Commentary Hour," Gary brings back a great guest, Danny Sheehan. Gary and Danny dig deep into who killed JFK and Robert Kennedy and Danny gives you the facts that no one else can. Here is a brief bio of Danny: Danny Sheehan is one of our nation’s most important and influential Constitutional and public interest lawyers.  During the past 45 years he has handled such public interest cases as the Pentagon Papers, the Watergate Break In, Iran Contra and the Silkwood murder case. He has represented victims of he Three Mile Island nuclear disaster and fought against the American Nazi Party on hate crimes. He is the founder of the Christic Institute and the Romero Institute, the latter being a nonprofit public policy center in Santa Cruz California. Danny has his law degree from Harvard University and later returned to study at the Harvard Divinity School. He is the author of “The People’s Advocate: The Life and Legal History of America’s Most Fearless Public Defense Lawyer,” and his websites are DanielPSheehan.com RomeroInstitute.org

On the "Progressive Commentary Hour," Gary speaks with Nicholas Schou and gets deep into the CIA's games and we learn more about Gary Webb and how the CIA has its claws in everything. Here is a bio of Nicholas. Enjoy. Nicholas Schou is an award winning investigative  journalist whose articles have resulted in the release from prison of wrongly convicted people.  He is currently the managing editor of OC Weekly, an alternative news publication in Southern California.  In the past he has written for LA Weekly, the San Francisco Bay Guardian and other publications. Nick is the author of the best seller “Kill the Messenger” about the CIA’s cocaine operations and the courageous investigative reporting of Gary Webb.  The book was made into a major movie featuring Jeremy Renner.  His most recent publication is “Spooked: How the CIA Manipulates the Media and Hoodwinks Hollywood,” which has received excellent reviews by Peter Dale Scott, whistle blower John Kiriakou, Oliver Stone and others. His websites are FocusFeatures.com and OCWeekly.com

Guest #1 - Derrick Jensen has become one of the nation’s leading voices of cultural and environmental dissent, who writes about civilization devastating impact upon the environment and the natural world, and our society’s denial of that fact. Utne Reader listed Derrick among the 50 visionaries changing the world. In sharp contrast to environmental optimists who believe working within the corporate system will offset the tenuous planetary balance threatened by climate change, Derrick has advocated for many years a “dismantling of civilization” which can include radical dissent as well as imparting wisdom to our children.  Derrick has written many books influential books. His recently released “The Myth of Human Supremacy” may be perhaps be one of his important that goes to heart of the rapid pace in environmental and ecological degradation. He also hosts a weekly radio program, Resistance Radio, on the Progressive Radio Network every Sunday evening at 6:00 pm Eastern time. His website is  www.DerrickJensen.org Guest #2 - Diana Beresford-Kroeger is an Irish-Canadian researcher, scientist and nature mystic who perhaps knows more about trees and forests than anyone in North America. She is an expert botanist  and medical biochemist who has written extensively on the molecular biology of trees, their medicinal properties, the social interactions between trees and other life forms in our forests, sustainable forestry, and the traditional wisdom trees hold for healing.  Her scientific work has appeared in The American Heart Journal and the Journal of Microscopy.  In past she has held science posts at the Canadian Department of Agriculture and the University of Ottawa School of Medicine.  Diana’s research gardens outside Ottawa, open to the public, include rare plants from Turkey, Iran, China, and a hundred rare types of trees from the northern forests and other countries, many that are endangered.  Her latest book, “The Sweetness of a Simple Life.” And a documentary on Diana’s work across many nations to restore forests, “The Call of the Forest” is scheduled to be released in Fall. More about her work can be found at StuartBernstein.com/DianaBeresford-Kroeger.html 

Abby Martin has rapidly become a leading international voice among young American journalists and television hosts.  She currently hosts the weekly investigative news program The Empire Files on the pan-Latin American network Telesur TV English out of Caracas Venezuela.  The program features hard hitting investigative history and insights into subjects ignored by mainstream corporate media. Earlier she was the host of Breaking the Set on the Russia Today network, better known as RT.  Abby is a founder of the organization Media Roots that supports citizen journalism, and serves on the board of the Media Freedom Foundation which manages Project Censored, which airs on the PRN network; and she also co-directed the film “99%: The Occupy Wall Street Collaboration.”  The Empire Files series can be viewed at TheEmpireFiles.tv, past Breaking the Set shows can be seen on Youtube, and her personal website as an accomplished visual artist is AbbyMartin.org

Conchita Sarnoff is the executive director of the Alliance to Rescue Victims of Trafficking, a non profit organization based in Washington DC with a mission to increase political and public awareness about human trafficking and child sex trafficking in particular. A large part of the organization’s work is rescue girls between the ages of 6 and 12 in North America. She broke the story in 2010 about billionaire Jeffrey Epstein’s pedophilia ring. She has been a contributor to the Financial Times, Latin America Herald Tribune, the Huffington Post, Daily Beast and other publications and has appeared as a television commentator on NBC, Fox, ABC, Russia TV among others. Conchita graduated from Columbia University with a degree in political science and received additional credentials from the Harvard Business School.  This month she published her book “Trafficking” – which takes a hard look at the underground of child sex trafficking and highlights the case of Jeffrey Epstein, a close confidante of Bill Clinton.  Her websites are ConchitaSarnoff.com and  ATRVT.org

On the "Progressive Commentary Hour," Gary talks about the European Union and what will happen if the TIPP comes to exist. Here is the full video for you to enjoy: BREXIT - The Full Movie. BREXIT, the movie is a feature-length documentary film to inspire as many people as possible to vote to LEAVE the EU in the June 23rd referendum. Gary plays two great clips from Noam Chosky and Yanis Varoufakis. Here is the info and links for them: VIDEO: Noam Chomsky on why TIPP is not a trade agreement - "Highly protectionist" and "for the benefit of private powers" VIDEO: Yanis Varoufakis on Hillary Clinton - Ex-Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis had a few choice things to say about Hillary Clinton. Video from Business Insider. Lastly on today's show, Gary talks to the great Greg Palast. Here is a brief bio of Greg: Greg Palast is a journalist’s journalist whose news breaking stories and investigations have appeared on BBC, the Guardian, Al-Jazeera, now Rolling Stone and others.  The Tribune in the UK has called Greg “the most important investigative journalist in our time.” Greg broke the stories of voter theft in Florida districts during the 2000 Bush-Gore election, BP’s corruption over the Deep Horizon catastrophe in the Gulf, the Bush administration’s secret pre-invasion plans to capture Iraq’s oil fields, and US’s attempted coups against Hugo Chavez. He has won many awards including the George Orwell award for Courage in Journalism. He holds an MBA in Finance from the University of Chicago and authored several books including “Billionaires and Ballot Bandits” and “Armed Madhouse” and “Vulture’s Picnic." He is currently making a new full feature documentary – the Best Democracy Money Can Buy. You can read Greg’s reports at GregPalast.com

Gary spoke for the whole hour with the great Professor, William Robinson. Here is a bio on him: Prof William Robinson is Professor of Sociology at the University of California at Santa Barbara. He is also the university’s faculty of Latin American Studies and in the Global and International Studies Program. He describes himself as a scholar-activist, who is deeply involved in American domestic and Third World struggles for social justice, popular empowerment of populations and participatory democracy and government.  His areas of focus include globalization, transnationalism, political economics, immigration and a variety of sociological issues. William received his graduate degrees from the University of New Mexico, and has published eight books, his latest being “Global Capitalism and the Crisis of Humanity.”  His website is SOC.UCSB.edu/Faculty/Robinson

Dr. Jill Stein is the 2016 presidential candidate for the Green Party and a strong advocate for greater third party representation in election campaigns and debates. Dr Stein is a medical physician of internal medicine and a pioneer in advocating environmental health issues in Massachusetts. During her presidential run in 2012, she received enough votes making her the most successful woman presidential candidate in US history. Dr. Stein is a Harvard magna cum laude and received her doctorate from Harvard Medical School. Over the years she has been active in Massachusetts campaigns to better protect women and children from toxic pollution that has been associated with earning disabilities.  She is also on the national board of directors of the organization Physicians for Social Responsibility favoring a national universal healthcare program and has won awards for her public health efforts in clean water policies and children’s health. Her website is Jill2016.com

Prof. Chris Shaw is an associate at the Tyndal Center for Climate Change Research and a Visiting Fellow at the Sussex Energy Group.  For the past decade he has researched climate change policies and climate communications, and has conducted research for the Environmental Change Institute, the University of Nottingham, Sussex University and the Institute of Development Studies.  Chris received his doctorate in global climate policy from the University of Sussex’s School of Law, Politics and Sociology.  He is the author of several books, the most recent being “The Two Degree Dangerous Limit for Climate Change,” which was published last October.  His website is DangerousLimits.org

Prof.  Laurence Shoup is a historian who has been researching the background and agendas of the Council on Foreign Relations for 40 years. He has taught history, social science and international relations at the University of Illinois, San Francisco State University and other institutions. For five decades Dr. Shoup has been active in human rights struggles, protesting the Vietnam War, marching with Martin Luther King and participating in the union movement. He holds degrees from California State University and a doctorate from Northwestern University.  He ran as a Green Party candidate in the city of Oakland and California state and has consulted for many nonprofit organizations.  Laurence has written five books, his most recent being “Wall Street’s Think Tank: The Council on Foreign Relations and the Empire of Neoliberal Geopolitics 1976-2014”  His website is www.LaurenceShoup.com 

Professor Henry Giroux holds the Global Television Network Chair of English and Cultural Studies at McMaster University in Ontario Canada. He was previously the Waterbury Chair Professor at Penn State University and Director of the Forum in Education and Cultural Studies.  Professor Giroux is a leader in the field of critical and public pedagogy which describes the nature of spectacle in our new media, body politic and corporate education.  He is a prominent advocate of radical democracy, which opposes the powers of neoliberalism, corporatism, and religious fundamentalism that diminishes our sense of civic virtue, free-thought and well being. He has also been named among the top fifty educational thinkers of the modern Period.  Henry has authored many books including “Disposable Futures” and more recently this month “America’s Addiction to Terrorism”.  His website is HenryAGiroux.com

Gary brought in Richard Gale to discuss these great clips from You Tube. Check them out if you can as well.1. Qaddafi tries to create new currency, the gold dinar. https://www.facebook.com/michael.teshome.583/videos/vb.100005074680077/503766363135849/?type=2theater2. NATO is continuing its barrage of the Libyan capital, with no sign there will be any let-up until Colonel Muammar Gaddafi goes. Western and Arab countries are showing their support for the Libyan opposition by pledging more money. The rebels say they need $3 billion over the next several months to pay salaries and buy supplies. Although the rebels have managed to get financing from their first oil exports to the US, writer and filmmaker Patrick Henningsen believes the oil business coming out of Libya is not the main driver of this NATO operation. -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUoOErVEVd03. Abby Martin interviews retired U.S. Army Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, former national security advisor to the Reagan administration, who spent years as an assistant to Secretary of State Colin Powell during both Bush administrations. Today, he is honest about the unfixable corruption inside the establishment and the corporate interests driving foreign policy. - http://robinwestenra.blogspot.com/2015/12/infixable-corruption-in-united-states.html?spref=fb4. From McCarthy to Trump, Edward R Murrow setting the moral record straight. A broadcaster to be proud of. - https://www.facebook.com/camanpour/videos/vb.262444655369/10156357246175370/?type=2theater