Tom Becker hosts this episode of the Old Mole which includes the following segments:
Empire: A few months ago, after Pres. Biden called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “killer,” Putin responded, “it takes one to know one,” which the international press applauded, because the rest of the world acknowledges the willful ignorance of most Americans to the long history of US interventions in elections, overthrowing democracies, and initiating or sustaining wars around the globe. Laurie Mercier speaks with award-winning foreign correspondent Stephen Kinzer about his corpus of work that traces in detail the history of US military and CIA interventions around the world, how the economic interests that drive the US empire divert resources that might be directed to eradicating poverty and other productive uses, and the robust tradition of American public opposition to these interventions.
Currently a Senior Fellow at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University and a world affairs columnist for The Boston Globe, Stephen Kinzer is the author of many books about US interventions, including his best-selling “Overthrow: America’s Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq,” and more recently “The True Flag” about the birth of American Empire. You can follow his work on Twitter and at stephenkinzer.com.
Heat and Work: The climate crisis is dramatically shaping the work environment for essential workers. As state leaders call Oregon's extreme heat waves and historic wildfires across the west "a harbinger of things to come," what can workers do to rise up and fight for worker safety and protection across industries? Sarah Chivers talks with Anthony Carter, an essential worker in Portland. He explains the demands and challenges of delivering essential goods to people over the past year during the pandemic in extreme heat with historic forest fires. They discuss necessary supports for workers, hazard pay, and existing local and federal policies that address the climate-risk for workers on the front lines.
Elections and the International Right: Bill Resnick speaks with Jo-Marie Burt of the Washington Office on Latin America about the ominous situation in Peru, where a right- wing party has refused to accept a national election defeat. After a bitter campaign, they adopted Trump's strategy and rhetoric, that the voting was fraudulent and that they won the election. They have also appealed to the army, which has considerable right wing leadership, to recognize their candidate as the new President. If this succeeds, and especially if the right takes over in the U.S., this could become the game plan of the international right: to annul elections, run countries in partnership with the army and police, and call for new elections only after rendering the left impotent. Bill and Jo-Marie Burt conclude discussing what can be done to defeat this strategy.
- KBOO