Our August 2022 dispatch with Stan Cox. Stan presents us this month with a discussion of the “Inflation Reduction Bill” – is climate change solved? Can Stan finally relax? We also get into a discussion of optimism and pessimism and which one is called for at this moment.
We take advantage of some new scholarship of New Zealand history (Keenan, Wars Without End; Belch, New Zealand Wars; Simons, Soldiers, Scouts and Spies) to give you a hopefully fresh look at the 19th century scramble for colonies in New Zealand, which took the form of British wars against the Maori. Also featured – comparisons … Continue reading "Scramble for Oceania 2: The Land Wars of New Zealand"
The fourth discussion with Stan Cox about his latest dispatch, “They’ll Show Up Armed – Countering Policy Murder and the Rising Violence of the Right”. We talk about a nonviolent march Stan participated in and a few of the historic movement debates about violence and nonviolence that we’ve seen over the decades. And we conclude … Continue reading "In Real Time with Stan Cox 4: A discussion of violence and policy murder"...
At the same time that the European empires were scrambling for Africa, they held a scramble in the Pacific. For the British Empire the base was Australia, and we begin with the scramble for Australia, the story of the theft of (another) continent beginning in 1788. Always was, always will be, aboriginal land.
The biggest player in the Scramble for Africa was England. Second place to France, third to Germany. But there were many other European powers at the Berlin Conference in 1884 and the plunder of Africa was shared among even the smallest of European countries. Who and how, in this episode of the Scramble for Africa.
In June 2022 a small activist group in Boston created mapliberation.org, a project mapping primarily policing institutions in Massechussetts and their connections to corporations, organizations, and politicians who are implicated in the prison-industry complex, in throwing people out of their homes to create investment opportunities, in grabbing Indigenous land, in colonizing Palestinian land, and other … Continue reading "AER 112: BDS Boston makes a map and chaos ensues"...
In September 1904 several Nama scouts slipped away from the Germans after the battle of Waterberg and the genocide of the Herero, to warn their leader, Hendrik Witbooi, of what the Germans were capable of. Hendrik Witbooi then called all the Nama leaders to war, a war where they used guerrilla tactics to confound the … Continue reading "Scramble for Africa 20: Germany (pt3) genocides the Nama, 1908"...
Colombia, in a run-off vote, elected Leftist ex-rebel Gustavo Petro to the presidency in a narrow, historic election. We are joined by Colombian doctor and political activist, MANUEL ROZENTAL. Justin Podur joins us for this roundtable on the impact of the elections in Colombia. This is a joint operation with The Anti-Empire Project and The … Continue reading "Gustavo Petro wins Colombia’s presidency – what next?"...
Stan Cox joins us for June’s dispatch of In Real Time. As he prepares to travel to Washington DC for a protest (the report on that will follow next dispatch) Stan actually talks to us about local struggles: Indigenous struggles against pipelines, and the remarkable story of the LA Bus Riders Union. All that and … Continue reading "In Real Time with Stan Cox 3: The People vs Petrocracy"
The devastating story of the Herero genocide, complete with von Trotha’s extermination order, Samuel Maharero’s resistance, the battle at the Waterberg, and the concentration camps at Swakopmund and elsewhere. We’re using Erichsen and Olusoga 2011, The Kaiser’s Holocaust: Germany’s Forgotten Genocide and the Colonial Roots of Nazism.
An update on the dynamic situation in Pakistan. Fan favorite Waqas Ahmad (@worqas on twitter) is back to talk about the massive march and nationwide protest of May 25 in Pakistan, which ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan called. Imran Khan called the protest off on May 26 in the face of escalation and repression, giving … Continue reading "AER 111: Imran Khan’s Long March in Pakistan"
Instalment 2 of our monthly discussion on environmental topics with Stan Cox – this week Justin talks about some problems with what he calls “western environmentalism”; then we go over Stan’s latest dispatch (which will be up May 16 at citylights.com/blog) about voter suppression and protest suppression and how it’s changing US politics.
We begin the story of Germany in the Scramble for Africa with the question: was Germany really as bad as their enemies say they were? (spoiler: worse) We talk about Bismarck’s reluctance to own colonies, about why he started to change his mind as Germany caught a growing colonial fever; we talk about the harrowing … Continue reading "Scramble for Africa 18: Germany in the Scramble pt1 – from Karl Peters to the war on Mkwawa and the Wahehe"...
In the latest episode of Kung Fu Yoga with Carl Zha, we talk about the bombing at Karachi University where a suicide bomber killed herself, three Chinese teachers, and a driver. The Baloch Liberation Army claims responsibility. We ask: what does bombing Chinese teachers in Karachi have to do with Baloch liberation? What is going … Continue reading "Anti Empire Radio 110: Karachi University Bombing – Balochistan and China"...
We start with a quick history of France’s theft of Congo-Brazzaville, centering on Brazza himself and ending with the Toque-Gaud Trial. Then on to the nearly early start of WWI – the Fashoda Crisis between Britain and France. Finally, we give the floor to Aime Cesaire to give us some commentary on what French colonialism … Continue reading "Scramble 17: Brazza, Fashoda, and Cesaire’s Discours – France in the Scramble concluded"...
The ouster of Imran Khan continues to play out. We’re asking: 1. Was it a coup? 2. How can we understand Imran Khan’s foreshortened time in government and his ruling coalition? 3. How important are these events for the people of Pakistan – are they just elite maneuvering or do they have deeper implications? 4. … Continue reading "AER 109: Imran Khan’s ouster in Pakistan – coup or reconfiguration of power?"...
Clickbait title aside, this episode continues to follow the French as they Scramble for Africa. In this case, how France managed to steal the enormous island of Madagascar from its powerful African rulers. We of necessity do tell the story of Queen Ranavalona, but also the outrageous deeds of the French military, the dastardly things … Continue reading "Scramble for Africa 16: Female Caligula DESTROYS Madagascar!"...
We have hatched a new plan for a series on the Anti-Empire Project, a monthly discussion of (mainly) environmental issues with Stan Cox. Stan is the author of quite a few environmental books and is going to be writing a monthly dispatch about US politics and environmental movements moving into the next US presidential election. … Continue reading "In Real Time with Stan Cox 1: The US environmental and political crisis"...
Was Imran Khan ousted in a US-backed regime change, or is Imran Khan crying conspiracy over a routine non-confidence vote? Was the memo real or exaggerated? Are the mass protests a sign of a cult-like following or a repudiation of a sleazy change of power? Was Imran Khan not a part of the very establishment … Continue reading "Anti-Empire Radio 108: Pakistan – I think it was a coup!"
A new youtube channel, the Cadre Journal, has been publishing hour-long in-depth interviews with Communist party activists and others on and largely from the Global South. I was happy to be invited on to talk to them about the history of the US in the DR Congo and Rwanda. Check out their channel – they’re … Continue reading "AER 107: Interviewed by the Cadre Journal about the DR Congo and Rwanda"...
In this episode France seizes the territories of the Tukolors (overthrowing Sultan Ahmadu), battles Samori Toure, and fights a long war with King Benanzin of Dahomey. Some observations about the differences between France’s notions of colonialism and those of the British, in whose footsteps the French colonizers hoped to follow.
More than a decade later it is well past time to look at how the Syrian Civil War really started – with a US-orchestrated regime change campaign with continuities going back to European colonialism and with continuous US regime change efforts against Syria from 1949 on. I’m talking with William Van Wagenen, who has written … Continue reading "Anti-Empire Radio 106: How the US started the war on Syria in 2011, with William van Wagenen"...
After a bit of comparing and contrasting French colonialism with the British type, Dave tells us about the French Foreign Legion; Then we’re on to a key piece in France’s Scramble for Africa, the theft of Tunis from the Bey, Muhammad Sadok. In the process, the French colonizers insisted they were saving Sadok Bey from … Continue reading "Scramble for Africa 14: France saves Sadok Bey of Tunis from a nonexistent threat and steals the country 1881"...
Talking to Gabriel Rockhill, professor and director of the Critical Theory Workshop. Ever wonder why the CIA thought it was worthwhile to sponsor European left-wing academic theories? We talk about Derrida, Foucault, Arendt, and why even if you think obscure academic theory isn’t important, you might be mistaken. Author or editor of nine books, Rockhill … Continue reading "AER 105: Are your favorite academic theorists really CIA spooks? With Gabriel Rockhill"...
We talked about France’s colonization of Algeria back in Civilizations Episode 15 (in August 2020). We revisit it now, as France’s entry point into the Scramble for Africa. Algeria was France’s template for colonizing Africa and many of the dynamics of France’s African colonial crimes can be seen developing in Algeria. We end up focusing … Continue reading "Scramble for Africa 13: France in the Scramble – the Algeria Precedent and Abdelkader’s Resistance"...
Using Dan Hicks’s 2020 book The Brutish Museums: The Benin Bronzes, Colonial Violence and Cultural Restitution, Justin tells the story of how the British destroyed Benin, stole their stuff, and put it in museums. It’s part of the story of the British Scramble for West Africa, but we give it its own episode to show … Continue reading "Scramble for Africa 12b: The British Sack Benin in 1897"
I interviewed Scott Ritter, former Marine, weapons inspector, and current author and writer about the war in Ukraine. We start with his experiences as a young member of the US military studying the Soviet Union and preparing for war with Russia; then talk about the surprises when he actually met Russians under conditions of detente. … Continue reading "AER 104: Will Ukraine be Putin’s Afghanistan? With Scott Ritter"...
I’m joined by AER’s favorite doctor Tarek Loubani and by another doctor (this time a doctor of history), Dorotea Gucciardo, a lecturer in the history of medicine. I ask Tarek why he believes vaccine mandates work; I ask Dorotea how, as a non-scientist, she evaluates medical information. Then we talk about the Ottawa convoy, which … Continue reading "AER 103: Vaccine Mandates and Dispersed Convoys"
We start this episode with a few minutes of reading reviews – from fans and not-fans! Perhaps this will inspire you to review us too. Then we’re on to the British Scrambling for West Africa. Some of the Africans who fought back, of course, notably Bai Bureh and Yaa Asentewaa. Lord Lugard’s ideas of the … Continue reading "Scramble for Africa 12: The British Scramble for West Africa"
Ben Norton of the new site multipolarista.com joins me to talk about a wide range of anti-imperialist topics, from Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin to Ortega and Maduro. We end up trying to figure out “patriotic socialism”, support for the “trucker convoy” (which is opposed by most truckers and which has very few truckers). Towards … Continue reading "AER 102: Are we in a multipolar world? And the trucker convoy, with Ben Norton"...
