AEP 54 – On the roots of structural racism in Canada: On the Meng Wanzhou case, part 2

The roots of Canadian structural racism

Lord Elgin, who gave Canada Responsible Government, also burned the summer palace in China during the British Empire’s Opium War. 

Sir John A. MacDonald sung the glories of the Aryan Race from the floor the House of Commons in 1885. 

The poem “White Canada Forever” was aimed specifically at the supposed “Yellow Peril”. 

And apparently the claws of the panda have sunk into Canadian society? Dan tried to read all the Canadian media coverage about the case since the BC Supreme court judgement and couldn’t find anything of interest in it. 

In this episode we talk about the relationship between racism and propaganda in the past hundred years of Canadian history, and how understanding what Canada is can help you understand the Meng Wanzhou case unfolding today. Part 2 of the series on Meng Wanzhou.

AEP 53: The Kidnapping of Meng Wanzhou and what it reveals about how the world works. Part 1, with KJ Noh

The Kidnapping of Meng Wanzhou Part 1

An executive of one of China’s largest tech companies is detained in Canada accused of violating US sanctions against Iran. This story has many threads, and each one reveals something very important about our world. In Part 1, I talk to activist and writer KJ Noh about the BC Supreme Court’s decision to keep Meng Wanzhou imprisoned in Canada.

Looking back at the long month of May 2020

May 2020 is over.

May 2020 is over.

With the protests over George Floyd’s murder by police continuing to grow and expand, it is hard to even remember all of the other things that happened in May. A full month of pandemic. Another coup attempt in Venezuela and the arrival of an Iranian tanker there, followed by attempts by the US to close that door again, and more. 

I wanted to tell you of my plan to send a newsletter on a regular basis, maybe the 1st and 15th of the month, with a summary of all the stories we’ve been covering. If there’s an article, I’ll send it; if it’s podcasts, I’ll send those. In this one, there’s a few updates. 

The Path of the Unarmed continues to be updated on Wednesdays and Saturdays at Wattpad: 

https://www.wattpad.com/story/221959553-the-path-of-the-unarmed

In podcasting, Dave Power and I have kept going with the Civilizations Series – we’ve just wrapped up Episode 10 on the American Revolution – the whole series (1-10 so far) is here:

https://podur.org/tag/civilizations-series/

In the Anti-Empire Project we’ve done a pair on the green economy:

With Stan Cox on the Green New Deal
With Peter Victor on Managing Without Growth

A couple on Venezuela:

The Silvercorp coup attempt
The Iranian tanker arriving

And a great discussion about Frantz Fanon’s work with my colleague, Stefan Kipfer. 

Over on The Brief: Tracking the Empire:

We concluded our trilogy on India, discussing the crackdown in the lockdown. 
And talked about the Canada-Saudi arms deal, with Anthony Fenton. 

That’s about 10 hours right there, if you haven’t been keeping up, that’s enough for a binge. 

We’ll have plenty more for you by mid-June, with lots in the pipeline, including some more writings. 

Hope to hear from you, and my well-wishes to everyone struggling for justice out there in this moment of rebellion. 
 

Civilizations Series Episode 10: The American (Counter) Revolution

The American (Counter) Revolution

In world history, the American Revolution created a republic that continued slavery and expanded a continuous war against Indigenous nations in North America. We look at the British imperial geopolitics, the propaganda, and the history. Why wasn’t the American Revolution the inspiration that the French Revolution was? Special mention to two sources: John Grenier and Gerald Horne.

Civilizations Series Episode 9: Three Centuries of Power Politics (16th-18th)

Three centuries of power politics

From the Habsburg marriage alliances to the War of Spanish Succession, to the War of Jenkins’ Ear and the Seven Years War; to the Anarchy in India after Aurangzeb’s death and the founding of Afghanistan by Ahmad Shah Durrani. Some glimpses of three centuries of power politics in world history.

The Anti-Empire Project Episode 51: What is Ecological Economics? With Peter Victor.

Ecological Economics with Peter Victor

I talk to Ecological Economist Peter Victor, author of Managing Without Growth, about the idea of the economy taking place within a biological envelope, what is required for market prices to reflect value, and the pitfalls of the valuation of natural capital.

The Anti-Empire Project Episode 50: Iranian Tanker Arrives in Venezuela – quick reaction

Quick reaction to the Iranian tanker’s arrival in Venezuela

A quick 12 minute reaction as the first Iranian tanker (Fortune) arrives in Venezuela with gasoline to alleviate shortages there. Some notes on the cruelty of the US sanctions regime, on why an oil producing country like Venezuela needs gasoline (for now), and what is likely to happen next.

The Anti-Empire Project Episode 49: Beyond the Green New Deal, with Stan Cox

Beyond the Green New Deal with Stan Cox

I talk to Stan Cox about his new book, The Green New Deal and Beyond: Ending the Climate Emergency While We Still Can. We talk about the good aspects of the Green New Deal (especially the New Deal aspects), some of the assumptions that will have to be revised (that good fuels will automatically crowd out bad, that we can grow our way out of the emergency, etc.) and discuss some policies that could actually work.