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On May 13, 2022, the Ukrainian exile, Wlad Jachtchenko, interviewed the linguist, philosopher, historian, social critic, and analyst of US foreign policy, Prof. Noam Chomsky. Wlad Jachtchenko studied law, modern history and literature and holds degrees from Munich and Columbia University, New York City. After working for the United Nations and as lawyer in Munich, Wlad is now teaching public speaking and how to develop critical thinking. Here are excerpts from their conversation. You can find the full 48 minute interview on YouTube under the title: Noam Chomsky: War in Ukraine is “an insane experiment” by the US. DATE 2022/05/13

From the TUC Radio Archives, Feb. March 2015 – The New York Academy of Medicine In his 2013 book: Nuclear War and Environmental Catastrophe, Noam Chomsky warned that we are facing “two problems for our species survival — nuclear war and environmental catastrophe.” Up to this point in history problems caused by humans were regional. However just in the last few decades climate change and nuclear war have become a threat to all life. Chomsky was born in Philadelphia in 1928. He studied at the University of Pennsylvania where he received his PhD in linguistics in 1955. In 1967 he gained public attention for his vocal op2015position to U.S. involvement in the war on Vietnam and was arrested several times. [ . . . ] Read More

On April 19, 2022, the former CIA analyst Ray McGovern spoke in a talk sponsored by the Social Justice Forum, Raleigh. Excerpts on this program focus on nuclear weapons, the Maidan Coup, and the Minsk Agreement. McGovern’s CIA career began under President John F. Kennedy, and lasted through the presidency of George H.W. Bush. McGovern advised Henry Kissinger during the Richard Nixon administration. Under Ronald Reagan he chaired the National Intelligence Estimates and prepared the President’s Daily Brief.He received the Intelligence Commendation Medal at his retirement, returning it in 2006 to protest the CIA’s involvement in torture. McGovern had been invited by the Social Justice Forum, Raleigh, to fill in what was not talked about in the media regarding Ukraine. [ . . . ] Read More

Yanis Varoufakis taught economics in Britain, Australia, and his home town of Athens, Greece. In 2015 he became part of the Greek government. After his resignation he remained deeply involved in European politics. This is an interview by Steve Paikin on Canadian public TV, on April 21, 2022. Paikin is host of TVO’s Public Affairs program, The Agenda, and a well known documentary producer. Paikin also brought up the four hour documentary about Varoufakis just released in May 2022 under the title: In the Eye of the Storm: The Political Odyssey of Yanis Varoufakis. The filmmaker Raoul Martinez says: “In this documentary Varoufakis raises urgent questions about where our civilization is headed and how power works at the highest levels. [ . . . ] Read More

On April 20, 2022, the podcaster Katie Halper presented Richard Wolff, Professor of Economics Emeritus at UMassAmherst, and Visiting Professor at New School, New York City, with a very different view on Ukraine. How is the war affecting the status of the US as dominant Empire, and how will the sanctions on Russia change all global economic relations. This is an excerpt from a 45 minute presentation – beginning with the history of the world wars. Professor Richard Wolff is the author of several books including Democracy at Work, Understanding Marxism, and Capitalism Hits the Fan. He hosts the weekly radio program Economic Update. Thanks to podcaster Katie Halper for excerpts from her interview. She is a comedian, writer, filmmaker, and political commentator. [ . . . ] Read More

Our economic system assigns no value to peace and to the preservation of the environment Marilyn Waring’s work and intriguing life are described in a documentary film by Terre Nash. I’m bringing back the soundtrack of this film to support a debate on the unquestioned need for economic growth at all cost and on what course to take to end the war on Ukraine. At age 22 (in 1974) Marilyn Waring became the youngest member of the New Zealand Parliament. She chaired the prestigious Public Expenditures Committee and became familiar with the Gross Domestic Product system and decided to disclose its pathologies in a film, her teachings at AUT University in Auckland and really her life as a feminist economist. The film, [ . . . ] Read More

“This transition to a life sustaining culture is a revolution in the magnitude and scope of the agricultural revolution 10,000 years ago.” The Great Turning, Awakened Action Symposium On the Summer Solstice of 2020 Joanna Macy, from her home in Berkeley, spoke at the Upaya Zen Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The Buddhist monastery had called for Awakened Action and invited Women Leaders to Speak to Race, Poverty, Climate, and the Covid Pandemic. Joanna Macy is an eco-philosopher and a scholar of Buddhism, general systems theory, and deep ecology. Now in her very early nineties she has for decades helped transform despair and apathy into constructive change. As teacher, writer of eight books and antinuclear activist she has created [ . . . ] Read More

An interview by lay Buddhist practitioner Jo Confino Thich Nhat Hanh was a Vietnamese monk, peace activist, poet, author, teacher and an inspiration for engaged Buddhism. Called Thay for short, Thich Nhat Hanh was exiled from Vietnam in 1966 after expressing opposition to the war. A year later Martin Luther King nominated him for a Nobel Peace Prize. After a 39-year exile, Thay was permitted to visit Vietnam in 2005. He died on January 22, 2022. Joanna Macy has lived in the SF Bay area for much of her life. While I was living in the area as I never missed a chance to hear her and talk to her. What intrigued me most were her anti nuclear campaigns – her many [ . . . ] Read More

Neutrality or Membership? On January 10, 2022, the author, linguist, and historian Noam Chomsky addressed the question: Was Ukraine invited to become part of NATO – and who did the inviting and when. Chomsky speaks on the risk of Europe being subordinated to US NATO politics. After a lifetime teaching at MIT Chomsky is now Laureate Professor of Linguistics at the University of Arizona; and still active as philosopher, historian, and author. On March 3, 2022, John Mearsheimer spoke on the topic of Putin’s Invasion of Ukraine. NATO membership VS neutrality has become the most contested factor in the attempts to bring peace to Ukraine. However the history of the founding and subsequent expansion of NATO is [ . . . ] Read More

Varoufakis March 9 message to the «Peace Forum» and his response to radio host and YouTuber Russell Brand. This is a passionate appeal for peace by the former academic and Minister of Finance. After resigning from the Greek government in 2015 Yanis Varoufakis did not return to academia. He is now engaged in European politics as a visionary speaker, writer, and active participant. In February 2016, he launched the Democracy in Europe Movement and is active in the building, social justice and financial goal setting of the European Union and holds a parliamentary seat since July 2019. The first clip is Varoufakis’ message for peace in Ukraine to the Progressive International. Varoufakis records from his kitchen for the meeting on [ . . . ] Read More

In conversation with Marc Steiner on The Real News Network On March 4, 2022, Marc Steiner talked with Chris Hedges about the path that led to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and about the corporations that benefit from the expansion of NATO and the current war. The five largest weapons makers are all American. In first place Lockheed Martin – followed by Raytheon Technologies, Boeing, Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics. Chris Hedges is the former Middle East bureau chief of The New York Times, a Pulitzer Prize winner, and a columnist at ScheerPost. Marc Steiner came from FM Radio beginning in 1993. In 2018 he started The Marc Steiner Show on The Real News Network – where [ . . . ] Read More