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Archive 16: 2023

Shows Available from Pirate Television

Pirate Television television program formerly syndicated on Free Speech TV. Although Pirate TV and Free Speech TV have parted ways. I'm going to continue to keep the website and YouTube channel open and will continue to post content from time to time. 

Starting television broadcasts in 1996, Pirate TV challenges the Media Blockade by bringing you alternative information and independent programming that is unavailable on the Corporate Sponsor-Ship.  The show features talks, interviews and documentaries.  The purpose of Pirate TV is to put back what corporate media filter out.

Some of the material seen on Pirate TV is obtained from other sources but much of it is locally produced and owned by us.  We are offering to sell copies of this material to support the operation.  If you would like to support the Pirate Television project you can obtain a copy of any of these discs for a $20 donation (includes postage) in advance.  Many shows more than 10 years old were uploaded to the server as WMV files.  Due to the outragious cost of storing these, I have had to remove them from the server.  So if you click on the thumbnail and get "File Not Found", you can copy the show name and search on Archive.org. It might be there.  If not, I will send you the WMV file by email for $2.00.  To obtain media, contact me by email:

Donations are always welcome.

The PayPal account is the same as the email address: PirateTVSeattle(at)gmail.com

Snail mail: Ed Mays, 308 E Republican # 708, Seattle, WA 98102

Phone: 206 370 9843

Shows are listed in reverse chronological order:

Tim Schwab: The Bill Gates Problem: Reckoning with the Myth of the Good Billionaire TRT: 1:28 Recorded 12/6/23
Tim Schwab: The Bill Gates Problem: Reckoning with the Myth of the Good Billionaire

Event hosted by Community Alliance for Global Justice/AGRA Watch and Town Hall Seattle on December 6, 2023.

In his new book The Bill Gates Problem: Reckoning with the Myth of the Good Billionaire, investigative journalist Tim Schwab finds that Bill Gates brings the same monopoly ethos he exercised at Microsoft to his philanthropic career at the Gates Foundation. Schwab argues that while Gates may be well-meaning as a philanthropist, he is helping people the only way he knows how: by taking control, often in ways that hurt the very people he aims to help. The Gates Foundation presents a stunning display of undemocratic power by a tech billionaire that is more oligarchy than charity----and that must be challenged.

Speakers: Ashley Fent, AGRA Watch researcher

Jesse Hagopian, Public educator and a leader of the movement to resist standardized testing

Steve Gloyd, Physician and faculty, UW Department of Global Health

Take action! Hold Gates accountable and fight billionaires’ hoarding of wealth https://cagj.org/take-action/

Thanks to Town Hall Seattle [www.townhallseattle.org]

Liz Olivia Fernandez: Inside Biden's Cuba Policy TRT: 55:00 Recorded 11/16/23
Liz Olivia Fernandez: Inside Biden’s Cuba Policy

Cuban independent journalist and filmmaker Liz Olivia Fernandez was finishing up a national tour of the United States and was in Seattle on November 16th 2023 where this recording was made. Pirate TV viewers may remember Liz as the central character and narrator of the Belly of the Beast documentary film series: War on Cuba. The event was presented by LELO [Legacy of Equality, Leadership and Organizing], the Washington State Labor Council and Women United for Peace and Justice.

The event opened with an introduction by LELO activist and organizer Cindy Domingo. After the introductions, the latest documentary from Belly of the Beast titled, Uphill on the Hill was played. We are sorry we can't bring you that now because it hasn't been released yet. It features Liz's quest in Washington DC to get to the root of the US government's Cold War era policy towards Cuba and expose the political interests behind it. A rousing discussion followed between Liz and the roomful of seasoned Cuba activists. Keep an eye out for Uphill on the Hill when it is released. In the meantime, enjoy this rare opportunity to meet Liz.

See Also: Pirate TV interview with Belly of the Beast director, Reed Lindsay and season one of War On Cuba: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFXFpUatAb8

Watch Uphill on the Hill when it comes out and the extraordinary investigative journalism of season two of War on Cuba as well as all other documentaries on the Billy of the Beast website: https://www.bellyofthebeastcuba.com/

John Bonifaz: We Are Not Giving Up on Democracy! TRT: 3:00 Recorded 8/7/23
John Bonifaz: We Are Not Giving Up on Democracy!

The United States never was a very democratic democracy in the first place. The word democracy comes from the Greek root words “Demos” meaning people and “Kratia” meaning rule. Is there somebody who actually believes the people rule this country? But what meager democracy there is has been under relentless attack from all angles over the last 40 years. Many people have given up on democracy. However, there are people who refuse to give in and due to the tireless organizing of Fix Democracy First and a broad coalition of activist organizations, Washington state now has the best voting system in the country. The list of democracy reforms passed by this coalition in the last 20 years is truly astonishing. Cindy Black, president of Fix Democracy First gives us the rundown, but first we hear from John Bonifaz who gave the keynote address. This show was taped at the FDF 20th anniversary celebration September 9th 2023.

John Bonifaz is a constitutional attorney and the co-founder and president of Free Speech for People. Mr. Bonifaz previously served as the executive director and general counsel of the National Voting Rights Institute, an organization he founded in 1994, and as the legal director of Voter Action, a national election integrity organization. He has been at the forefront of key voting rights and democracy campaigns in the United States for more than three decades.

Thanks to Fix Democracy First.

David Wasdell: The Positive Feedback Crisis in Global Climate Change
From the Archives: 
David Wasdell: 
Positive Feedback Crisis in Global  Climate Change

Update: This program was originally broadcast in 2007 around the time I first started posting and storing Pirate TV shows online. I think it's one of the most important shows I ever made. Feedback dynamics is the most important and terrifying aspect of climate change and David Wasdell is one of the preeminent experts. To this day you almost never hear about it and most people have never heard of it. I have stayed in touch with David Wasdell over the years. His prediction about runaway climate change was off and he admitted it as soon as they discovered it. According to him they miscalculated the forcing from water vapor. While climate change is horrific enough, we have not crossed the tipping point into runaway climate change. However pretty much everything he's talking about here in regards to feedback dynamics are right on the money including the very eminent possibility of a breakdown of the thermohaline circulation. Recent reports suggest that Antarctic global thermohaline circulation has decreased by 30% and some parts may have stopped altogether. I was recently searching for old WMV files when this file popped up. I have decided to share it with you.

Original write up from 2007:

At the prestigious April 6th Kistler Book Award Ceremony, organized by Seattle's Foundation for the Future, David Wasdell (Director of the Meridian Programme) was introduced as the world's leading authority on the feedback dynamics of climate change. This program is based on the opening keynote presentation he gave the next morning, to the 'Crossroads for Planet Earth' workshop attended by a group of distinguished scholars and scientists also convened by the Foundation for the Future.

Feedback dynamics concern previously little understood climate mechanisms triggered by global warming which feed back upon themselves accelerating the process and eventually causing runaway global warming. David Wasdell explains that there are 6 categories of feedback mechanisms. Almost all earth’s systems known to effect climate change are now in a state of positive feedback. Because we have squandered the last 20 years, we have already passed the point whereby global climate change can be avoided. What this new information means is: If we don’t take drastic action to save the planet immediately we will soon reach a “tipping point” whereby nothing can stop runaway global warming and there will ensue a mass extinction event the likes of which has only happened 5 times in Earth’s history. The only thing likely to survive will be moss and we are going to suffer greatly on the way out. For those who say: “That’s too depressing to think about”, I say: Just think how depressed you’re going to be when it’s too late to do anything about it.

Although it’s too late to stop climate change, it can be mitigated until it eventually turns around and there is still time to stop absolute catastrophe, but not much. To those who say: “Sounds like science fiction to me, I didn’t see this on my TV so it must not be true”, I say, you will, but I wouldn’t expect anyone reading this to actually believe their corporate TV would tell them anything important so enough said. However, Time just did a whole issue on this subject last month- “Be worried. Be very worried.” See: http://www.energybulletin.net/14616.html.

To those who say: “This corporate regime is so corrupt there’s not a chance that we will be able to turn things around in time so we might as well accept that we’ve had it”, I say that it is only inevitable that there will be a massive last ditch effort to save the planet at some point or other. The question is: Will it be too little too late and what will Halliburton and Exxon’s cut be? But seriously, you would be surprised what can happen when you realize that your back is against the wall. One need only remember the Roosevelt era. The President halted auto production by decree, ordered massive armaments production, instituted universal rationing, and mobilized the entire country. So you think this crisis is less serious than the bombing of Pearl Harbor? Check out the attack on New Orleans. That was just the first hit. Hurricane seasons are going to get progressively more catastrophic from here on out. What’s worse, there is a whole arsenal of other weapons aimed at us. Or more accurately- that we are aiming at ourselves.

First we need to educate ourselves, then we need to wise up our political leaders, if they can’t be wised up, then we need to replace them fast. As David Wasdell points out, every day that we delay increases the monumental task at hand. I spoke to Sen. Maria Cantwell last week. I thanked her for her work on the environment and asked her if she had heard about the feedback crisis. She said she hadn’t. That’s what I’m talking about.
Originally broadcast May 8th 2007
Thanks to the Foundation for the Future www.futurefoundation.org See also: www.meridian.org.uk

Bangor Gate Action Blockade TRT: 3:00 Recorded 8/7/23
Bangor Gate Action Blockade

Each year, activists at the Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action adjacent to the nuclear submarine base at Bangor commemorate the dropping of atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki by holding a weekend of remembrance. This consists of keynote talks, nonviolence training and entertainment. The weekend culminates with a civil disobedience action and the blocking of the entrance to the submarine base. Pirate TV was there and we compiled this short three minute video.

Ann Wright: Save the Planet, Abolish Nuclear Weapons TRT: 57:30 Recorded 8/5/23
Ann Wright: Save the Planet, Abolish Nuclear Weapons

Col. Anne Wright (ret.) gave this keynote talk at the annual Hiroshima - Nagasaki Weekend of Remembrance and Action. The event is held each year at the Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action in Poulsbo Washington adjacent to the Bangor nuclear submarine base which houses the largest stockpile of deployed nuclear weapons in the world. Colonel Wright gave an update on the summer of peace actions in Europe, Asia and the US. Recorded 8/5/23

Voyage of the Phoenix
Voyage of the Phoenix

Many thanks to John Braxton who hosted Me, Helen Jaccard, and Gerry Condon, the support crew of the Golden Rule while we were in Philadelphia. John was a crew member on one of the protest voyages of the Phoenix of Hiroshima when they set sail to Vietnam with a boatload of medical supplies. He recounted his story in the interview I did, "Tales of the Phoenix". John also played this old video for us which he loaned me so that I could take it back to Seattle, digitize it and post it. It garnered no copyright strikes. Apparently it has long been in the public domain. I can find it nowhere on the Internet. Well, now you can. Like the voyage of the Golden Rule and the courageous crew members, the history of the Phoenix is an important chapter of the Anti War movement that should not be erased.

The Golden Rule Family,  recorded 5/23/23
The Golden Rule Family 5/23/23

On May 23rd, 2023 several family members of the original four-man crew of the Golden Rule took a trip around New York Harbor aboard the historic ship. It was the same Golden Rule (restored by Veterans for Peace) that set sail in 1958 from San Pedro (California) with the intent to reach Eniwetok in the Marshall Islands to block a hydrogen bomb test. This historic journey eventually resulted five years later in the Test Ban Treaty of 1963 that ended atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons.

On board this "reunion" voyage were Alan Willoughby, son of George Willoughby, Larry Huntington nephew of Bill Huntington, and Susan Schnall Current President of Veterans for Peace who was tried and found guilty by general court martial for anti-war activism in 1969.

Later that evening a large crowd including these and several other key figures related to that fateful voyage converged at the historic Friends Seminary, in Manhattan (itself a place that spawned much of the organizing) to discuss and recollect the the people and events that led up to that historic voyage and their legacy of activism.

Thanks to NYC War Resisters League and Peace & Social Justice Committee of the 15th Street Meeting [Friends Siminary].


Communities fight back against military toxins,  recorded 5/19/23
Communities fight back against military toxins9/23

The Golden Rule set sail with activists from different environmental groups to Newark Bay up toward the Passaic River and Hackensack River entranceways to see industry toxic pollution sites such as the former Agent Orange facility . Along the way the activists fill us in about the issues that these environmentalists and communities have been working on, and why. In this video we hear from:
*JV Valladolid- Environmental Justice Organizer, Ironbound Community Corporation
*Hugh Carola- Program Director, Hackensack Riverkeeper
*Paula Rogovin - Coalition to Ban Unsafe Oil Trains, Don’t Gas the Meadowlands, Teaneck Peace Justice Vigil and
*Terry Fitzgibbons - Veterans For Peace Chapter 21 N. New Jersey
Recorded 5/19/23


David Swanson: Rally at Liberty Park,  recorded 5/20/23
David Swanson: Rally at Liberty Park 5/13/23

David Swanson From World Beyond War joined us on the Golden Rule for the ride over from Manhattan to Friends of Liberty Park where we were met by an enthusiastic crowd in spite of the pouring rain. David gave this talk. Recorded 5/20/23


Dean Naujoks: A Conversation with the Riverkeeper,  recorded 5/8/23
Dean Naujoks: A Conversation with the Riverkeeper 5/13/23

The Golden Rule is the original environmental peace ship. This all started in 1958 when a group of Quaker activists set off for the Marshall Islands to try to intercede and block the hydrogen bomb tests. The crew was arrested in Hawaii when they stopped to refuel. The voyage of the Golden Rule was well publicized as was the arrest of the crew. This arrest didn't sit so well with the captain of another ship, the Phoenix of Hiroshima that was birthed nearby. And so the Phoenix set off to try to complete the mission and sail to the Marshall Islands. The ship was also intercepted and the crew arrested. But the large amount of publicity generated by these actions helped to focus the attention of a wary public on nuclear testing in the atmosphere and lead to the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in 1963 which banned atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons. This was also the impetus for the creation of Greenpeace in 1971. The first Greenpeace voyage to Amchitka in the Aleutian Islands was also to try and stop a U.S. nuclear weapons test.
As the Golden Rule sails up the Eastern Seaboard we have been documenting the large scale toxic contamination generated by the military with the help of investigative journalist Pat Elder, of militarypoisons.org. We have arranged this conversation between Pat and Dean Naujoks of the Riverkeepers Network to give us an update on the waste sites on the Potomac and fill us in on current lawsuits that the Riverkeepers Network is pursuing. 
Recorded 5/8/23

John Braxton: Tales of the Phoenix,  recorded 5/13/23
John Braxton: Tales of the Phoenix 5/13/23

In 1958 the Golden Rule embarked on it's historic voyage to sail into the nuclear test zone in the Marshall Islands in order to protest and stop nuclear testing in the atmosphere. The mission was cut short and the crew arrested in Honolulu. However, there was another ship that was birthed nearby which took up the mission to sail into the testing zone. This was the Phoenix of Hiroshima captained by Dr. Earle L. Reynolds who had been sailing around the world with his family. Dr. Reynolds was an anthropologist who had been studying effects of radiation on the surviving children of Hiroshima for the National Academy of Sciences. The journey also ended with his arrest inside the test zone but the publicity and public outcry resulting from the arrest and trials of the crews of these two ships eventually led to the end of atmospheric testing with Partial Test Ban Treaty of 1963.
The Phoenix was subsequently declared a national shrine by the Japanese government, but this wasn't the end of the Phoenix voyages for peace. The Phoenix sailed to protest Soviet nuclear tests in 1961 and made several trips to North Vietnam and China in 1967–1968. John Braxton who was a crew member on one of these trips to Vietnam recounts the story in this video. In 2010 the Phoenix sank in 25 feet of water In Northern California. 
Recorded 5/13/23

The Toxic Legacy of Militarism on the Eastern Seaboard,  recorded 5/13/23
The Toxic Legacy of Militarism on the Eastern Seaboard 5/13/23

The Golden Rule sailed up the Eastern seaboard past some of the most toxic areas in the United States. These toxic sites on the Chesapeake Bay and Potomac River are a result of more than a century of military activities that poison the land and water and bio-accumulates in the fish and other wildlife. The Potomac River is used as a "firing range" by the US military, resulting in heavy metal, chemical and radioactive contamination. The military also dumped huge quantities of PFAs into the watershed and ground water. PFAs were used as engine cleaners and fire fighting foam.

The military took over territory of the Piscataway and other indigenous peoples, destroying their land, water, ability to eat the food, and live off of the land - which has a huge impact on their culture.

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States and comprises one of the most productive fisheries. Few people realize the extent to which the fish is toxic, so they eat the fish. When this harm to the US public is taken into account, it can be argued that the greatest danger to the US public by far is not Venezuela, Cuba, Russia or China but the US military itself.

Investigative journalist Pat Elder joined us at several locations to give us the lowdown. Pat is a peace and environmental activist and the director of Military Poisons. He ran for Congress on the Green Party ticket in Southern Maryland. See also: https://www.militarypoisons.org/

Recorded in several locations during April and May 2023.

Philadelphia Welcome,  recorded 5/9/23
Philadelphia Welcome 5/9/23

From the Philadelphia Inquirer: "A fully restored, 65-year-old peace boat arrived on the Delaware River waterfront Tuesday, midway along a 15-month voyage around the eastern half of the country. The boat is making 100 ports of call to support local peace initiatives and press the U.S. government to join the 86 countries that have either signed or ratified the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. ..."Local peace activists greeted the boat with banners, songs, and waving arms as it docked in the marina across from the Moshulu on Penn’s Landing. City Councilmember Mark Squilla read a proclamation after the Granny Peace Brigade, Brandywine Peace Community, members of Back From the Brink, and the American Friends Service Committee joined the Philadelphia chapter of Veterans for Peace in welcoming the boat, escorted by Gloucester City’s tall ship, the schooner North Wind..." Recorded 5/9/23

Concert for the Golden Rule,  recorded 5/7/23
Concert for the Golden Rule 5/7/23

The Homewood Friends Meeting in Baltimore MD put on a concert for the Golden Rule. Performers included in order of appearance:
Rhonda Robinson Trio
Poet Dave Eberhardt
Orch Kids Brass Band
Charm City Labor Chorus
Rick Jerram
Dick Ochs
Buzz Merrick
This is some of the highlights.
Recorded Sun, Apr 30, 2023 Later on May 6th, musicians put on a jam at Hutchins Park to celebrate the Golden Rule visit to Havre de Grace MD.

Baltimore Welcome,  recorded 5/1/23
Baltimore Welcome 5/1/23

Ethan Hasiuk, Legislative & Community Affairs Director for Baltimore City Council President Zeke Cohen presented a resolution of welcome and support to the crew of the Golden Rule about an hour after it was passed unanimously by by the entire City Council. Recorded May 1st 2023 on the 65th anniversary of the arrest of the original crew of the Golden Rule at the Homewood Friends center.

Dr. Vincent Intondi: Saving the World from Nuclear War,  recorded 5/1/23
Dr. Vincent Intondi: Saving the World from Nuclear War 5/1/23

Dr. Vincent Intondi, author of two books about the history of the anti nuclear movement ["African Americans Against the Bomb" and "Saving the World from Nuclear War"] gives us some insight into the little known history of the massive organizing that went into the struggle against nuclear weapons in the US. This was recorded on the sixty-fifth anniversary of the arrest of the original Golden Rule crew on May 1st 1968. Recorded at the Homewood Friends Baltimore, MD event May 1st 2023.

Rothstein and Intondi: The History of the Anti Nuclear Struggle -the Bomb and the Arts,  recorded 4/16/23
Rothstein and Intondi: The History of the Anti Nuclear Struggle -the Bomb and the Arts

Joe Rothstein, author of The Latina President, The Salvadoran Project, and The Moment of Menace and Dr. Vincent Intondi, author of African Americans Against the Bomb and Saving the World from Nuclear War talk about the history of the anti nuclear movement and the relationship to the arts and media. Then Colleen Moore, Advocacy Director for Women Cross DMZ gives a short talk about her activism to end the Korean war. Recorded 4/16/23 at All Souls Unitarian Church , Washington DC.


Helen Jaccard: A Short History of the Golden Rule,  recorded 4/16/23
Helen Jaccard: A Short History of the Golden Rule 4/16/23

Golden Rule project manager Helen Jaccard gave this talk at the All Souls Unitarian church in Washington DC April 16th 2023. Golden rule crew members we're on hand to share their experiences. Recorded 4/16/23

Golden Rule Annapolis Mayoral Greeting,  recorded 4/25/23 
Golden Rule Annapolis Mayoral Greeting 4/25/23

The Golden Rule received a red-carpet welcome in Annapolis. On hand were Gavin Buckley, Mayor of Annapolis, Maryland Senator Sarah Elfreth, and County Executive Steuart Pittman. Michael Keller, the local President of Peace Action emceed the event. Annapolis is a nuclear free zone. Recorded 4/25/23

Nuclear Posture Review Lobby Day,  recorded 4/12/23 
Nuclear Posture Review Lobby Day 4/12/23

On Wednesday and Thursday 4/14-15/23, the Golden Rule crew and friends lobbied congress for the abolition of nuclear weapons. With help from Friends Committee on National Legislation the activists discussed the Veterans for Peace Nuclear Posture Review.

Rally for the Restoration of Democracy in Peru,  recorded 4/14/23 
Rally for the Restoration of Democracy in Peru 4/14/23

Among their activities Golden Rule crew members attended this week while in Washington DC were two rallies for Julian Assange and this demonstration at the Peruvian embassy. Wednesday and Thursday we spent the day visiting staff members of the House and Senate. We managed to hit the offices of all the House and Senate members with the help of a handful of activists. The weekly vigil at the Peruvian embassy has been ongoing since the December US supported ouster of the elected president Padro Castillo and is conducted by members of the Peruvian community and activists in solidarity against US imperialism. Recorded 4/14/23

DC Peace Activists Speak Out,  recorded 4/10/23
DC Peace Activists Speak Out 4/10/23

The Golden Rule Crew showed up at vigils with activists from DC Action for Assange at Attorney General Merrick Garland's house and the Catholic Workers at the Pentagon. Art Laffin of Catholic Worker explained that they first started doing their bi-weekly vigils against nuclear war in 1987 and Brian Fouche talked about their ongoing vigil in support of Julian Assange.

Friends Meeting of Washington Welcomes the Golden Rule,  recorded 4/5/23
Friends Meeting of Washington Welcomes the Golden Rule 4/5/23

This event was a meet and greet to connect with local anti-nuclear activists. Helen gave a presentation about the history of the Golden Rule and the Great Loop Tour. Madison Rose, an activist from Back from the Brink and outreach associate for the Global Security program at the Union of Concerned Scientists gave a presentation on their efforts to create a world free of nuclear weapons.

Voyages of the Golden Rule 1,  recorded 4/2/23
Voyages of the Golden Rule 1 4/5/23

I flew in from Seattle to Washington DC last week April 28th to join the crew of the Golden Rule. I will be doing video production for two months to document this leg of the Great Loop Tour on the East Coast. This is the first video. There was a fantastic picnic / potluck and program on Sunday April 2 at Fort Hunt Park to welcome the crew of the Golden Rule!

Say No to Endless Wars! demo part 1,  recorded 3/18/23Say No to Endless Wars! demo part 2,  recorded 3/18/23
Say No to Endless Wars! demo parts 1 & 2 3/19/23

Coinciding with the 20th anniversary weekend of the criminal U.S.-invasion of Iraq a major set of actions took place including a demonstration at the White House in Washington, D.C. on Saturday March 18 demanding "Peace in Ukraine – Say NO to Endless U.S. Wars” and “Fund People's Needs, Not the War Machine.” This is part 1 of the video of the Seattle event held at Westlake Park.

Since 2003, the U.S. has engaged in sanctions (economic war) on more than 40 countries. These targets of U.S. economic warfare include the people of Cuba, Zimbabwe, Venezuela, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Iran and many other nations. Even in the wake of the worst disasters, like the recent deadly earthquake, Washington keeps its cruel sanctions in place against Syria. U.S. bases and “commands” blanket most of the world. It is a global empire.

The Biden administration is determined to escalate the Ukraine war. The real goal of the massive arming and training of Ukrainian forces has nothing to do with the interests of Ukrainian, Russian or American people. The aim instead is to “weaken Russia” as stated by the U.S. Secretary of Defense himself, even at the risk of a catastrophic nuclear war that could end life on Earth.

A U.S. General commanding 50,000 troops in the Pacific also issued a letter to his sub-commanders in recent days informing them that he believes that the United States will be at war with China within two years. The danger of global war is growing! The people must act!

The demonstrations are focused on making connections between the human and financial toll of U.S. militarism at home and abroad.

Key demands include: Peace in Ukraine - Negotiations not escalation!
Abolish NATO – End U.S. militarism & sanctions on Syria, Cuba, Zimbabwe, Venezuela, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Iran and many other nations
Fund people’s needs, not the war machine!
No war with China!
End U.S. aid to racist apartheid Israel!
Fight racism & bigotry at home, not other peoples!
U.S. hands off Haiti!
End AFRICOM!
End the siege on Syria! Free all political prisoners – Mumia Abu-Jamal, Julian Assange, Leonard Peltier, and many others.

Thanks to: CODEPINK, ANSWER Coalition and the People's Forum.

Medea Benjamin: Making Sense of a Senseless Conflict,  recorded 3/13/23
Medea Benjamin: Making Sense of a Senseless Conflict

Madea Benjamin co-founder of  CODEPINK, author, and activist was at the Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action and discussed her book War in Ukraine: Making Sense of a Senseless Conflict, co-written with Nicholas Davies, and the dangers posed by the more than 1000 nuclear warheads housed at the Trident Submarine Base in Kitsap County Washington. 

Recorded March 13th, 2023 

Thanks to the Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action 

Stephen Bezruchka: Inequality Kills Us All,  recorded 3/6/23
Stephen Bezruchka: Inequality Kills Us All

Dr. Stephen Bezruchka’s new book, Inequality Kills Us All details what produces health in a population and prescribes the required “medicine” to prevent our being dead first among rich nations. The causes of our poor health are political, so the remedies must also be political. The public remains unaware that all the other rich nations–and quite a number of poor ones–have better health outcomes than we do. Why? Economic inequality kills, and early life lasts a lifetime. Income and wealth inequality is akin to an odorless, colorless, highly toxic gas that kills us from the usual causes—heart disease, cancers, and now COVID-19.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Stephen Bezruchka, M.D., M.P.H. is Associate Teaching Professor Emeritus in the Departments of Health Systems & Population Health and of Global Health at the School of Public Health, University of Washington. At UW he received the 2002 Outstanding Teacher Award, the 2008 Faculty Community Service Award, the 2017 Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award, and the 2018 Communicating Public Health to the Public Award. He serves on the board of the Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility, whose parent organization has shared two Nobel Peace Prizes. There he developed the Economic Inequity Health Task Force. He launched the Population Health Forum in 1998, which presents many of the ideas in this book. His previous books include The Pocket Doctor: A Passport to Healthy Travel; A Guide to Trekking in Nepal, with the 8th edition appearing in 2011; Nepali for Trekkers; and Altitude Illness: Prevention & Treatment.

Thanks to University Bookstore Recorded 3/6/23

Buy the Book: https://www.ubookstore.com/Inequality-Kills-Us-All

*****************************

Pirate TV and Free Speech TV have parted ways. However, I'm going to continue to keep the website and YouTube channel open and will continue to post content from time to time. Starting television broadcasts in 1996, Pirate TV challenges the Media Blockade, bringing you independent voices, information and programming unavailable on the Corporate Sponsor-Ship. I don't monetize my videos. If you would like to pitch in to support this work, consider a donation: http://www.edmaysproductions.net/piratetvsubdirectories/support.html or PayPal: piratetvseattle@gmail.com

Bradley Onishi: White Christian Nationalism and the War on American Democracy, TRT :58  recorded 1/19/23
Bradley Onishi: White Christian Nationalism and the War on American Democracy, Monday 1/30/23, 8pm PST, premieres on YouTube 1/26 2pm PST

Bradley Onishi reads from and talks about in his latest book, "Preparing for War: the Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism and What Comes Next", in which he takes a deep dive into the subject of White Christian Nationalism. There's no better person to hear it from than someone who is a former cult victim himself. Converted to Megachurch Evangelicalism at the age of 14, by the age of 20 he was married and in charge of a 200 student youth group. He now teachers and researches Christian nationalism, the history of Evangelicalism, race and racism in American religion, gender, sex, masculinity, and secularism and secularity at the University of San Francisco and co-hosts the "Straight White American Jesus" podcast which gets 4 million downloads a month.

Onishi takes a look at the violence and extremism that propelled the insurrection at the US capital on January 6th as echoed in the recent siege in Brasilia from the inside out. Using his own experience as an evangelical insider and as a scholar of religion he traces it back to the rise of the religious right in the 50s and 60s and offers some historical analysis and insight into this violet movement that plagues our country and the world.

Thanks to Elliot Bay Books

recorded 1/19/23

John Mark Dougan and Maria Lelyanova: Cognitive Dissonance, TRT :58  recorded 1/7/23
John Mark Dougan and Maria Lelyanova: Cognitive Dissonance, Monday 1/16/23, 8pm PST, premieres on YouTube 1/12 2pm PST

John Mark Dugan is an expatriate American investigative video-journalist/podcaster based in Russia reporting on the Civil War in Ukraine from the front lines of the Donbass. This is his powerful interview with Maria Lelyanova, who had been a fierce Russian, anti-war protester. The iron-curtain (if it ever really existed) dissolved long ago. Russians, contrary to what many Americans believe, are not isolated and are well aware of the western media propaganda narrative and what people who believe that narrative think about their country, especially those Russians that speak English. Maria, who has close ties with Ukraine (like most Russians) had been listening to mostly what she called "pro Ukraine" sources and had strong beliefs. Dugan convinced her to go to the Donbass as his translator and see things for herself. The result is one of the most remarkable examples of cognitive dissonance I have ever seen. What does it take to confront the fact that everything you believe is 180% the opposite of reality?

The civil war in the Donbass that has been going since 2014 (when the war actually began) is the key to understanding the conflict in Ukraine. That's why you never hear a thing about it in the western press and no
mainstream reporters report from there. To do that, you must rely on a handfull of intrepid American and western journalists who live there like John Dugan, Eva Bartlett, George Eliason, Regis Tremblay, and Patrick Lancaster who show you what's actually happening on the ground- the only way you will ever know.

See also the interview with Vlad Deinego: https://youtu.be/QDQgNikJI8s

Links for John Dougan: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@JohnMarkDougan-BadVolf
https://rumble.com/user/BadVolf
Telegram: https://t.me/BadVolfNews
WhatsApp: +7 903 220 0175

Recorded 8/16/22 and 1/7/23
Thanks to BadVolfNews

Ben Norton: The CIA, The Coup in Peru, and the Growing Rebellion, TRT :58  recorded 12/15/22
Ben Norton: The CIA, The Coup in Peru, and the Growing Rebellion, Monday 1/9/23, 8pm PST, premieres on YouTube 1/5 2pm PST

In this episode of Pirate TV, we are going to take an in-depth look at the latest United States sponsored regime change operation in Latin America. That is the recent overthrow of the leftist government of President Pedro Castillo in Peru that happened December 7th 2022. We are going to share a presentation by Ben Norton, an investigative journalist based in Latin America who has previously written and worked for Salon, AlterNet, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR), The Real News network and The Intercept. He has appeared on Sky News, Al Jazeera, Democracy Now! and many others. He is the editor of the independent news website Multipolarista. And I must say, if you're not familiar with Multipolarista, then you need to be checking that out. It's one of the best sources of investigative journalism regarding US foreign policy out there. This video features Ben talking about his recent exposé in Multipolarista titled "Peru coup: CIA agent turned US ambassador met with defense minister day before president overthrown".

The goal of Pirate TV has always been to "put back what corporate media filters out". In this endeavor we want to feature courageous independent investigative journalists like Ben Norton who not only are systematically "disappeared" by the mainstream corporate and social media but shadow-banned and targeted to be cut off from funding. Please check out Multipolarista.com. If you like what you see, subscribe and kick in some support if you can afford it. Support independent media!

Thanks to Ben Norton
Recorded 12/15/22 and 1/1/23

The Real Path to Peace in Ukraine part 3, TRT :58  recorded 11/19/22
The Real Path to Peace in Ukraine part 3, Monday 1/2/23, 8pm PST, premieres on YouTube 12/29 2pm PST

NEGOTIATIONS- YES! ESCALATION- NO! 
This is the third part of the historic assembly that happened November 19th 2022 at the People’s Forum in New York City, edited for TV, calling for a people’s movement to rise up for a negotiated settlement in Ukraine. The event was hosted by Manolo De Los Santos of The People’s Forum and featured many extraordinary speakers such as Medea Benjamin, Noam Chomsky, Jill Stein, Brian Becker, Vijay Prashad, & Eugene Puryear. We are broadcasting excerpts of the event in multiple parts. 

“The moment is now to inaugurate a new, multi-national, grassroots movement to advocate for the end to the current war in Ukraine. The stakes are too real and the dangers too great for the peoples of the word to remain on the sidelines. Anti-war forces in the United States and across the world may have different analyses of Russia, Ukraine, and this tragic war, but we can unite around one thing: there is no road to peace if US government policy remains to obstruct negotiations and send endless weapons into the war zone. We, people of conscience, are coming together to demand that there be a radical shift in the direction of US military and foreign policy. NATO expansion must end. Money must be spent on education, healthcare, and housing, not the war machine. We demand peace, not war. Join us!” 

Speakers in this episode include: Eugene Puryear, Breakthrough News 
Vijay Prashad, Tricontinental Institute for Social Research 

Thanks to the Co-Hosts: THE PEOPLE’S FORUM: https://peoplesforum.org and The ANSWER Coalition: www.answercoalition.org 
You can watch the entire event at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asndac1ETFk