Produced by:
KBOO
Program::
Air date:
Thu, 12/18/2014 - 12:00am
Interview with Larry Birns, Dir. of the Council on Hemispheric Affairs.
Here's the quote of the day from the Institute for Public Accuracy:
Larry Birns is the director of Council on Hemispheric Affairs, which today released a statement: "Alan Gross was working in Cuba as a subcontractor of the United States Agency for International Developments (USAID) in 2009, when Cuban authorities arrested him. A Cuban court convicted Gross for smuggling illegal satellite equipment into the island, which in Cuba is considered a crime against the state.
"Given decades of U.S. deployment of psyops and other subversive activity against the Cuban regime, it is not implausible to believe that Gross was likely a player in (intentional or not) a CIA-USAID plot to weaken Castro’s rule under cover of a human rights project. At the time, Havana was undergoing a transition to normal relations with Washington after decades of a 'special period' of economic hardship in Cuba caused by the U.S. economic embargo and exacerbated by the fall of the Soviet Union.
"It was not the first time, nor presumably the last, that the CIA and USAID have been caught in a plot to overthrown Cuba's government through cultural or human rights projects on the island. For example, the CIA-USAID partners promoted a 'Cuba Twitter' program aiming at overthrowing the government. The latest one to date was a story exposed by The Nation, which reported a USAID-financed cultural project, aimed at promoting certain political behavior among the dynamic Cuban hip hop scene. These projects, if not futile, routinely prove to be at the very least completely 'reckless' and 'stupid' endeavors, as stated by Sen. Patrick Leahy. One can only agree with his reasonable statements."
And Larry Birns is our guest on the show today.
There is a great deal going on around the block, around the worldthese days...
Two weeks after the White House awarded the City of Portland and 15 other cities across the U.S. the title of “Climate Action Champion,” Oregon’s Climate Action Coalition says Portland Mayor Charlie Hales is in danger of being viewed as a “climate hypocrite” for pushing forward on a plan for a major propane export terminal in the city. Mayor Hales has expressed public support for the terminal.
‘hypocritical’ is perhaps too delicate a term for Hale’s project. But after all, you buy the ticket, you take the ride. And Hales rode in on his dubious transportation past and he likely will ride out from the propane terminal out and into the sunset. Go East, Old Man, Go East! to put an end to fossil fuel infrastructure development in the City of Portland, starting with a proposal being developed by one of the most profitable companies in the Canadian tar sands of Alberta, Pembina,” said Dr. Adriana Voss-Andreae, Chair of 350PDX.
Larry Birns is the director of Council on Hemispheric Affairs, which today released a statement: "Alan Gross was working in Cuba as a subcontractor of the United States Agency for International Developments (USAID) in 2009, when Cuban authorities arrested him. A Cuban court convicted Gross for smuggling illegal satellite equipment into the island, which in Cuba is considered a crime against the state.
"Given decades of U.S. deployment of psyops and other subversive activity against the Cuban regime, it is not implausible to believe that Gross was likely a player in (intentional or not) a CIA-USAID plot to weaken Castro’s rule under cover of a human rights project. At the time, Havana was undergoing a transition to normal relations with Washington after decades of a 'special period' of economic hardship in Cuba caused by the U.S. economic embargo and exacerbated by the fall of the Soviet Union.
"It was not the first time, nor presumably the last, that the CIA and USAID have been caught in a plot to overthrown Cuba's government through cultural or human rights projects on the island. For example, the CIA-USAID partners promoted a 'Cuba Twitter' program aiming at overthrowing the government. The latest one to date was a story exposed by The Nation, which reported a USAID-financed cultural project, aimed at promoting certain political behavior among the dynamic Cuban hip hop scene. These projects, if not futile, routinely prove to be at the very least completely 'reckless' and 'stupid' endeavors, as stated by Sen. Patrick Leahy. One can only agree with his reasonable statements."
And Larry Birns is our guest on the show today.
There is a great deal going on around the block, around the worldthese days...
***
Two weeks after the White House awarded the City of Portland and 15 other cities across the U.S. the title of “Climate Action Champion,” Oregon’s Climate Action Coalition says Portland Mayor Charlie Hales is in danger of being viewed as a “climate hypocrite” for pushing forward on a plan for a major propane export terminal in the city. Mayor Hales has expressed public support for the terminal.
‘hypocritical’ is perhaps too delicate a term for Hale’s project. But after all, you buy the ticket, you take the ride. And Hales rode in on his dubious transportation past and he likely will ride out from the propane terminal out and into the sunset. Go East, Old Man, Go East! to put an end to fossil fuel infrastructure development in the City of Portland, starting with a proposal being developed by one of the most profitable companies in the Canadian tar sands of Alberta, Pembina,” said Dr. Adriana Voss-Andreae, Chair of 350PDX.
- KBOO
Update Required
To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version or update your
Flash plugin.