CovertAction Bulletin

Who’s Behind the Far-Right Riots in Brazil?

On January 8th, right-wing Brazilians stormed the federal building and Supreme Court in the capital of Brasília. Inspired by baseless accusations by former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro that the October elections were stolen, the rioters broke windows, smashed art, destroyed paintings, stole computers and more.

The incident is reminiscent of the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Congress and Capitol building by supporters of Donald Trump: claims of stolen elections, far right violence aimed at intimidating democratic processes, and even the involvement of Steve Bannon, who called the Brazilians involved “freedom fighters.” But the new Brazilian government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is acting swiftly to hold those involved accountable, including Bolsonaro and allies who fled to Florida before Lula’s inauguration.

We discuss with Zoe Pepper Cunningham, Co-Editor of People’s Dispatch.

Protesters Massacred in Peru After Far-Right Legislative Coup

Peru has been in a period of crisis since December 7, when the Peruvian far right used their position in the country’s Parliament to illegally dismiss the government of President Pedro Castillo. Since then, tens of thousands of people from indigenous and peasant communities have taken to the streets to reject the new government of Dina Boluarte and demand the democratically elected Castillo be reinstated. 

On Monday, January 9, at least 17 protesters were killed by Peruvian security forces while they brutally repressed an anti-government protest in Juliaca, and at least 68 others were severely injured. The massacres have continued into Tuesday, January 10th, now reaching a total of 46 dead.

To discuss the growing violence and resistance in the streets we are joined by Tatiana Bejar of Peru Libre.

China’s COVID Outbreak and Protests: Myths and Facts

Western media described recent protests in China as “mark[ing] a new awakening” and a significant challenge to Xi Jinping and the Communist Party of China. After years of leading the world in addressing COVID-19, the Chinese government is relaxing some of the lockdown regulations, but the situation is far more involved than the media would share.

To explore the reality and intricacies of the situation as well as US posturing against China, we’re joined by Carl Zha, host of Silk and Steel Podcast.

Eyewitness Report Iran Protests: Truth or Media Distortion?

In the last few months, the western media has been reporting on large scale protests sweeping Iran against the hijab in the wake of the death of Mahsa Amimi. The protests were described by some journalists as a revolution against the Islamic Republic, and have been highlighted as a movement led by young women. Is this true? Is there a revolution? How much of this is part of a major media disinformation campaign? 

We are joined by Mazda Majidi, Iranian author, journalist, and anti-war activist who has recently returned from Iran.

Pushback Against Empire

In this special episode, we bring you voices from CovertAction Magazine’s December 1st fundraiser event in New York City. Featuring guests like Eva Bartlett, Ben Norton, Katie Halper, Randy Credico  and many more, Pushback Against Empire brought together a wide perspective of voices to celebrate the 44th year of CovertAction and to help us build for the next 44 years. We want to thank everyone who joined us to speak, and everyone who came in-person or watched the video online in support of defending whistleblowers and exposing the covert action of the US government and plutocrats worldwide.

To watch the full event including many more speakers, visit our YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9j6HyTnGCs

What is the Real Path to Peace in Ukraine?

On November 19th anti-war activists across the United States and across the world launched a new multi-national grassroots movement to demand the end to the current war in Ukraine and an end to NATO expansion. With the recent bombing of Poland, the serious threat of nuclear war looms larger around the globe and U.S. imperialism continues to wage it’s own proxy war in Ukraine against Russia.

On this episode we bring you a highlight of the remarks by anti-war activists such as Vijay Prashad of the Tricontinental Institute, Medea Benjamin, co-founder of Code Pink Women for Peace, and Eugene Puryear of BreakThrough News. 

To view the full event, visit @PeoplesForum on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asndac1ETFk

Trump 2024? It’s up to us to fight! with Sean Blackmon

While we are still waiting for some election outcome, the results of the midterm show that the anti-democratic movement of the far right has been rejected by the majority of voters. Sean Blackmon, co-host of the daily radio show By Any Means Necessary, joins to talk about how he analyzes the results of last week’s elections and referendums. Sean shares his thoughts on how the GA Senate race got so close, the failures of the Democratic Party to excite voters, and impending threats to democracy.

This episode was recorded shortly before Trump’s November 15th announcement, so we also discuss what a Trump 2024 campaign could look like for the world and for social & people’s movements for justice.

U.S. Information War Against China Heats With Increasing Attacks On Chinese American Researchers - with Carl Zha

Carl Zha, host of Silk and Steel Podcast, joins us to discuss the continued escalation of U.S. Cold War on China. The U.S. information war on China heats up with Attorney General Merrick Garland’s recent statement about the U.S. government’s prosecution of Chinese officials for alleged “attempts” to undermine U.S. democracy. What exactly does the U.S. hope to accomplish by indicating an official who will never stand trial?

 

We dive deeper into the information and tech war being waged on China, and how the lives of Chinese Americans, in particular Chinese American researchers, are being upended by surveillance and racist witch hunts.

The U.S. State Department in the Metaverse: How the CIA Infiltrated Facebook with Alan MacLeod

Why is Facebook so desperate to make the Metaverse happen? Are the techno feudalists right when they say Facebook is too big to fail?

With the decline of Meta, it seems a new era may be dawning in Silicon Valley as Facebook’s failed projects continue to pile up.

New reporting in The Intercept outlines how the Department of Homeland Security is looking to increase the US government’s influence on social media platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, and more. We examine Meta’s expansion strategy and the role that U.S. intelligence has played in the last few years within the social media giant’s ranks.

To talk about all of this and in particular how the US state inserts itself into these networks, we’re joined by Alan MacLeod, Senior Staff Writer/Podcast Producer, @MintPressNews. Alan has written about the many ex-CIA employees who now work at Facebook, and overall the government’s efforts to influence social media.

 

What is the Deep State?

In this episode, we dig into the idea of the “deep state,” the supposed shadowy cabal of clandestine organizations and individuals who run the show behind the scenes, controlling the US and other governments. The QAnon movement and Donald Trump himself repopularized the idea around the 2016 election, claiming that Trump was a victim of forces attempting to prevent him from “draining the swamp.” In August 2022, he said at an event “to remove rogue bureaucrats and root out the deep state, Congress should pass groundbreaking reform empowering the President to ensure that any federal employee who is corrupt, incompetent, or unnecessary for the job can be told ‘you’re fired’”

Early on in his first campaign, Trump referred to “draining the swamp.” And the QAnon movement seized on the idea, claiming that Trump was fighting a powerful cabal of child traffickers who controlled everything about the government - except him.

The idea of the deep state isn’t new and isn’t the exclusive territory of the far right. Today, we’ll dive deep into the idea of the deep state and look at what the reality is - yes, there is a conspiracy, but it’s not a shadowy underground second government - it’s right in front of us. For that discussion, we’re joined by Brian Becker, host of the podcast The Socialist Program, a long-time socialist organizer, and the national coordinator of the ANSWER Coalition.