By Any Means Necessary

In this episode of By Any Means Necessary, hosts Sean Blackmon and Jacquie Luqman are joined by Dr. Vijay Prashad, Executive Director of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research and co-author of the book, Viviremos: Venezuela vs. Hybrid War to discuss the 60th anniversary of the US blockade on Cuba imposed as a punishment on Cuba for daring to stand up to the US, the alternative model that Cuba and other nations present as a challenge to the US drive for hegemony and unipolarity, the anniversary of the 1992 uprising against neoliberalism in Venezuela led by Hugo Chavez, the challenges the nations of the Global South have posed to US hegemony, and the forms of apartheid that are contributing to the climate crisis and the way out through a peoples-centered movement.In the third segment, Sean and Jacquie are joined by T.J. Coles, a postdoctoral researcher at Plymouth University in the UK, a regular contributor to CounterPunch, and the author of We'll Tell You What to Think: Wikipedia, Propaganda, and the Making of Liberal Consensus. to discuss US soft power tactics and use of aid programs as cover in the creation of South Sudan and how it has contributed to the issues that the country faces now, AFRICOM’s role in filling some of the gaps left by the US abandonment of the country following the outbreak of civil war, and the connections this situation could have with the current uprisings in SudanLater in the show, Sean and Jacquie are joined by Esther Iverem, artist, author and independent journalist, and host and producer of On The Ground: Voices of Resistance from the Nation’s Capital on Pacifica Radio to discuss the killing of Amir Locke by Minneapolis police in a pre-dawn no-knock raid, the death of Sandra Bland, and the continuing struggle against police terror, the biased coverage of the Beijing winter olympics that have helped beat the drums of the cold war drive on China, the demonization of resistance to state violence from victims of police terror and victims of imperialism alike, and the importance of political education in connecting the racist violence of police terror and imperialist violence.

In this segment of By Any Means Necessary, hosts Sean Blackmon and Jacquie Luqman are joined by Dr. Vijay Prashad, Executive Director of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research and co-author of the book, Viviremos: Venezuela vs. Hybrid War to discuss the 60th anniversary of the US blockade on Cuba imposed as a punishment on Cuba for daring to stand up to the US, the alternative model that Cuba and other nations present as a challenge to the US drive for hegemony and unipolarity, the anniversary of the 1992 uprising against neoliberalism in Venezuela led by Hugo Chavez, the challenges the nations of the Global South have posed to US hegemony, and the forms of apartheid that are contributing to the climate crisis and the way out through a peoples-centered movement.

In this segment of By Any Means Necessary, Sean and Jacquie are joined by T.J. Coles, a postdoctoral researcher at Plymouth University in the UK, a regular contributor to CounterPunch, and the author of We'll Tell You What to Think: Wikipedia, Propaganda, and the Making of Liberal Consensus. to discuss US soft power tactics and use of aid programs as cover in the creation of South Sudan and how it has contributed to the issues that the country faces now, AFRICOM’s role in filling some of the gaps left by the US abandonment of the country following the outbreak of civil war, and the connections this situation could have with the current uprisings in Sudan.

In this episode of By Any Means Necessary, hosts Sean Blackmon and Jacquie Luqman are joined by Phil Wilayto, Editor of the Virginia Defender newspaper and co-founder of the Virginia Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality to discuss efforts by Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin’s efforts to push charter schools onto Virginia communities and ban so-called divisive topics from the classroom, how the charter school effort is a backdoor attempt at defunding public education, and how the fear-mongering over critical race theory fits into the broader trend of the right-wing in the United States.In the second segment, Sean and Jacquie are joined by Asa Winstanley, investigative journalist and Associate editor with The Electronic Intifada to discuss Amnesty International’s naming of Israel as an apartheid state and why Amnesty has come out with this position now, how Israel practices apartheid against the Palestinian people, and Israel’s arming of the neo-Nazi Azov Battallion militia in Ukraine and how it plays into the current tensions over the country.In the third segment, Sean and Jacquie are joined by Miguel Garcia, host and creator of the Sports as a Weapon podcast to discuss the lawsuit filed by former NFL coach Brian Flores alleging racist hiring practices among the NFL’s teams and locking Black coaches out from head coaching positions, how this lawsuit poses a new challenge to the white supremacist power structure in the league years after Colin Kaeprnick’s initial protests against the national anthem, the racist backlash against Olympic skier Eileen Gu and her choice to compete for China on the international stage, and how it fits into the broader demonization campaign against China as the Winter Olympics open.Later in the show, Sean and Jacquie are joined by Maximillian Alvarez, Editor in Chief of the Real News Network and and host of the podcast “Working People" to discuss the struggle of rail workers against a draconian attendance policy which punishes workers for taking time off and mandates constant availability, the hidden workers who keep the supply chain running, how the pandemic has revealed how those workers literally make our society run and motivated a boost in labor struggles, Mexican workers fighting for legitimate and democratic union representation at a General Motors plant in Mexico, and how the global interconnectedness of labor and capital requires international solidarity among workers.

In this segment of By Any Means Necessary, hosts Sean Blackmon and Jacquie Luqman are joined by Phil Wilayto, Editor of the Virginia Defender newspaper and co-founder of the Virginia Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality to discuss efforts by Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin’s efforts to push charter schools onto Virginia communities and ban so-called divisive topics from the classroom, how the charter school effort is a backdoor attempt at defunding public education, and how the fear-mongering over critical race theory fits into the broader trend of the right-wing in the United States.

In this segment of By Any Means Necessary, Sean and Jacquie are joined by Asa Winstanley, investigative journalist and Associate editor with The Electronic Intifada to discuss Amnesty International’s naming of Israel as an apartheid state and why Amnesty has come out with this position now, how Israel practices apartheid against the Palestinian people, and Israel’s arming of the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion militia in Ukraine and how it plays into the current tensions over the country.

In this segment of By Any Means Necessary, Sean and Jacquie are joined by Miguel Garcia, host and creator of the Sports as a Weapon podcast to discuss the lawsuit filed by former NFL coach Brian Flores alleging racist hiring practices among the NFL’s teams and locking Black coaches out from head coaching positions, how this lawsuit poses a new challenge to the white supremacist power structure in the league years after Colin Kaeprnick’s initial protests against the national anthem, the racist backlash against Olympic skier Eileen Gu and her choice to compete for China on the international stage, and how it fits into the broader demonization campaign against China as the Winter Olympics open.

In this episode of By Any Means Necessary, hosts Sean Blackmon and Jacquie Luqman are joined by Frank Chapman, Director of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, and author of the new book, “Marxist-Leninist Perspectives on Black Liberation and Socialism” to discuss the early release of Jason Van Dyke, the police officer convicted of killing Laquan McDonald, the inadequacy of the original sentence and the injustice of Van Dyke’s early release, efforts to prosecute Van Dyke under federal charges, and the ongoing struggle to fight back against racist police terror in Chicago and nationally.In the second segment, Sean and Jacquie are joined by Vicki Cervantes, North America Coordinator of the Honduras Solidarity Network to discuss the inauguration of President Xiomara Castro in Honduras and the political fallout from an attempted soft coup against Castro, the democratic socialist vision of Castro and the reforms that she has proposed as Honduras works to emerge from its status as a narco-state under Juan Orlando Hernandez, what Castro’s presidency will mean for the Latin American and Caribbean regions, and the challenges that Castro will face as the US attempts to continue its control of Honduras.In the third segment, Sean and Jacquie are joined by Justin Podur, Associate Professor at York University and author of America's Wars on Democracy in Rwanda and the DR Congo to discuss Trevor Noah’s misleading segment accusing China of colonialism in Africa and the broader propaganda purpose of popular media like comedy shows, the west’s destructive and extractive aid policies exercised through the International Monetary Fund, and the false narrative that argues that western and Chinese aid are equally extractive and colonialist.Later in the show, Sean and Jacquie are joined by Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, president of the Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition to discuss recent developments in the effort to preserve the Bethesda African Cemetery from attempts at development, how this struggle relates to efforts to erase Black history and Black people from the consciousness of Americans, how intensified efforts to limit the teaching of Black history has increased the need for community control of education to give children an opportunity to learn what this white supremacist system attempts to prevent them from learning, and how the struggle to preserve the cemetery connect to broader struggles to combat the dispossession of land and power.

In this segment of By Any Means Necessary, Sean and Jacquie are joined by Justin Podur, Associate Professor at York University and author of America's Wars on Democracy in Rwanda and the DR Congo to discuss Trevor Noah’s misleading segment accusing China of colonialism in Africa and the broader propaganda purpose of popular media like comedy shows, the west’s destructive and extractive aid policies exercised through the International Monetary Fund, and the false narrative that argues that western and Chinese aid are equally extractive and colonialist.

In this segment of By Any Means Necessary, Sean and Jacquie are joined by Vicki Cervantes, North America Coordinator of the Honduras Solidarity Network to discuss the inauguration of President Xiomara Castro in Honduras and the political fallout from an attempted soft coup against Castro, the democratic socialist vision of Castro and the reforms that she has proposed as Honduras works to emerge from its status as a narco-state under Juan Orlando Hernandez, what Castro’s presidency will mean for the Latin American and Caribbean regions, and the challenges that Castro will face as the US attempts to continue its control of Honduras.

In this episode of By Any Means Necessary, hosts Sean Blackmon and Jacquie Luqman are joined by Nick Stender, a member of the Chicago Teachers Union and an activist with Reds in Ed to discuss how the pandemic and the inadequate response to it has caused a rapid increase in teacher burnout, threatening bigger labor shortages in a profession that already faced large shortages before the pandemic, how the pandemic has exposed the broad roles teachers have filled under the capitalist education system and how that diminishes the quality of education that children receive, how the politicization of teaching, most often seen in battles over book bans, has also contributed to burnout and demoralization, and the role teachers have to play in fighting for resources to protect students from the pandemic.In the second segment, Sean and Jacquie are joined by Pascal Robert, commentator with Black Agenda Report and Co-Host of the This Is Revolution Podcast to discuss the selection of Fritz Alphonse Jean as Haiti’s interim president by the National Transition Council, how this selection is another attempt by Haitian elites at maintaining the colonial status of Haiti, the anniversary of the Ottawa initiative on Haiti, which was the precursor to the 2004 coup and occupation of the country, and Canada's role in exacting imperialist violence on Haiti and the rest of the world.In the third segment, Sean and Jacquie are joined by Tina Landis, organizer and author of the book, ‘Climate Solutions: Beyond Capitalism’ to discuss the nihilistic focus of mainstream media on climate disasters and failures by the Biden administration to secure piecemeal reforms instead of solutions to climate challenges in China and Cuba, how that nihilism can deflate and demobilize the movement around climate justice and the importance of hope, and the need to shift the focus of climate activism from individual consumption to the corporations and capitalist system responsible for the degeneration of the climate.Later in the show, Sean and Jacquie are joined by Dr. Gerald Horne, Moores Professor of History and African American Studies at the University of Houston, and author of dozens of books, most recently “The Bittersweet Science: Racism, Racketeering , and the Political Economy of Boxing” to discuss the attempted coup in Guinea-Bissau and the interests of France and the United States, what underlying economic and geopolitical aspects might be behind the recent spate in coup attempts in west Africa, Ted Cruz’s racist comments on Joe Biden’s promise to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court and the political theater of the nomination meant to continue an unsustainable status quo, and the US’s desperate attempts to hold onto its arbitrary rules-based order as it fans the flames of war against Russia and China.

In this segment of By Any Means Necessary, Sean and Jacquie are joined by Pascal Robert, commentator with Black Agenda Report and Co-Host of the This Is Revolution Podcast to discuss the selection of Fritz Alphonse Jean as Haiti’s interim president by the National Transition Council, how this selection is another attempt by Haitian elites at maintaining the colonial status of Haiti, the anniversary of the Ottawa initiative on Haiti, which was the precursor to the 2004 coup and occupation of Haiti, and Canada's role in exacting imperialist violence on Haiti and the rest of the world.

In this episode of By Any Means Necessary, hosts Sean Blackmon and Jacquie Luqman are joined by Marc Steiner, Peabody Award-winning journalist and host of The Marc Steiner Show on The Real News Network to discuss the relatively small sums of money that the ultra-wealthy would have to pay to fund impactful services for working and poor people. The inability and outright refusal of the capitalist system to adequately tax the ultra-wealthy and provide for the needs of working and poor people, and the need for a movement of working and poor people to spur political action in the millionaires’ club that is Congress.In the second segment, Sean and Jacquie are joined by Aisha Jumaan, Founder and President of Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation to discuss the deadly escalation in the ongoing war on Yemen and the mainstream media’s overemphasis on Houthi and Yemeni resistance to Saudi bombing campigns and inattention to the US role in the war, the geopolitical and economic aspects of the war wrapped in the broader US campaign for dominance, the United Arab Emirates’ efforts to institute colonial-like measures on Yemen, Joe Biden’s failure to deliver on his campaign promise to end US involvement in the war, and the role the anti-war movement can play in forcing an end to US involvement in the war. In the third segment, Sean and Jacquie are joined by technologist Chris Garaffa, the editor of TechforthePeople.org to discuss Crisis Text Line’s disturbing sharing of potentially extremely sensitive user data with its for-profit spin-off and its dubious claims of anonymization, the gross exploitation of data collected in emotionally intense moments for profit, the FBI’s recently uncovered purchased of the NSO Group’s Pegasus product and the wide-reaching international influence of the NSO Group, and the Elsevier scientific journal cracking down on the sharing of materials under the guise of protection from ransomware.Later in the show, Sean and Jacquie are joined by Delonte Gholston, Pastor of Peace Fellowship Church in Washington, DC to discuss the psychological and spiritual toll of the COVID-19 pandemic on Black and brown communities who are often more exposed to the virus through work, how the pandemic exposed the broader spiritual and psychological toll that this system takes on working and poor people, the hope that the organizing and mutual aid networks that have grown during the pandemic provide in contrast to the bleakness of life in the pandemic, and the refusal of the Black misleadership class to speak truth to power and demand aid for working and poor Black people.

In this segment of By Any Means Necessary, Sean and Jacquie are joined by technologist Chris Garaffa, the editor of TechforthePeople.org to discuss Crisis Text Line’s disturbing sharing of potentially extremely sensitive user data with its for-profit spin-off and its dubious claims of anonymization, the gross exploitation of data collected in emotionally intense moments for profit, the FBI’s recently uncovered purchased of the NSO Group’s Pegasus product and the wide-reaching international influence of the NSO Group, and scientific journal cracking down on the sharing of materials under the guise of protection from ransomware.

In this segment of By Any Means Necessary, Sean and Jacquie are joined by Aisha Jumaan, Founder and President of Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation to discuss the deadly escalation in the ongoing war on Yemen and the mainstream media’s overemphasis on Houthi and Yemeni resistance to Saudi bombing campigns and inattention to the US role in the war, the geopolitical and economic aspects of the war wrapped in the broader US campaign for dominance, the United Arab Emirates’ efforts to institute colonial-like measures on Yemen, Joe Biden’s failure to deliver on his campaign promise to end US involvement in the war, and the role the anti-war movement can play in forcing an end to US involvement in the war.