thebarricade

“On the Barricades” s06e30 This weekend Stanislav Byshok, a Russian political scientist living in Moscow, is back on the Barricades for a two-part release with hosts Maria Cernat and Boyan Stanislavski. He earned a PhD after graduating from Moscow State University, and he is frequently described as a scholar deconstructing nationalism and populism in international researcher databases. He's written a number of books and reports on current Russian, Ukrainian, and European politics. In part two, we hear Stanislav’s insights into some questions that help explain the last year on the info-war front and how we’ve arrived at a situation where so little resistance is made to the war-support, despite that it’s achieved little and now would be a time to end it before it escalates to a new level of loss for Ukraine and Russia itself. Why has Russia not learned its historical lesson from the Cold war, in which the USSR lost spectacularly to the US in terms of propaganda? Does this defeat on the info-war front result from lack of means, the Kremlin’s leadership style, or specific mistakes which prevented Putin’s line from connecting to its audience? Or is it a result of the Russian political system itself and a lack of negative feedback and opposition? To what extent does the psychology of the media consumer count, and where is it currently at, in Russia? This and more in this second part of the discussion.

“On the Barricades” s06e29 This weekend Stanislav Byshok, a Russian political scientist living in Moscow, is back on the Barricades for a two-part release with hosts Maria Cernat and Boyan Stanislavski. He earned a PhD after graduating from Moscow State University, and he is frequently described as a scholar deconstructing nationalism and populism in international researcher databases. He's written a number of books and reports on current Russian, Ukrainian, and European politics. In this first part, we took the chance to hear an inside-Russian perspective on what is often stripped of nuance and misportrayed by the press: the mood and attitude toward the war within Russia. For those against the war, what is the main line of argument? What alternatives were there to having the conflict degrade into the current state? What mistakes and miscalculations have the Moscow regime made in deciding to go to war and while waging it? This and more in this first part of the discussion.

“On the Barricades” s06e28 On this week’s release of “On the Barricades,” hosts Maria Cernat and Boyan Stanislavski invite back the French-American writer, cultural critic, and activist, Gabriel Rockhill. Gabriel’s work in academia led him to a very close understanding of the bourgeois cultural and intellectual apparatus for its fundamental, historical role of bringing leftist thinking in line with the interests of the corporate elites and capitalist order. We have Gabriel back, this time to elaborate on his latest article about Slavoj Žižek, who is perhaps the most well-known example of such a pseudo-leftist intellectuals symptomatic of the neo-liberal cultural apparatus. With a huge platform and reputation, Žižek decries the possibility of revolution and now positions himself emphatically as pro-NATO and pro-war in Ukraine. The example of Žižek reveals much about the anti-communist cultural imperialism but also related problems plaguing the “left” much discussed and analyzed on our show. Gabriel’s work is in dissecting these problems using materialist historical tools to explain the important way such trends have ramifications not only in the discourse, but materially and in the sabotage of global working class struggle. Gabriel’s article on Žižek: https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/01/02/capitalisms-court-jester-slavoj-zizek/

“On the Barricades” s06e27 Lately the western media has been trying to press upon the public opinion that victory for Ukraine is around the corner, that Bakhmut is about to fall. Meanwhile Zelensky reinforces his failure. What is really around the corner and where is the war headed– there and globally? To assess the latest on what is actually going on in the war in Ukraine– on the ground, in the information wars, and with respect to international ramifications– “On the Barricades” has the pleasure of bringing back Mark Sleboda onto the show for a special mid-week, two-part release. Mark is a former US Navy specialist, military expert, and academic who attended the London School of Economics before becoming a senior lecturer at Moscow State University. The second part of the discussion, recorded Feb 10, covers: 01:00 Did the Russians learn their lesson that they have to invest more in soft power? 03:15 The fate of Odessa 8:45 Is Belarus likely to get involved in the conflict? 16:16 Israel attacking Iran, Iran aiding Russia 21:00 Can the West emerge stronger from the war in some ways, and as a threat to China? 24:45 Resurgence of Great Russian nationalism and power politics in Russia? 28:50 Psychological effects of those on the West 30:45 Mark’s decision to move to Russia 31:50 Trends in Bulgaria in opposition to the war? The Orban model

“On the Barricades” s06e26 Lately the western media has been trying to press upon the public opinion that victory for Ukraine is around the corner, that Bakhmut is about to fall. Meanwhile Zelensky reinforces his failure. What is really around the corner and where is the war headed– there and globally? To assess the latest on what is actually going on in the war in Ukraine– on the ground, in the information wars, and with respect to international ramifications– “On the Barricades” has the pleasure of bringing back Mark Sleboda onto the show for a special mid-week, two-part release. Mark is a former US Navy specialist, military expert, and academic who attended the London School of Economics before becoming a senior lecturer at Moscow State University. This first part of the discussion, recorded Feb 10, covers: 1:00 What’s happening on the ground, around Bakhmut? 10:48 Updates on the info war front 13:15 Western Europe and US relations, global economic reconfigurations 30:03 The way out of the war, partitioning Ukraine 45:15 National identity partition of Ukraine

“On the Barricades” s06e25 This is part two of our two-part monthly release where hosts Boyan and Maria invite Youri Smouter of 1+1 onto the show. The debate on Ukraine continues, now discussing military objectives of either side of the conflict, and what is concretely achievable as opposed to suicidal. Zelensky’s new appointed Ukrainian minister of Defence and the Polish PM have been gung-ho about escalations and outlandish ambitions for Ukrainian and civilizational victory against Russia– avoiding negotiations and effectively promoting WWIII and nuclear conflict. What role does Poland serve in relation to the West’s agenda in this conflict: is it the clown that tests Russia’s patience, with outlandish threats? Later in the episode the hosts and Youri discuss prospects for Ukrainian state formation, for those exiled and unsympathetic to Russia. What will Russia allow, should the conflict freeze?

“On the Barricades” s06e24 This is part one of our two-part monthly release where hosts Boyan and Maria invite Youri Smouter of 1+1 onto the show. The hosts discuss some news in Eastern Europe and in particular Romania, where there was a recent scandal around the academic Sorin Bocancea, previously known for intellectual forgery and involvement in a Romanian version of a Pizzagate, who went on a crusade against Russian propaganda with the publication of a new book. The second half of the episode is a heated discussion on the question of Romania’s future, given the geopolitical instability due to the war in Ukraine. What would happen if there were a change in the balance of power and NATO were forced to withdraw, leaving a power vacuum to be filled by the far-right? Is a switch of orientation towards Russia possible or likely, given the strong tendencies toward opportunism and social conservatism of the Romanian elites? This brings up the question of what being a part of the collective West has even contributed to Romanian society in terms of tiny advances in womens’ and LGTBQ rights, which it seems could easily be swept away.

“On the Barricades” s06e23 As the great critic of American imperialism, Michael Parenti put it, “trying to make sense of things is what makes us truly human”. What’s senseless about the war in Ukraine is how it looked like it could have come to a stop, or been prevented through negotiations, at so many points. Medea Benjamin, the American peace and social justice activist and author of over a dozen books, took on the task of explaining the Ukraine war in a balanced way, in her latest book “War in Ukraine: Making Sense of a Senseless Conflict,” co-authored with Nicholas J.S. Davis. The book does not shy away from blaming Russia’s criminal invasion and the provocations of Western states in explaining the conflict, providing a balanced account of what set the stage for the conflict, and why it wasn’t avoided. Maria Cernat wrote a review of the book (https://thebarricade.online/the-war-in-ukraine-a-balanced-perspective/) and with Boyan Stanislavski, invited her to this week’s release of “On the Barricades.” Benjamin shares her journey to making sense of the conflict and provides some insights on the question of how peace negotiations might be reached. What would one side or the other declaring victory look like and mean, at this point– and is such a victory around the corner? What is the perspective on the risk of Putin’s using nuclear weapons? In the US, where over some 100 billion dollars have been funneled into the war, Trump and some far-right Republicans are the only ones talking about peace, while the Democrats and “progressives” have fallen in line with the pro-war position. Biden is afraid to even mention negotiations, let alone the blank cheque, while the base of Americans are starting to be more questioning– how do we explain this?

“On the Barricades” s06e20 Last week, former British marine Richard Kemp wrote an article in the Telegraph stating that Poland is becoming a military superpower, and humiliated Germany by pressuring Germany to hand over its Leopard tanks to Ukraine. This is nonsense on its face, and reminiscent of 1939 when the British press once again declared Poland’s greatness and source of inspiration to Europe, before things went the opposite way and Poland was left to get destroyed in World War Two. In this special release of “On the Barricades,” our host from Warsaw, Boyan Stanislavski, discusses some of these complete non-sensical, yet concerning statements in the media that exaggerate Polish military power and point in the direction of Polish intervention in Ukraine against Russia– which would be suicidal. Still, with a green light from the US, such a move would serve as a way for the ruling Law and Justice party to avoid the general elections that are supposed to be prepared for this year. Boyan also comments on the scandal of Polish former Foreign Minister Sikorski saying that he thinks some of the Polish government considered a partitioning of Ukraine in the early days of the Russian invasion.

“On the Barricades” s06e22 On the question of sex work, why is there so much division in the feminist camp? On this second episode of a two-part release of “On the Barricades,” host Dr. Maria Cernat and Harriet Fraad discuss the opposing class perspectives that exist on this question of prostitution-- beginning with the malignant role of corporate feminism, which sees gender as the only issue involved and ends up on the side of the bourgeois woman, that is for greater inequality between women within the profit-driven system. Also ignoring the reality of economic coercion involved in the prostitution industry are the libertarian feminists, who tend to argue for legalization and imagine that introducing contracts make a free-market of empowered sex workers-by-choice, who are on a good standing in such work, even liberated from the feudal family’s traditional organization of sex. Again, this purposely overlooks the class factor, that prostitutes enter the field not by choice but by desperation for economic opportunity. The socialist perspective must be based on facts, information and a rich understanding of the problem without disregarding the dignity of the exploited. Dr. Harriet Fraad has published numerous books and articles, and two podcasts It’s Not Just in Your Head and Capitalism Hits Home, in which she looks at the close connection between capitalism and the social and psychological dimensions of our lives.

“On the Barricades” s06e21 Dr. Harriet Fraad comes back “On the Barricades” for a two-part discussion of the economic dimensions of human trafficking. The Andrew Tate scandal made Romania famous for its infamous sexual exploitation of women and children. The horrific details of Tate’s violent behavior toward the women he was exploiting for video chat services were in stark contrast with the glamorous portrayal of sexual exploitation as a choice to empower women. Dr. Harriet Fraad discusses in her numerous books and articles as well as in her two podcasts It’s Not Just in Your Head and Capitalism Hits Home the close connection between capitalism and the social and psychological dimensions of our lives. Maria Cernat invited her to discuss the close connection between a profit-driven economic system and human trafficking. In Romania trials cases show traffickers younger than 18 years old, meaning that they become part of the human trafficking networks very early in their lives. Romania is also the place where sex offenders could get charged with sexual acts with a minor, not rape, even if the victim was 12 years old. The law changed recently, but it is this type of attitude that has made Romania number one in Europe in terms of the number of women and girls trafficked for sexual exploitation. Dr. Haariet Fraad insists on the class dimension of this phenomenon and on the fact that no matter how well designed a law is, the economic dimension is the true game changer for women wanting to exit the system of sexual exploitation.

“On the Barricades” s06e19 This weekend we have the military analyst Scott Ritter on the show– the man now widely credited and famed for his ability to make sense of the concrete reality and geopolitics of the NATO-Russia proxy war in Ukraine, cutting across the Western media narrative. Moreover, Scott’s background and expertise can bring us closer to grips with the meaning of war in terms of its socio-moral dimensions, which is an angle the hosts could not wait to discuss with Scott on this recording. The hosts of “On the Barricades,” Maria Cernat and Boyan Stalinslavsky, begin with Scott on what’s coming next in Ukraine: some conditional predictions for how the dynamics of the war in Russia could evolve, and the latest view on what the endgame is. Since we last spoke with Scott in September, there have been some significant turns– for instance Putin’s decisive break with attempts to integrate Russia with the West, and it becoming an open fact that the prospect of the Minsk Agreements was a sham from the start. Will there be a major Russian escalation to secure a Russian victory, and if so when and how could that look? How far has Russia gone towards destroying the Ukrainian state and military, and is it prepared to do so? What kind of partitioning of Ukraine or state formation could be conceivably established, under Russia’s thumb, for Western Ukraine? Then there are the concerns raised about the impact of the war on the rest of Europe and the huge cost that would be paid if Romania and Poland acted on their illusions of military might and mobilized against Russia. On the other side of the analysis, there is the philosophical but also practical question of humanity and war– whether the two are not diametrically opposed. Scott explains the sense in which honour might exist on the battlefield and in military conduct, as well as the sense in which the Ukrainian general Valery Zaluzhny, who is suspected as the Putin regime’s pick for future leadership in West Ukraine leadership, is “honourable” in contrast to the politicians. Scott Ritter became a critic of US foreign policy after serving as US Marine intelligence officer and a UN weapons inspector. He recently authored a book called “Disarmament in the Time of Perestroika: Arms Control and the End of the Soviet Union”: https://bit.ly/3UtTmm7

“On the Barricades” s06e18 On this special release of “On the Barricades,” hosts Boyan and Maria hear from Milan Seculovic, a Montenegrin journalist and the elected President of Save Sinjajevina. Save Sinjajevina is an international solidarity campaign to protect Sinjajevina, a pastoral community and site of ecological and cultural importance in Montenegro, from NATO military occupation and environmental destruction. Montenegro has been part of NATO since 2017 and in prolonged EU ascension talks. While the President uses anti-militarization and green rhetoric to appease protesters, at the same time the new Minister of Defence has announced preparations for new military exercises in Sinjajevina, expected next May 2023 with more than 500 soldiers coming from abroad, presumably in order to train for the war in Ukraine. Milan shares some valuable background and lessons from the struggle. Campaign website: https://sinjajevina.org/ Video introduction to the campaign: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IMrXReb4HA Sign the petition to save Sinjajevina: https://worldbeyondwar.org/sinjajevina/

“On the Barricades” s06e17 In part two of this week’s release of “On the Barricades,” Youri Smouter of 1+1 and host Maria Cernat, who is a media analyst, have a theoretically-informed and historically based discussion beginning on the question– how propagandized are we, especially during the bombardment of media on the war in Ukraine? Why can’t those on the left discuss rationally about Ukraine, without biting each others’ heads off? Something of a similar nature occurred with Jeremy Corbyn’s being framed as an antisemite and the leftist debate becoming immediately aimlessly divided. While in the last decades, the establishment practically denied major research about how the media and technology are designed to exploit our vulnerability in order to get us to buy things– now the funded “regulation” and research is centered on protecting us from Russian propaganda. How does the media not only propagandize us to support the war but also to close ourselves off from rational political debate? The left has allowed itself to sink into a morass of sectarian tribalism, wherein a group associated with a view becomes not worth listening or talking to, on grounds of good and evil– and what is the way out and through to a criticism that’s systemic as opposed to moralistic?

“On the Barricades” s06e16 This weekend we have a two-part release of “On the Barricades” with Youri Smouter of 1+1. In this first part, host Maria Cernat discusses with Youri about the nature of the Romanian secret services, its history, and how people feel about its gargantuan undemocratic role in Romanian politics and society– in comparison to, say, the BLM movement in the US that lashed back at the police brutality and the state. This topic arises after a recent groundbreaking video report that was released by independent journalists in Romania to dig deeper into the context of an incident in which newly-appointed Romanian politicians found recording devices amateuristically installed in their offices. The spying was conducted by a branch of the security services. These devices can be installed only with the legal basis of suspecting a “national threat.” When the politicians hired the police branch of the state to investigate, it was found the devices were accessing classified information, but then they lost their jobs.

“On the Barricades” s06e14 This week we have two releases of “On the Barricades” where hosts Maria Cernat and Boyan Stanislavski discuss with Arto Artinian, our returning guest and friend who is a Bulgarian-Armenian professor of sociology working at a college in New York. The first installment is a discussion of where Eastern Europe currently stands, institutionally, politically, ideologically, and emotionally even– in relation to the entity known as the Collective West and its neoliberal model that these countries gave themselves over to from 1989 on. The balance sheet of deindustrialization, demographic decline, and colonization glaringly shows that the transition was a massive mistake, looking at Bulgaria for instance. Arto shares his insights on Bulgaria’s, in particular, relation to the EU politically and economically, and how this has shaped its institutions. Why did this tragic mistake occur? Maria shares her analysis of how this massive upheaval of systems has played out in Romania and the role of the academic institutions in failing to prevent or even diagnose such a trajectory.

“On the Barricades” s06e15 This week we have two releases of “On the Barricades” where hosts Maria Cernat and Boyan Stanislavski discuss with Arto Artinian, our returning guest and friend who is a Bulgarian-Armenian professor of sociology working at a college in New York. This second installment is an in-depth discussion of “the Left”, which currently has become quite the opposite of its classical meaning of those who organize for progress. Where do Leftists stand and where do we go from here? How do we move past the current pathologies, sectarianism, vile libertarianism, the culture and toxic role of the NGO cliques, pessimism, etc? How do we connect with the masses and get back to the concrete problems that regular people face in this time of intensified crisis?

“On the Barricades” s06e13 Comrades, friends and supporters, this weekend we have a three-part release of “On the Barricades” with host Boyan Stanislavski and our repeat-guest and friend of the show, Youri Smouter of 1+1. Boyan and Youri are doing a wrap-up and reflection on what they view as important trends and processes for the Left in relation to world events of 2022. To paraphrase the philosopher Spinoza, our task is neither to weep, nor to laugh, nor to hate, but understand the processes and actions of historical and political significance that are unfolding around us. We at The Barricade have strived to bring balanced analysis and commentary from a leftist, Eastern-European perspective without getting swept away by liberal hysteria, war-mongering, idealist identity politics, cancel culture, or outright a-historical craze that sweeps the public discourse. We are enthused to continue this project into the new year, staying the course and opening a space for genuine political discussion on the left at a time when it seems media consumers are being prepared, by the powers that be, for ongoing war and confusion, buried under narratives and propaganda more than ever. In this third of three segments, Boyan and Youri discuss: 2:00 The direction of On the Barricades show in the new year; growth versus quality and political aim as a media outlet; your role as viewers! 23:06 Laughability of the thesis that Polish military is equipped to invade Ukraine 30:00 Eastern Europe dragged into the war? Youri on why ground invasion in Ukraine is suicidal 32:00 The real war for regime change in Russia: is in the Russian establishment– elaboration on this important factor by Boyan, with historical background into Putin’s orientation to the oligarchy 39:40 Dugin - Lukashenko conversation about the remnants of the Russian oligarchy embedded in bureaucracy currently, who love Putin, and wait for moment where they can shoot him in the back of the head 45:06 Fear of the whole Russian establishment of a self-organized social uprising allied with the Russian army, against the sabotage of the war by the Putin bureaucracy

“On the Barricades” s06e12 Comrades, friends and supporters, this weekend we have a three-part release of “On the Barricades” with host Boyan Stanislavski and our repeat-guest and friend of the show, Youri Smouter of 1+1. Boyan and Youri are doing a wrap-up and reflection on what they view as important trends and processes for the Left in relation to world events of 2022. To paraphrase the philosopher Spinoza, our task is neither to weep, nor to laugh, nor to hate, but understand the processes and actions of historical and political significance that are unfolding around us. We at The Barricade have strived to bring balanced analysis and commentary from a leftist, Eastern-European perspective without getting swept away by liberal hysteria, war-mongering, idealist identity politics, cancel culture, or outright a-historical craze that sweeps the public discourse. We are enthused to continue this project into the new year, staying the course and opening a space for genuine political discussion on the left at a time when it seems media consumers are being prepared, by the powers that be, for ongoing war and confusion, buried under narratives and propaganda more than ever. In this second of three segments, Boyan and Youri discuss: 2:00 Perspectives on negotiations for peace in Ukraine; whether the annexed territories will go back to Ukraine 5:20 Putin’s apologies for time and resources wasted trying to integrate Russia with the West 11:40 How to end the war taking into account the reality on the table of a partitioned Ukraine 25:55 Russia-China relations and alliance, possibility for exchange of lessons in economics and anti-imperialist policy; between respective communist parties 32:40 Putin’s support in the global south; will Putin pivot left in social-economic policy? 38:02 Significance of any anti-war protests in Russia?

“On the Barricades” s06e11 Comrades, friends and supporters, this weekend we have a three-part release of “On the Barricades” with host Boyan Stanislavski and our repeat-guest and friend of the show, Youri Smouter of 1+1. Boyan and Youri are doing a wrap-up and reflection on what they view as important trends and processes for the Left in relation to world events of 2022. To paraphrase the philosopher Spinoza, our task is neither to weep, nor to laugh, nor to hate, but understand the processes and actions of historical and political significance that are unfolding around us. We at The Barricade have strived to bring balanced analysis and commentary from a leftist, Eastern-European perspective without getting swept away by liberal hysteria, war-mongering, idealist identity politics, cancel culture, or outright a-historical craze that sweeps the public discourse. We are enthused to continue this project into the new year, staying the course and opening a space for genuine political discussion on the left at a time when it seems media consumers are being prepared, by the powers that be, for ongoing war and confusion, buried under narratives and propaganda more than ever. In this first of three segments, Boyan and Youri discuss: 5:56 The lack of peace movement in Europe 9:30 The Polish peace movement, zealous copies of the US political organizing model. Denial and the lack of political dialogue on the basis of anything but emotional hype. 19:30 Are we too soft on Russia? What is the meaning of this question? 23:00 Cancel culture vs honest intellectual conversation 27:40 How much Kremlin insider info has reached the public domain? Boyan comments on whether Putin made a mistake in the decision to invade Ukraine.

“On the Barricades” s06e10 This is the second of our two-part release of “On the Barricades” this weekend, in which host Maria Cernat continues discussing with Patricia Gorky about news and what processes are taking place in the heart of non-democracy, the US. Patricia is a software engineer and technology and security analyst. She is also an organizer with the ANSWER Coalition. She also works in an organization which organized a leftist event in New York called “The real path to peace in Ukraine” and which was targeted and smeared by the Zelensky government.* Patricia tells us about such things that do not frequently make the international news: the pushback in the US against the real threat of nuclear war, how Americans and those on the left view the global situation and war in Ukraine, the economic impact of the sanctions on Putin in the US, how US fracking companies are profiting off of the US’s blowing up of Nord Stream and decommissioning of Nord Stream 2, and how imperialism and the police force are linked. In the second part of the show, we break down the Twitter Files scandal– in which the richest man on earth Elon Musk, who now owns Twitter, tried to brand himself a truth-teller by hand-picking some journalists to expose “content moderation” previously carried out by the company. What is the actual track record and aim of Twitter with regard to current and past censorship– and what is its relationship to the FBI? *https://peoplesdispatch.org/2022/11/18/anti-war-activists-host-event-in-new-york-to-discuss-urgent-steps-for-peace-in-ukraine/ https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1692007/jeremy-corbyn-putin-pro-russia-event-new-york-ukraine-war

“On the Barricades” s06e09 On November 8, the US midterm elections occurred in which many on the left expected there would be a sweep of the Senate and House of representatives by the Republicans, who would capitalize on Biden’s falling popularity. Despite the anti-war demagoguery attempts of some Republicans, this did not so much occur– we saw even Democrats-Republican seats won in the senate and only a narrow Republican majority in the house of representatives. To provide valuable insight to what optimistic political processes are actually occurring and emerging in American society at this time of intensified crisis– including movements against the war, against police brutality, and against the attack on abortion rights– and to explain how the capitalist class rules via their ridiculously undemocratic mechanisms and institutions, we have a repeat guest and friend of the show, Patricia Gorky. Patricia is a software engineer and technology and security analyst. She is also an organizer with the ANSWER Coalition. Patricia’s mentioned article on the suppression of black voting rights: https://www.liberationschool.org/shelby-county-v-holder-how-the-supreme-court-attacked-black-voting-rights/

“On the Barricades” s06e08 Here we have a third of this week’s 3-part release of “On the Barricades” with our repeat-guest Youri Smouter of 1+1. Host Maria Cernat and Youri share some thoughts and reflections on the war in Ukraine, beginning with: have we been too soft on Russia and too hard on Zelensky, as some have accused? Are wars ever justifiable? They also share their insights on how the US and Russian propaganda machines differ externally and internally, Putin’s overall leadership, economic consequences and costs at this stage of the war, and confusion in the leftist and general discourse including on the figure of Stephan Bandera.

“On the Barricades” s06e07 This weekend on “On the Barricades,” we are happy to have our repeat-guest, Youri Smouter of 1+1, to discuss the latest global news, especially as it pertains to Eastern Europe. In this second episode of three, hosts Boyan Stanislavski and Maria Cernat discuss with Youri on the recent flare-up of tensions in Kosovo, a US-NATO proxy state, where the conflict with Serbia has been frozen for two decades. Serbian President Vučić gave a national appeal on Sunday December 4 effectively saying to prepare for war– which would be a long and devastating one, presumably used by the West with the aim of installing a puppet regime in Serbia and to annoy Russia. In the second part of the episode, Maria and Youri discuss the pink-and-purple-washing in Eastern Europe. How do we make sense of the current status of feminism and the LGTBQ rights movement in Eastern Europe and for example Afghanistan– given that US imperialism and the EU has stifled the kind of social-economic systemic progress that would have allowed these causes to genuinely catch on?

“On the Barricades” s06e06 This weekend on “On the Barricades,” we are happy to have our repeat-guest, Youri Smouter of 1+1, to discuss the latest global news especially as it pertains to Eastern Europe. In this first episode of three, we cover Romania-EU relations and the boycotts of Austrian gas companies and banks for the decision to not accept it into Schengen. Romania also intends to attack the decision at the European Justice court. In the second part of the episode, we cover the so-called culture wars and protest at FIFA, a non-debate employed opportunistically by western imperialism– and dissect the capitalist model of funding football.