Gorilla Radio with Chris Cook, Pablo Ouziel, John Helmer, Janine Bandcroft October 24, 2019

This Week on GR

by C. L. Cook - Gorilla-Radio.com

October 24, 2019

Barcelona has seen street protests, police violence, and property damage for more than a week and half, since the sentencing of separatist leaders to lengthy prison terms for their part in the 2017 unsanctioned Catalonia independence referendum.

Thousands have nightly filled the streets, while an estimated 2 million came out in protest in Barcelona to demonstrate against the court's heavy-handed rulings. Hong Kong-style disruption tactics have spread too to Barcelona's El Prat airport, while last Friday a general strike paralyzed the heart of Spain's richest region.

All this comes as Madrid's failed federal government readies for a November election; the second this year.


Listen. Hear.

Dr. Pablo Ouziel is Postdoctoral fellow at the University of Victoria’s Political Science Department and Centre for Global Studies. He’s also a native of Barcelona whose Fellowship project at UVic is, ‘Democracy Here and Now: The Exemplary Case of Spain’.

Pablo Ouziel from Barcelona in the first half.

And; two weeks into Turkey's Syria incursion another mass exodus of civilians from Syria has rendered tens of thousands homeless. It has also forced a veritable blitz of diplomatic efforts from West Asia to Sochi, Russia. Earlier this week, American vice-president, Mike Pence met with Turkish president, Recep Erdogan to negotiate a cessation of hostilities. Tuesday, Erdogan and Russian president, Vladimir Putin agreed a deal that would divide policing of the territory of concern to Turkey, actually halting its military offensive; for now.

John Helmer is a journalist, author, broadcaster, former political advisor to governments, and principal behind the news website, Dances with Bears. Some of Helmer's book titles include: ‘The Deadly Simple Mechanics of Society’, ‘The Jackal’s Wedding – American Power, Arab Revolt’, (co-authored with Claudia Wright) and his latest is the political memoir, ‘The Man Who Knows Too Much About Russia’. His latest article at Dances with Bears is, 'THE SULTAN BLINKED, THE TSAR AGREED TO CLOSE HIS EYES – THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE EXPANDS BY 118 KILOMETRES OF SYRIA'

John Helmer and Russia's hand in the Grand Syria Game in the second half.

And; Victoria-based activist and long-time Gorilla Radio contributor, Janine Bandcroft will be here at the bottom of the hour to bring us up to speed with some of what’s good to get up to in and around our town in the coming week. But first, Pablo Ouziel and Catalonia's lengthening winter of discontent.

Chris Cook hosts Gorilla Radio, airing live every Thursday between 11-Noon Pacific Time. In Victoria at 101.9FM, and on the internet at: http://cfuv.ca.  He also serves as a contributing editor to the web news site, http://www.pacificfreepress.com. Check out the GR blog at: http://gorillaradioblog.blogspot.ca/