1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:04,720 Speaker 1: From UFOs to psychic powers and government conspiracies. History is 2 00:00:04,800 --> 00:00:09,119 Speaker 1: riddled with unexplained events. You can turn back now or 3 00:00:09,200 --> 00:00:12,079 Speaker 1: learn the stuff they don't want you to know. A 4 00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:25,720 Speaker 1: production of I Heart Brading. Hello, welcome back to the show. 5 00:00:25,760 --> 00:00:28,400 Speaker 1: My name is Matt, my name is Noel. They called 6 00:00:28,400 --> 00:00:31,280 Speaker 1: me Ben. We're joined as always with our super producer 7 00:00:31,360 --> 00:00:35,360 Speaker 1: Paul Mission controlled decond. Most importantly, you are you. You 8 00:00:35,440 --> 00:00:38,879 Speaker 1: are here, and that makes this the stuff they don't 9 00:00:38,920 --> 00:00:41,920 Speaker 1: want you to know. This is Part two of what 10 00:00:42,040 --> 00:00:46,400 Speaker 1: may well be a continuing series. We recently had a 11 00:00:46,440 --> 00:00:50,080 Speaker 1: great piece of correspondence from fellow conspiracy realists who asked 12 00:00:50,120 --> 00:00:54,640 Speaker 1: about the world's most dangerous prisoners, which led to you 13 00:00:54,800 --> 00:00:59,120 Speaker 1: a far reaching conversation in part one where we asked 14 00:00:59,240 --> 00:01:03,160 Speaker 1: for your health fellow listeners. Uh. And in that episode, 15 00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:07,080 Speaker 1: we we threw a little bit of a curve ball 16 00:01:07,400 --> 00:01:11,160 Speaker 1: at the very end. We talked about terrorists. We talked 17 00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:15,039 Speaker 1: about uh, super villain level folks like the like Ted 18 00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:20,440 Speaker 1: Kaczynski also called the Uni Bomber. We talked about, frankly, 19 00:01:20,520 --> 00:01:25,600 Speaker 1: the nature of humanity towards the end, but we teased something. 20 00:01:25,760 --> 00:01:30,640 Speaker 1: We said, how do you define dangerous? You know? I mean, 21 00:01:30,760 --> 00:01:33,440 Speaker 1: I think when when most people think of something, uh 22 00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:37,200 Speaker 1: an individual or criminal as being dangerous, you think of 23 00:01:37,240 --> 00:01:40,560 Speaker 1: stuff like a serial killer, a terrorist, a serial assaulter 24 00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:49,600 Speaker 1: and arsonist, you know, uh, someone with perhaps tremendous mental issues, right, 25 00:01:50,320 --> 00:01:53,880 Speaker 1: or perhaps someone who is simply evil. But as it 26 00:01:53,920 --> 00:01:58,200 Speaker 1: turns out, for the powers that be, authoritarian government's military 27 00:01:58,280 --> 00:02:01,680 Speaker 1: regimes so on, the folks they consider the most dangerous 28 00:02:01,880 --> 00:02:05,800 Speaker 1: are often not considered a threat due to violent activities, 29 00:02:05,960 --> 00:02:11,320 Speaker 1: but instead their revolutionary ideas. Here are the facts. The U. 30 00:02:11,360 --> 00:02:14,079 Speaker 1: S Department of State estimates that there are quote currently 31 00:02:14,200 --> 00:02:18,240 Speaker 1: more than a million political prisoners around the world. So 32 00:02:18,400 --> 00:02:21,679 Speaker 1: what are we talking about when we say political prisoners? 33 00:02:22,160 --> 00:02:26,880 Speaker 1: Political prisoners? You've heard you've heard the phrase before. You've 34 00:02:26,880 --> 00:02:30,040 Speaker 1: heard it applied to journalists. You've heard it applied to 35 00:02:30,160 --> 00:02:34,200 Speaker 1: rival politicians. You've heard you've actually you've heard people in 36 00:02:34,280 --> 00:02:39,000 Speaker 1: the United States prison system described themselves as political prisoners. 37 00:02:39,040 --> 00:02:43,359 Speaker 1: I'm thinking in folks like Mumia Abu Jamal, the international 38 00:02:43,400 --> 00:02:47,720 Speaker 1: community considers political prisoners to be people who are held 39 00:02:47,760 --> 00:02:52,560 Speaker 1: without just cause, often because they exercised what they consider 40 00:02:52,680 --> 00:02:57,200 Speaker 1: basic human rights, freedom of expression, peaceful protests, stuff like that. 41 00:02:57,520 --> 00:03:00,640 Speaker 1: They're not trying to, you know, burn down the capital 42 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:04,720 Speaker 1: of their country, but they are trying to protest peacefully 43 00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:07,079 Speaker 1: in front of it. Maybe they defended the rights of others, 44 00:03:07,919 --> 00:03:12,360 Speaker 1: or maybe they published a whole expose about a multi 45 00:03:12,400 --> 00:03:17,880 Speaker 1: billion dollar estate that Putin owns. Yes, yeah, oh boy. 46 00:03:18,040 --> 00:03:23,040 Speaker 1: And they may have organized an opposition party, or like 47 00:03:23,080 --> 00:03:25,720 Speaker 1: you said, they may have reported on abuse or corruption. 48 00:03:25,880 --> 00:03:28,120 Speaker 1: They may have been saying some of the things that 49 00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:31,080 Speaker 1: the people in power would rather the public not know. 50 00:03:32,120 --> 00:03:35,720 Speaker 1: And for most of us listening today, those things that 51 00:03:35,760 --> 00:03:39,040 Speaker 1: we named are not a reason to lock somebody up, right, 52 00:03:39,200 --> 00:03:42,480 Speaker 1: or to sentence them to a Google log, or or 53 00:03:42,520 --> 00:03:45,640 Speaker 1: the horrors of the local prison system. But it gets worse, 54 00:03:45,680 --> 00:03:49,800 Speaker 1: It gets way worse in places like the DPRK North Korea, 55 00:03:49,920 --> 00:03:53,200 Speaker 1: they call it. Here, you can be considered dangerous not 56 00:03:53,360 --> 00:03:56,360 Speaker 1: due to your activities, but due to the activities of 57 00:03:56,400 --> 00:04:00,280 Speaker 1: a family member up to the third generation who are 58 00:04:00,360 --> 00:04:04,000 Speaker 1: guilty by association, and off to the camps you go. 59 00:04:04,560 --> 00:04:07,560 Speaker 1: And then places like China. You know, not not to 60 00:04:07,640 --> 00:04:13,520 Speaker 1: pick on East Asia here, but in China your ethnicity 61 00:04:13,760 --> 00:04:17,640 Speaker 1: may put you under suspicion of the surveillance state. Right, 62 00:04:18,040 --> 00:04:23,280 Speaker 1: you're a little two into the idea of an independent 63 00:04:23,320 --> 00:04:25,839 Speaker 1: Tibet right or in the case of the Weakers in 64 00:04:25,880 --> 00:04:28,479 Speaker 1: western China and jin Yang. So you may have been 65 00:04:28,720 --> 00:04:32,440 Speaker 1: a Japanese American during World War two in the Pacific conflict. 66 00:04:33,240 --> 00:04:37,040 Speaker 1: Right again, not a glass house, a glass planet. And 67 00:04:37,440 --> 00:04:41,040 Speaker 1: people can also be imprisoned for dangerous religious beliefs. We're 68 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:46,480 Speaker 1: not just talking about extremist demagogues or or cult leaders 69 00:04:46,520 --> 00:04:49,599 Speaker 1: like Charles Manson, who actually you know, sent folks to 70 00:04:49,680 --> 00:04:52,479 Speaker 1: kill people. We're talking about people who are just following 71 00:04:52,520 --> 00:04:55,320 Speaker 1: their own belief system in parts of the world where 72 00:04:55,400 --> 00:05:00,960 Speaker 1: unapproved religions are seen as threats to national security or stability. 73 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:04,560 Speaker 1: I mean, um recently in the past, we did an 74 00:05:04,560 --> 00:05:07,760 Speaker 1: episode on shen Yun and following Gong, and we also 75 00:05:07,800 --> 00:05:11,520 Speaker 1: did another episode on it quite recently in Ridiculous History 76 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:17,080 Speaker 1: and following Gong is a dangerous religion to follow or 77 00:05:17,200 --> 00:05:20,400 Speaker 1: dangerous belief system to follow in mainland China. So when 78 00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:23,880 Speaker 1: you say dangerous, ben uh, what are we talking about here? 79 00:05:23,920 --> 00:05:27,160 Speaker 1: What makes these folks and their ideas such a threat 80 00:05:27,520 --> 00:05:31,240 Speaker 1: that they would be deemed dangerous? It's weird, man, It's 81 00:05:31,279 --> 00:05:34,040 Speaker 1: kind of a your mileage may vary situation, isn't it 82 00:05:34,480 --> 00:05:37,359 Speaker 1: uh that you will be seen as a source of 83 00:05:37,440 --> 00:05:42,360 Speaker 1: potential chaos? Right. One of one of my old professors 84 00:05:42,839 --> 00:05:45,240 Speaker 1: who was in a Chinese national and then taught at 85 00:05:45,279 --> 00:05:48,120 Speaker 1: West Point for many years before he went to some 86 00:05:48,200 --> 00:05:52,680 Speaker 1: other institutions, he uh, he was very clear in saying 87 00:05:53,000 --> 00:06:00,520 Speaker 1: that that the struggle of the PRC right now, the 88 00:06:00,520 --> 00:06:05,400 Speaker 1: the and the Communist Party of China is to maintain cohesion, 89 00:06:05,839 --> 00:06:09,359 Speaker 1: right to maintain stability, and it's something that the Middle 90 00:06:09,440 --> 00:06:14,120 Speaker 1: Kingdom has struggled with historically over thousands of years. So 91 00:06:14,839 --> 00:06:20,200 Speaker 1: anything that could be seen as supplanting that or leading 92 00:06:20,240 --> 00:06:26,479 Speaker 1: to a secessionist activity is clamped down aggressively, zealously. And 93 00:06:26,520 --> 00:06:29,919 Speaker 1: again you know, uh, no country is really immune to 94 00:06:30,120 --> 00:06:35,400 Speaker 1: secessionist activity. It's it's funny this statistic doesn't get bandied 95 00:06:35,400 --> 00:06:39,480 Speaker 1: about too often, but you would be surprised to learn, 96 00:06:39,560 --> 00:06:42,080 Speaker 1: maybe if you live in the US, that at any 97 00:06:42,120 --> 00:06:45,880 Speaker 1: given time, there's something like a hundred to two hundred 98 00:06:46,480 --> 00:06:51,159 Speaker 1: groups that consider themselves secessionists. We've got one, we had 99 00:06:51,200 --> 00:06:53,960 Speaker 1: one at least here in uh stuff. They want you 100 00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:56,279 Speaker 1: to know his home state of Georgia, calling itself the 101 00:06:56,360 --> 00:06:59,240 Speaker 1: sovereign State of Georgia, and we talked about on this show. 102 00:06:59,240 --> 00:07:01,560 Speaker 1: They print their own life license plates. They got these 103 00:07:01,560 --> 00:07:05,320 Speaker 1: little signs and their houses that say like, you can't 104 00:07:05,480 --> 00:07:07,800 Speaker 1: enter here if you're an agent of the US. This 105 00:07:07,960 --> 00:07:12,880 Speaker 1: is sovereign territory. And unfortunately, as these groups often learned 106 00:07:13,040 --> 00:07:16,360 Speaker 1: in a court of law, putting up the sign doesn't help. 107 00:07:16,560 --> 00:07:20,440 Speaker 1: It's like when people put that post on Facebook that said, Hey, 108 00:07:20,560 --> 00:07:23,520 Speaker 1: by posting this, I'm saying Facebook can't do anything with 109 00:07:23,560 --> 00:07:26,480 Speaker 1: my data. I don't think that kept Mark Zuckerberg up 110 00:07:26,520 --> 00:07:30,360 Speaker 1: at night. I don't know what keeps that happening. Maybe 111 00:07:30,400 --> 00:07:33,880 Speaker 1: the future of the metaverse band. There was a sovereign 112 00:07:34,160 --> 00:07:36,880 Speaker 1: citizen or a man claiming to be a sovereign citizen 113 00:07:38,080 --> 00:07:43,040 Speaker 1: who was recently uh, he just got sentenced. He struck 114 00:07:43,040 --> 00:07:45,720 Speaker 1: a bunch of people with his vehicle and he just 115 00:07:45,840 --> 00:07:48,600 Speaker 1: got sentenced. It was, oh gosh, what's his name? Is 116 00:07:48,600 --> 00:07:52,640 Speaker 1: it Darryl Brooks? Is that correct, Darryl Brooks? This is 117 00:07:52,680 --> 00:07:57,200 Speaker 1: news to me, Matt. Those parade crash. It was a 118 00:07:57,200 --> 00:08:02,280 Speaker 1: parade crasher, and throughout the entire process of being in trial, 119 00:08:02,400 --> 00:08:06,280 Speaker 1: he was basically saying, you have no jurisdiction over me. 120 00:08:06,400 --> 00:08:09,000 Speaker 1: For various reasons, kind of coming up the works of 121 00:08:09,040 --> 00:08:12,240 Speaker 1: the trial. Um, and he just got sentenced to like 122 00:08:12,280 --> 00:08:14,880 Speaker 1: a crap ton of years in prison. I think it's 123 00:08:14,960 --> 00:08:18,320 Speaker 1: like six life sense sentences or something. Oh, I'm just 124 00:08:18,400 --> 00:08:21,440 Speaker 1: reading about this now, How did I miss this Darryl 125 00:08:21,520 --> 00:08:27,360 Speaker 1: Brooks Christmas Parade attack. Yeah, sovereign citizen is something that 126 00:08:27,360 --> 00:08:30,720 Speaker 1: that people will bring up, and many people who have 127 00:08:30,880 --> 00:08:35,560 Speaker 1: used that defense in the US prison system will go 128 00:08:35,640 --> 00:08:41,440 Speaker 1: on to portray themselves as political prisoners. Right. But in 129 00:08:41,480 --> 00:08:45,360 Speaker 1: the larger case of people are considered dangerous because of 130 00:08:45,400 --> 00:08:50,920 Speaker 1: their ideologies, these folks are not necessarily hoodlums. They're do wells, 131 00:08:51,440 --> 00:08:54,440 Speaker 1: you know. They're They're not out bombing parades or markets. 132 00:08:54,600 --> 00:08:59,040 Speaker 1: They're not out hijacking airplanes or assaulting people. From their perspective, 133 00:08:59,280 --> 00:09:03,080 Speaker 1: they're fighting what they see is basic human rights. The 134 00:09:03,200 --> 00:09:06,560 Speaker 1: right to free speech, right, the right to exist as 135 00:09:06,640 --> 00:09:11,520 Speaker 1: an lgbt Q person, the right to follow a religion 136 00:09:12,120 --> 00:09:15,360 Speaker 1: or belief set of their own choosing without being black 137 00:09:15,400 --> 00:09:18,680 Speaker 1: bagged for it. In some parts of the world, these 138 00:09:18,720 --> 00:09:22,440 Speaker 1: things are treated as serious crimes. Will pause for a 139 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:25,559 Speaker 1: word from our sponsor and learn more about why these 140 00:09:25,559 --> 00:09:37,120 Speaker 1: people are considered dangerous. Here's where it gets crazy. So 141 00:09:37,280 --> 00:09:39,520 Speaker 1: like to your point, doll, these folks were going to 142 00:09:39,600 --> 00:09:43,079 Speaker 1: talk about have one thing in common. Their ideas are 143 00:09:43,120 --> 00:09:46,880 Speaker 1: the primary reason that they are locked up. They didn't 144 00:09:46,920 --> 00:09:51,559 Speaker 1: shoot anybody, didn't rob anybody. They came out and said, hey, 145 00:09:51,760 --> 00:09:55,400 Speaker 1: I think this politician is corrupt, or hey, I feel 146 00:09:55,440 --> 00:10:00,000 Speaker 1: like we shouldn't stone people to death, stuff like that. Uh. 147 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:03,120 Speaker 1: And maybe, uh, maybe we start with one of the 148 00:10:03,200 --> 00:10:07,559 Speaker 1: first examples from the government of South Sudan. Uh, this 149 00:10:07,600 --> 00:10:11,960 Speaker 1: guy Peter by our a Jack is out now, but 150 00:10:12,080 --> 00:10:18,000 Speaker 1: from eighteen to this economist and peace activist was locked 151 00:10:18,080 --> 00:10:22,440 Speaker 1: up due to you know, frankly kangaroo court trial in 152 00:10:22,800 --> 00:10:26,360 Speaker 1: uh notorious Pseudonese prison. And as is the case with 153 00:10:26,400 --> 00:10:29,280 Speaker 1: a lot of these types of folks, are very learned. 154 00:10:29,400 --> 00:10:33,680 Speaker 1: Man Um with a degree from Harvard, also worked for 155 00:10:33,760 --> 00:10:37,440 Speaker 1: a time at the World Bank. This is like the 156 00:10:37,520 --> 00:10:43,000 Speaker 1: Iron Bank of our west. A rost I kind of 157 00:10:43,040 --> 00:10:46,120 Speaker 1: like that comparison. Yeah, that's the World Banks, its own 158 00:10:46,280 --> 00:10:50,080 Speaker 1: conspiratorial bag of badgers. Uh. So we'll we'll put that 159 00:10:50,120 --> 00:10:53,040 Speaker 1: to the side for now and and focus on a Jack. 160 00:10:53,160 --> 00:10:56,439 Speaker 1: His his activism rubbed the power structure the wrong way. 161 00:10:56,880 --> 00:11:00,640 Speaker 1: So He's in the airport in July twenty eight, two 162 00:11:00,640 --> 00:11:06,080 Speaker 1: thousand eighteen, the Juba International Airport, and he is arrested. 163 00:11:06,640 --> 00:11:10,840 Speaker 1: He is literally monopoly style, do not pass, go, do 164 00:11:10,920 --> 00:11:15,440 Speaker 1: not collect, two hundred dollars shipped off with no warrant, no, 165 00:11:16,040 --> 00:11:21,199 Speaker 1: not even a verbal explanation. Right, just get here, now 166 00:11:21,360 --> 00:11:23,600 Speaker 1: we're taking you. They take him to this place called 167 00:11:23,600 --> 00:11:27,720 Speaker 1: the Blue House. He doesn't see a judge for quite 168 00:11:27,760 --> 00:11:30,079 Speaker 1: some time, and when he finally does see a judge, 169 00:11:30,520 --> 00:11:34,319 Speaker 1: they put him in lock up. And he probably would 170 00:11:34,320 --> 00:11:37,640 Speaker 1: still be in there if he did not have Western connections, 171 00:11:37,960 --> 00:11:42,600 Speaker 1: if there weren't various Western powers exerting diplomatic pressure to 172 00:11:42,800 --> 00:11:45,760 Speaker 1: get him out. He was part of a larger sea 173 00:11:45,920 --> 00:11:49,400 Speaker 1: change in South Sudan at the time. They said, okay, 174 00:11:49,440 --> 00:11:52,680 Speaker 1: we were too many people are dissenting, right, they're going 175 00:11:52,720 --> 00:11:55,840 Speaker 1: against the party line. So the best way for us 176 00:11:55,880 --> 00:12:00,280 Speaker 1: to do this is either to address these concerns, maybe 177 00:12:00,280 --> 00:12:05,760 Speaker 1: improve our government, or we just arrest everybody. Well yeah, 178 00:12:05,880 --> 00:12:09,840 Speaker 1: or silence the loudest voice for seventeen months, you know, 179 00:12:10,640 --> 00:12:13,200 Speaker 1: put him in a hole so we can't fullment any more, 180 00:12:13,800 --> 00:12:18,880 Speaker 1: you know, anger against the current system. And he was 181 00:12:18,960 --> 00:12:24,199 Speaker 1: released on January second. But as we'll see in other examples, 182 00:12:24,360 --> 00:12:26,880 Speaker 1: we don't know what how long that release will last. 183 00:12:27,400 --> 00:12:31,960 Speaker 1: A lot of if if you looked at political prisoners 184 00:12:32,800 --> 00:12:35,959 Speaker 1: on paper, they would look like they had a lot 185 00:12:35,960 --> 00:12:39,920 Speaker 1: of recidivism by what you mean, going in and out 186 00:12:39,960 --> 00:12:45,720 Speaker 1: of the prison system. Another one, another example would be Belarus. 187 00:12:45,760 --> 00:12:48,559 Speaker 1: This is this is a weird one. You know, Belarus 188 00:12:48,679 --> 00:12:50,560 Speaker 1: is in the news a little bit more in the 189 00:12:50,600 --> 00:12:54,240 Speaker 1: West now because of its um connection as a vassal 190 00:12:54,360 --> 00:13:01,040 Speaker 1: state to Russia. But for many people, you don't really 191 00:13:01,040 --> 00:13:04,400 Speaker 1: think about Belarus. You know, it's far far away from 192 00:13:04,440 --> 00:13:07,080 Speaker 1: most folks experience unless they live in the region or 193 00:13:07,120 --> 00:13:10,040 Speaker 1: have family in the region. But it is definitely an 194 00:13:10,080 --> 00:13:15,680 Speaker 1: authoritarian regime run by Alexander Lukashenko, who is the president 195 00:13:15,720 --> 00:13:19,719 Speaker 1: technically the president, but functions as as a dictator. So 196 00:13:19,800 --> 00:13:24,040 Speaker 1: this is the case of Maria kalis Nicava. And forgive us, 197 00:13:24,040 --> 00:13:30,520 Speaker 1: we're not native speakers. Kalis Nicava is a political activist 198 00:13:31,600 --> 00:13:37,440 Speaker 1: fighting the authoritarian regime of Belarus through protests, and she 199 00:13:37,520 --> 00:13:39,920 Speaker 1: was arrested for a series of mass protests she did 200 00:13:40,040 --> 00:13:43,520 Speaker 1: in she organized the she led them. You may have 201 00:13:43,559 --> 00:13:45,679 Speaker 1: seen it on the news actually because it did make 202 00:13:45,720 --> 00:13:50,040 Speaker 1: international news. Uh, last year she got sentenced to eleven 203 00:13:50,120 --> 00:13:54,400 Speaker 1: years in prison Western countries. You know, again they raised 204 00:13:54,480 --> 00:14:00,000 Speaker 1: Kane about it. But if you look at the Belarusian perspective, 205 00:14:00,080 --> 00:14:03,520 Speaker 1: if you see they don't consider her, you know, like 206 00:14:03,600 --> 00:14:07,800 Speaker 1: they don't consider her um Bernie Sanders or a Ron 207 00:14:07,920 --> 00:14:10,400 Speaker 1: Paul or someone who would be considered on just like 208 00:14:10,440 --> 00:14:13,200 Speaker 1: a different side of a political spectrum. They think she's 209 00:14:13,240 --> 00:14:18,960 Speaker 1: a spy. Dude, Yeah, essentially working for NATO. Right, do 210 00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:21,760 Speaker 1: what we need to do to destroy the current regime 211 00:14:21,840 --> 00:14:26,360 Speaker 1: or at least the discredit enough to where the NATO powers, 212 00:14:26,400 --> 00:14:28,440 Speaker 1: the Western Powers would be able to swoop in with 213 00:14:28,520 --> 00:14:31,560 Speaker 1: their own appointed people or people they choose to then 214 00:14:31,680 --> 00:14:34,000 Speaker 1: run the new government, and then they would just be 215 00:14:34,080 --> 00:14:38,520 Speaker 1: a tool or an arm of NATO and extract the resources. 216 00:14:38,600 --> 00:14:44,200 Speaker 1: Right Rinson repeat the way. You know, that's the thing. 217 00:14:45,040 --> 00:14:50,000 Speaker 1: That's the thing, Like it's it's not a story that 218 00:14:50,040 --> 00:14:54,640 Speaker 1: they originally made up. It's happening right now in Latin America. 219 00:14:54,720 --> 00:14:58,160 Speaker 1: It's happening in the African continent. You know. Uh, the 220 00:14:58,160 --> 00:15:01,720 Speaker 1: the opium wars are an they're great example in China. 221 00:15:03,960 --> 00:15:07,080 Speaker 1: The global West has a track record. You know what 222 00:15:07,120 --> 00:15:11,720 Speaker 1: I mean, uh, so this is if you are living 223 00:15:11,760 --> 00:15:16,680 Speaker 1: in Belarus. Uh, you can see how that that feels 224 00:15:16,800 --> 00:15:20,560 Speaker 1: like it might have some sand. The problem is that's 225 00:15:20,560 --> 00:15:24,520 Speaker 1: a very convenient accusation to give someone and to lock 226 00:15:24,600 --> 00:15:28,960 Speaker 1: them up because there's not a way to falsify that claim. Right. 227 00:15:29,760 --> 00:15:32,960 Speaker 1: The Western governments they're being accused of this are not 228 00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:36,040 Speaker 1: going to come out and say no, dang guys, you 229 00:15:36,120 --> 00:15:38,960 Speaker 1: got us, good game, good game. Well we gotta have 230 00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:42,640 Speaker 1: better spies really, so we'll we'll see you next year. 231 00:15:43,240 --> 00:15:47,600 Speaker 1: Um keep sending your kids to our Ivy League colleges, right, 232 00:15:48,280 --> 00:15:52,360 Speaker 1: which is awesome? Of that does happen? And the World 233 00:15:52,400 --> 00:15:55,240 Speaker 1: Bank the iron page of us of our West roast. 234 00:15:55,280 --> 00:15:59,160 Speaker 1: That's a good phrase. So so yeah, the West obviously 235 00:15:59,240 --> 00:16:06,520 Speaker 1: disagrees with this. And something really interesting happened recently. This 236 00:16:06,600 --> 00:16:11,160 Speaker 1: activist won what's called the vaklif Hovel human Rights Prize. 237 00:16:11,600 --> 00:16:14,680 Speaker 1: She wanted while she was in prison, and her sister 238 00:16:14,920 --> 00:16:19,120 Speaker 1: had to accept the award on her behalf. This is 239 00:16:19,160 --> 00:16:23,920 Speaker 1: a annual award primarily in Europe. It goes beyond European borders, 240 00:16:23,960 --> 00:16:27,440 Speaker 1: which gives you the equivalent of like sixty thousand euros, 241 00:16:27,480 --> 00:16:32,440 Speaker 1: as as the award and it honors outstanding civil society 242 00:16:32,440 --> 00:16:35,400 Speaker 1: action in defense of human rights. I mean, hell, we 243 00:16:35,440 --> 00:16:38,880 Speaker 1: hear about so many political prisoners doing some of their 244 00:16:38,920 --> 00:16:45,120 Speaker 1: best writing or best most influential work while incarcerated. Yeah, 245 00:16:45,880 --> 00:16:50,320 Speaker 1: you know, um Nelson Mandela it was a political prisoners 246 00:16:50,480 --> 00:16:56,880 Speaker 1: as well. And the world Dolly Parton's million dollars from 247 00:16:56,880 --> 00:17:01,440 Speaker 1: Bezos stay out of prison, Dolly. We love her straight, 248 00:17:01,480 --> 00:17:03,360 Speaker 1: you know what, Dolly has been through a lot. Maybe 249 00:17:03,360 --> 00:17:06,159 Speaker 1: it's time she cleans up her act that she wanted 250 00:17:06,440 --> 00:17:10,320 Speaker 1: like in a sweepstakes of some kind. She she won 251 00:17:10,400 --> 00:17:14,160 Speaker 1: this award somehow. I also, I also think the timing 252 00:17:14,240 --> 00:17:18,200 Speaker 1: of that news was very interesting, right right before Amazon 253 00:17:18,320 --> 00:17:22,280 Speaker 1: came under fire and had all these massive problems. Also, 254 00:17:22,920 --> 00:17:26,760 Speaker 1: I'm just gonna say it, it's sort of I want 255 00:17:26,800 --> 00:17:29,120 Speaker 1: to be the canary in the conspiracy coal mine here, 256 00:17:29,119 --> 00:17:31,040 Speaker 1: but it is dangerous to give Dolly Parton a hundred 257 00:17:31,080 --> 00:17:32,880 Speaker 1: million dollars, Like, what is she going to do with it? 258 00:17:33,359 --> 00:17:37,600 Speaker 1: She's unhidd no, no, no, no, no, she's actually I'm 259 00:17:37,640 --> 00:17:39,800 Speaker 1: not just saying this because I have family in Tennessee 260 00:17:39,880 --> 00:17:43,960 Speaker 1: and she is holding them hostage. I am saying that, 261 00:17:44,280 --> 00:17:45,840 Speaker 1: you know, she does a lot of good work and 262 00:17:45,960 --> 00:17:49,639 Speaker 1: is an excellent musician, gives kids free books all the time. 263 00:17:50,200 --> 00:17:52,720 Speaker 1: There's not much bad you can say about her. But 264 00:17:52,800 --> 00:17:58,520 Speaker 1: what I'm saying is, uh, it's dangerous in my opinion, 265 00:17:59,280 --> 00:18:05,800 Speaker 1: for something feels off about Bezos personally giving these awards 266 00:18:06,520 --> 00:18:11,600 Speaker 1: in a way that I don't know. It paves the 267 00:18:11,600 --> 00:18:14,720 Speaker 1: way for a private entity supplanting the role of the state. 268 00:18:16,440 --> 00:18:20,439 Speaker 1: That's that's why. And look, loud of private industries have 269 00:18:20,720 --> 00:18:25,600 Speaker 1: awards right that are quite substantial, and I just I 270 00:18:25,600 --> 00:18:27,720 Speaker 1: don't know, something feels off about it. But maybe I'm 271 00:18:27,760 --> 00:18:35,440 Speaker 1: just maybe I'm being uh, overly cynical. Anyway, No, no, 272 00:18:35,480 --> 00:18:37,520 Speaker 1: not at all, not at all, not at all. We're 273 00:18:37,560 --> 00:18:41,679 Speaker 1: not derailed because we are talking about these these awards. 274 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:45,919 Speaker 1: International awards can be weaponized, right, They're part of diplomacy. 275 00:18:45,960 --> 00:18:48,400 Speaker 1: They're meant to make a statement. That's why people get 276 00:18:48,400 --> 00:18:52,600 Speaker 1: the new Abel Peace Prize, even if you know there 277 00:18:52,680 --> 00:18:56,000 Speaker 1: might have been some better candidates. Uh, And like it 278 00:18:56,040 --> 00:18:59,840 Speaker 1: was tremendously controversial when former President Barack Obama got the 279 00:18:59,880 --> 00:19:03,120 Speaker 1: New About Peace Prize, and folks abroad, we're asking some 280 00:19:03,720 --> 00:19:08,840 Speaker 1: very serious questions about US adventurism abroad. You know, and 281 00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:14,840 Speaker 1: interventions right the right, what about the drones and what 282 00:19:14,960 --> 00:19:18,320 Speaker 1: about the interventions that don't make the news unless something 283 00:19:18,359 --> 00:19:21,920 Speaker 1: goes wrong, right, unless the black hawk goes down. So 284 00:19:23,119 --> 00:19:25,320 Speaker 1: this this is weird because one thing that stands out 285 00:19:25,480 --> 00:19:30,080 Speaker 1: is called Nikova's sister says, this is just one of 286 00:19:30,280 --> 00:19:34,440 Speaker 1: hundreds of political prisoners who are kept in Belarusian jails 287 00:19:34,480 --> 00:19:40,840 Speaker 1: in awful conditions under what she called false, politically motivated accusations. 288 00:19:40,920 --> 00:19:43,679 Speaker 1: And just these two South Sudan and Belarus, there are 289 00:19:43,680 --> 00:19:48,399 Speaker 1: only two examples of a huge, intensely disturbing trend. Authoritarian 290 00:19:48,440 --> 00:19:52,919 Speaker 1: regimes have always actively locked up dissidents. That's old beans, 291 00:19:52,960 --> 00:19:56,720 Speaker 1: everybody knows about that. But now the pattern is accelerating 292 00:19:56,920 --> 00:19:59,080 Speaker 1: at a pace that has not been seen since the 293 00:19:59,080 --> 00:20:03,080 Speaker 1: height of the Old War. The trend also seems set 294 00:20:03,160 --> 00:20:06,480 Speaker 1: to continue. Things are gonna get harry as as the 295 00:20:06,560 --> 00:20:10,359 Speaker 1: years go on. Right, um not, it's not even counting journalists. 296 00:20:11,080 --> 00:20:16,040 Speaker 1: We mentioned journalists. The you know, the next episode of 297 00:20:16,080 --> 00:20:19,440 Speaker 1: Most Dangerous Jobs may well need to focus on journalist. 298 00:20:19,640 --> 00:20:24,119 Speaker 1: Who is that poor fellow that got beheaded Kasha. Also 299 00:20:24,280 --> 00:20:28,080 Speaker 1: there was Daniel Pearl, I believe Wall Street journal reporter 300 00:20:28,600 --> 00:20:32,080 Speaker 1: was beheaded on videotape in Pakistan and that was that 301 00:20:32,160 --> 00:20:36,000 Speaker 1: really made up huge international impact because the video is 302 00:20:36,080 --> 00:20:38,359 Speaker 1: just horrific and was floating out there. Yeah, and he 303 00:20:38,520 --> 00:20:42,960 Speaker 1: was beheaded by terrorist group, right, yeah, but again, what 304 00:20:43,080 --> 00:20:45,359 Speaker 1: is a terrorist group if not sort of a sub 305 00:20:45,440 --> 00:20:48,920 Speaker 1: government in and of itself, right, like in certain countries, 306 00:20:49,400 --> 00:20:54,200 Speaker 1: you know, Um, they're attempting to take over and they're 307 00:20:54,320 --> 00:20:57,240 Speaker 1: organized like a government, you know, in terms of their 308 00:20:57,280 --> 00:21:03,000 Speaker 1: their structure. Yeah. Yeah, that's really good point. Ultimately, Uh, 309 00:21:03,080 --> 00:21:05,480 Speaker 1: a lot of terrorist groups want to take on the 310 00:21:05,560 --> 00:21:08,400 Speaker 1: role of the state, just like a lot of big 311 00:21:08,400 --> 00:21:13,560 Speaker 1: corporations brought it back. Seriously, be aware, you know, ask 312 00:21:13,600 --> 00:21:17,000 Speaker 1: yourself why it's possible for someone in South Korea to 313 00:21:17,080 --> 00:21:20,199 Speaker 1: be a born in a Samsung hospital, be have a 314 00:21:20,240 --> 00:21:22,639 Speaker 1: career where they spend their life working for Samsung, and 315 00:21:22,640 --> 00:21:29,240 Speaker 1: then see die and be buried in a Samsung funeral home. Amazon, No, 316 00:21:29,720 --> 00:21:33,800 Speaker 1: I know, I know, Uh, messages to the void. But 317 00:21:34,760 --> 00:21:39,400 Speaker 1: journalists are also being targeted increasingly by state level actors. 318 00:21:39,680 --> 00:21:45,200 Speaker 1: There are longstanding cases, speculative cases of journalists being targeted 319 00:21:45,640 --> 00:21:48,760 Speaker 1: here in the United States, right, folks like Gary Webb 320 00:21:48,960 --> 00:21:54,720 Speaker 1: or Danny Castelero. But there are absolutely proven cases of 321 00:21:54,840 --> 00:22:01,240 Speaker 1: journalists being targeted in other countries. Ivan Sofronov was just 322 00:22:01,440 --> 00:22:05,720 Speaker 1: recently like this year, this past September, ex journalists sentenced 323 00:22:05,760 --> 00:22:11,160 Speaker 1: to twenty two years in Russian prison due to charges 324 00:22:11,440 --> 00:22:15,880 Speaker 1: of treason. And then you know there's uh journalists who 325 00:22:16,119 --> 00:22:20,600 Speaker 1: become faces of political opposition, like Navalny, who is some 326 00:22:20,880 --> 00:22:25,640 Speaker 1: is somehow still alive. You know, Uh, this is a 327 00:22:25,760 --> 00:22:30,080 Speaker 1: larger pattern. There's a conspiracy of play, and we found 328 00:22:30,080 --> 00:22:32,920 Speaker 1: some numbers to support this. Oh yeah, we can jump 329 00:22:32,960 --> 00:22:38,399 Speaker 1: to the Committee to Protect Journalists who in found quote, 330 00:22:38,720 --> 00:22:41,240 Speaker 1: the number of reporters jails for their work hit a 331 00:22:41,280 --> 00:22:45,400 Speaker 1: new global record of two hundred and ninety three, which 332 00:22:45,480 --> 00:22:48,159 Speaker 1: is up from a revised total of two and eighty 333 00:22:48,280 --> 00:22:51,600 Speaker 1: in the year two thousand twenty, Which doesn't sound like 334 00:22:51,720 --> 00:22:56,440 Speaker 1: a lot until you consider these people are not being 335 00:22:56,480 --> 00:23:01,680 Speaker 1: targeted for their ethnicity, they're not being targeted necessarily for 336 00:23:01,760 --> 00:23:10,200 Speaker 1: their uh political activism. They're being targeted based on their profession. Right. 337 00:23:10,520 --> 00:23:12,120 Speaker 1: You know, it's interesting to mean this is a little 338 00:23:12,119 --> 00:23:16,040 Speaker 1: bit different, but this case with the w NBA basketball 339 00:23:16,080 --> 00:23:21,240 Speaker 1: player Brittany Grinder, who was arrested for you know what 340 00:23:21,280 --> 00:23:25,080 Speaker 1: would otherwise likely be a minor infraction with like a 341 00:23:25,160 --> 00:23:29,160 Speaker 1: vape cartridge or something like that of of a THHC variety. Uh, 342 00:23:29,160 --> 00:23:32,800 Speaker 1: and is now it incarcerated in a Russian penal colony. 343 00:23:33,080 --> 00:23:37,560 Speaker 1: And because of this person's stature and profession and the 344 00:23:37,640 --> 00:23:41,480 Speaker 1: conflicts in Ukraine politically and our opposition to that, you 345 00:23:41,480 --> 00:23:44,119 Speaker 1: could argue this is a political prisoner as well. This 346 00:23:44,160 --> 00:23:46,480 Speaker 1: is a way for a government to kind of thumb 347 00:23:46,520 --> 00:23:50,199 Speaker 1: their nose at us a bit. Yeah, and you know 348 00:23:50,440 --> 00:23:53,360 Speaker 1: you you see that, Like I was trying to think 349 00:23:53,359 --> 00:23:55,720 Speaker 1: of a weird example just to put this in perspective, 350 00:23:56,680 --> 00:24:01,120 Speaker 1: the Committee to Protect Journalists exists because as journalists get 351 00:24:01,200 --> 00:24:06,399 Speaker 1: targeted at this increasing pace, what if what if the 352 00:24:06,440 --> 00:24:09,159 Speaker 1: same thing was happening with plumbers? You know, what if 353 00:24:09,200 --> 00:24:12,280 Speaker 1: there had to be a an international nonprofit called the 354 00:24:12,280 --> 00:24:15,720 Speaker 1: Committee to Protect Plumbers and they had the statistics on 355 00:24:15,920 --> 00:24:22,760 Speaker 1: government's government's targeting, imprisoning, and executing or torturing plumbers, you 356 00:24:22,800 --> 00:24:27,800 Speaker 1: would rightly think that's messed up because plumbers don't seem 357 00:24:27,880 --> 00:24:31,560 Speaker 1: like they should be dangerous. They're doing needful work in 358 00:24:31,640 --> 00:24:36,600 Speaker 1: a society, in any society, regardless of um what that 359 00:24:36,680 --> 00:24:40,320 Speaker 1: society functions as and that's we're about Mario and Luigi 360 00:24:40,359 --> 00:24:43,480 Speaker 1: and you're king Kopa, in which case those are utter 361 00:24:43,600 --> 00:24:46,640 Speaker 1: terrorists to you and they need to be dealt with. 362 00:24:47,160 --> 00:24:49,359 Speaker 1: So that the reason I'm using the plumber example is 363 00:24:49,400 --> 00:24:53,480 Speaker 1: apply that then to journalists. I wish more folks would 364 00:24:53,520 --> 00:24:59,119 Speaker 1: admit that journalism is a necessity in civilization, speaking truth 365 00:24:59,160 --> 00:25:02,840 Speaker 1: to power. That is a necessity, just as much as 366 00:25:02,920 --> 00:25:06,840 Speaker 1: you need plumbers, right, And I think that, first off, 367 00:25:06,880 --> 00:25:10,520 Speaker 1: I think there's no such thing as a useless job 368 00:25:11,560 --> 00:25:15,119 Speaker 1: at all, and we shouldn't denigrate people for their professions. 369 00:25:15,520 --> 00:25:19,000 Speaker 1: We also, hey, probably shouldn't kill them because of those, right, 370 00:25:19,680 --> 00:25:22,320 Speaker 1: at least in this case. And well, but there's a 371 00:25:22,359 --> 00:25:24,520 Speaker 1: reason why they why it's called the fourth of state, 372 00:25:24,640 --> 00:25:27,199 Speaker 1: at least in this country. The you know the press, right, 373 00:25:27,760 --> 00:25:32,760 Speaker 1: because you can you can wield massive power, and you 374 00:25:32,760 --> 00:25:36,440 Speaker 1: can you can enact sea change depending on how many 375 00:25:36,440 --> 00:25:38,720 Speaker 1: eyes and ears you can get on what you're writing 376 00:25:38,720 --> 00:25:42,720 Speaker 1: as a journalist, right, I mean, it's it's a powerful 377 00:25:43,600 --> 00:25:46,760 Speaker 1: position to have if you've if you've got enough subscribers 378 00:25:46,800 --> 00:25:49,760 Speaker 1: or readers or clicks or whatever. Well, also it can 379 00:25:49,800 --> 00:25:54,680 Speaker 1: be compromised and leveraged. I mean, it's an open secret that, 380 00:25:55,920 --> 00:26:00,280 Speaker 1: especially before the advent of the internet. Uh, the US 381 00:26:00,400 --> 00:26:12,960 Speaker 1: state had a heavy thumb to infilt. Yeah. Uh so no, 382 00:26:13,119 --> 00:26:15,120 Speaker 1: it's perfect, it's perfect. I want to hear the rest 383 00:26:15,119 --> 00:26:20,160 Speaker 1: of the verse. Uh. Twenty four journalists at least were 384 00:26:20,240 --> 00:26:24,680 Speaker 1: killed as a result of doing their jobs in eighteen 385 00:26:24,760 --> 00:26:29,320 Speaker 1: others died in circumstances that CPJ called quote too murky 386 00:26:29,400 --> 00:26:34,520 Speaker 1: to determine whether they were specific targets, which is in 387 00:26:34,600 --> 00:26:37,919 Speaker 1: plain speech, it's them saying we can't prove this, but 388 00:26:37,960 --> 00:26:40,520 Speaker 1: we're putting them on this list. And just like that 389 00:26:40,560 --> 00:26:46,040 Speaker 1: accelerating trend of arresting political activists, this trend of detaining 390 00:26:46,840 --> 00:26:52,240 Speaker 1: or murdering journalists seems set to escalate. Governments across the world, 391 00:26:53,359 --> 00:26:56,720 Speaker 1: regardless of what you think of them, are all aware 392 00:26:56,880 --> 00:27:00,040 Speaker 1: that there is going to be an increasing st a 393 00:27:00,119 --> 00:27:03,480 Speaker 1: goal in the coming decades because the consequences of past 394 00:27:03,520 --> 00:27:08,400 Speaker 1: generations activities are going to hit heavy. It's already happening, 395 00:27:08,600 --> 00:27:11,520 Speaker 1: and they need to maintain their grip on the levers 396 00:27:11,760 --> 00:27:15,320 Speaker 1: of power, you know, like that's that's the most important thing. 397 00:27:15,440 --> 00:27:18,720 Speaker 1: If you are a dictator, you keep your people on 398 00:27:18,920 --> 00:27:22,400 Speaker 1: several steady diets. You make sure they're fed. You make 399 00:27:22,480 --> 00:27:26,359 Speaker 1: sure that they are fed food to keep them alive 400 00:27:26,400 --> 00:27:29,240 Speaker 1: and working and loyal, right, make sure they know they 401 00:27:29,240 --> 00:27:31,159 Speaker 1: owe that food, do you? And you make sure you 402 00:27:31,160 --> 00:27:34,840 Speaker 1: feed them a diet of information that is curated, right, 403 00:27:34,920 --> 00:27:37,680 Speaker 1: So you have to be able to maintain a certain 404 00:27:37,760 --> 00:27:42,080 Speaker 1: level of stability. What do you do when there are 405 00:27:42,240 --> 00:27:46,679 Speaker 1: massive waves of climate refugees right leaving your place or 406 00:27:46,880 --> 00:27:49,320 Speaker 1: coming into your border? What do you What do you 407 00:27:49,359 --> 00:27:53,320 Speaker 1: do when the arable land stops starts disappearing? What do 408 00:27:53,359 --> 00:27:55,680 Speaker 1: you do when you just can't find fish in the ocean. 409 00:27:56,240 --> 00:27:58,719 Speaker 1: It's happening. It's happening. They're aware of it. And I 410 00:27:58,720 --> 00:28:02,240 Speaker 1: believe that's part of the reason why we're seeing these lockdowns, 411 00:28:02,280 --> 00:28:06,959 Speaker 1: coupled with the massive flow of information, right that just 412 00:28:07,160 --> 00:28:10,240 Speaker 1: didn't exist ever before. I mean, I guess a version 413 00:28:10,280 --> 00:28:12,560 Speaker 1: of it existed when there were when when they were 414 00:28:12,600 --> 00:28:16,000 Speaker 1: like maybe twelve thousand humans and they were all roughly 415 00:28:16,040 --> 00:28:18,760 Speaker 1: in the same place and they can like kind of 416 00:28:18,800 --> 00:28:21,280 Speaker 1: communicate with you know, maybe that's like the first Twitter. 417 00:28:21,640 --> 00:28:25,200 Speaker 1: I don't know. But now there are eight billions, a 418 00:28:25,320 --> 00:28:29,040 Speaker 1: number which will decline by the way. Uh, Let's let's 419 00:28:29,080 --> 00:28:32,359 Speaker 1: talk about some who are our top who are our 420 00:28:32,400 --> 00:28:37,640 Speaker 1: top journalist haters? According to the numbers, it's China, right, Yeah, God, 421 00:28:37,640 --> 00:28:41,080 Speaker 1: we're not going to get past customs. Man, I don't 422 00:28:41,080 --> 00:28:43,640 Speaker 1: know if we get to do a tour in China. Well, 423 00:28:43,640 --> 00:28:48,400 Speaker 1: we're not journalists, so we're just guys talking, right, and 424 00:28:48,440 --> 00:28:51,520 Speaker 1: hopefully that's not a crime. I think it depends on 425 00:28:51,560 --> 00:28:55,920 Speaker 1: what you say. So yeah, for the third year in 426 00:28:55,960 --> 00:29:00,640 Speaker 1: the row, as China has been the worst jailer of 427 00:29:00,760 --> 00:29:06,840 Speaker 1: journalists and that's I think last year fifty we're locked 428 00:29:06,920 --> 00:29:10,720 Speaker 1: up again for doing their jobs. But Mexico is probably 429 00:29:10,720 --> 00:29:14,040 Speaker 1: the most dangerous place for journalists. I remember we read 430 00:29:14,080 --> 00:29:16,680 Speaker 1: a story about that not long ago that in certain 431 00:29:16,720 --> 00:29:20,400 Speaker 1: cities being a journalist was one of the most dangerous 432 00:29:20,960 --> 00:29:24,200 Speaker 1: occupations you could have. Yeah, especially in places where the 433 00:29:24,240 --> 00:29:28,920 Speaker 1: cartels are increasingly supplanting the state. Right, they're not going 434 00:29:29,000 --> 00:29:31,560 Speaker 1: to lock you up, They're just going to kill you, 435 00:29:31,880 --> 00:29:37,120 Speaker 1: and perhaps in a slow way to set an example. Right. Uh, 436 00:29:37,240 --> 00:29:40,080 Speaker 1: So China is locking them up, and I have a 437 00:29:40,160 --> 00:29:42,400 Speaker 1: theory about this. I want to see what you guys think. 438 00:29:43,160 --> 00:29:48,800 Speaker 1: So three years in a row, I I believe it. 439 00:29:48,800 --> 00:29:53,240 Speaker 1: It's probably an accelerated trend due to COVID and the 440 00:29:53,640 --> 00:29:58,840 Speaker 1: and the centralized power structure clamping down on coverage of COVID. 441 00:29:58,920 --> 00:30:01,280 Speaker 1: You know, when whole city were being shut down, when 442 00:30:01,280 --> 00:30:04,160 Speaker 1: people were starving in their apartment buildings because they were 443 00:30:04,200 --> 00:30:09,520 Speaker 1: physically not allowed outside journalists reporting on that further foment 444 00:30:10,320 --> 00:30:14,280 Speaker 1: domestic descent. And they also spread the news. Right. If 445 00:30:14,280 --> 00:30:16,680 Speaker 1: someone's trying to control the news, and you don't want 446 00:30:16,680 --> 00:30:20,000 Speaker 1: people in nearby City B to know that City A 447 00:30:20,480 --> 00:30:24,720 Speaker 1: just got locked down, right and to reasonably expect that 448 00:30:24,760 --> 00:30:27,120 Speaker 1: they will be next on the list, then you want 449 00:30:27,120 --> 00:30:29,640 Speaker 1: to get rid of the people who could tell City 450 00:30:29,680 --> 00:30:32,760 Speaker 1: B yeah, or you don't want people to know the 451 00:30:32,800 --> 00:30:36,240 Speaker 1: economic bottom is falling out right when it comes to 452 00:30:36,600 --> 00:30:40,040 Speaker 1: the let's build infrastructure everywhere as much as we can 453 00:30:40,400 --> 00:30:43,440 Speaker 1: the whole thing. Uh, Let's see who else is on 454 00:30:43,480 --> 00:30:46,680 Speaker 1: the list? Who else? Well, Myanmar actually jumped to the 455 00:30:46,920 --> 00:30:51,320 Speaker 1: second UH spot in the list after a media crackdown there. 456 00:30:51,800 --> 00:30:56,640 Speaker 1: That um followed its February first military q UM. Then 457 00:30:56,680 --> 00:31:01,000 Speaker 1: you have Egypt, Vietnam, and Belarus, which him up and 458 00:31:01,760 --> 00:31:06,960 Speaker 1: earlier in the episode, respectively, rounding out the top five positions. 459 00:31:07,200 --> 00:31:09,600 Speaker 1: And you know, depending on what happens in the next 460 00:31:10,680 --> 00:31:14,040 Speaker 1: I don't know, months years, Russia might be up there 461 00:31:15,160 --> 00:31:18,720 Speaker 1: as somebody else, like in opposition force to Russia, and 462 00:31:18,920 --> 00:31:21,960 Speaker 1: one of these Western countries might be up there. Who knows, 463 00:31:22,160 --> 00:31:25,959 Speaker 1: because when that kind of conflict, control of information becomes highly, 464 00:31:26,080 --> 00:31:29,920 Speaker 1: highly crucial. Yeah, yeah, you know who probably won't get 465 00:31:29,960 --> 00:31:33,920 Speaker 1: on that list, Saudi Arabia because the king the kingdom 466 00:31:33,960 --> 00:31:37,400 Speaker 1: has already established it's not about locking the journalists up. 467 00:31:38,200 --> 00:31:42,760 Speaker 1: Why not just kill them set an example, and especially uh, 468 00:31:42,840 --> 00:31:48,480 Speaker 1: that trend will likely accelerate because nobody did anything. There 469 00:31:48,480 --> 00:31:51,680 Speaker 1: were no real consequences to the kingdom. Well, the kingdom 470 00:31:51,760 --> 00:31:55,560 Speaker 1: is arguing that they did nothing wrong, right, I just 471 00:31:55,680 --> 00:32:01,160 Speaker 1: saw a peace on that just on Yeah, which I oh, gosh, 472 00:32:01,200 --> 00:32:04,080 Speaker 1: I don't know which direction we should go with that 473 00:32:04,200 --> 00:32:07,800 Speaker 1: future episode, but I'm thinking, you know, we're what we're 474 00:32:07,800 --> 00:32:09,640 Speaker 1: doing here is we're touching on a lot of things 475 00:32:09,720 --> 00:32:12,640 Speaker 1: that are episodes of their own and the future. We 476 00:32:12,720 --> 00:32:15,080 Speaker 1: want to let's let's tak a pause for a word 477 00:32:15,080 --> 00:32:17,360 Speaker 1: from our sponsor, and we're going to return and talk 478 00:32:17,400 --> 00:32:30,480 Speaker 1: about one of the most complicated cases of recent political prisoners. Okay, 479 00:32:31,280 --> 00:32:33,720 Speaker 1: it's a tough job to be president, right, It's a 480 00:32:33,760 --> 00:32:36,760 Speaker 1: tough job to be prime minister. You have heard us 481 00:32:36,800 --> 00:32:39,719 Speaker 1: go on record before saying we don't want those jobs. 482 00:32:40,600 --> 00:32:44,120 Speaker 1: Most reasonable people, in fact do not. I would imagine, 483 00:32:44,720 --> 00:32:49,959 Speaker 1: but imagine being a prisoner one year, a prime minister 484 00:32:50,120 --> 00:32:53,640 Speaker 1: or president the next, and then after a few more years, 485 00:32:53,880 --> 00:32:55,880 Speaker 1: going back in prison. This is the story of On 486 00:32:56,040 --> 00:33:02,760 Speaker 1: Song Succi, the Burmese politician diplomat, winner of the Nobel 487 00:33:02,880 --> 00:33:06,440 Speaker 1: Peace Prize, who, depending on the year, is either leading 488 00:33:06,440 --> 00:33:10,720 Speaker 1: the government of Myanmar or imprisoned by the government of Myanmar. 489 00:33:11,000 --> 00:33:15,760 Speaker 1: Yah Succi spent nearly fifteen years in prison or in 490 00:33:15,880 --> 00:33:21,120 Speaker 1: detention between nineteen eighty nine and ten um. All this 491 00:33:21,760 --> 00:33:24,880 Speaker 1: due to her personal struggle to bring democracy to the 492 00:33:24,880 --> 00:33:29,440 Speaker 1: then military ruled Myanmar, which is also known as Burma Um. 493 00:33:29,480 --> 00:33:32,280 Speaker 1: And she really became kind of a Nelson Mandela figure 494 00:33:32,760 --> 00:33:36,720 Speaker 1: in terms of an international symbol of peaceful resistance in 495 00:33:36,760 --> 00:33:41,520 Speaker 1: the face of oppressive regimes. Yeah, and you can just 496 00:33:43,480 --> 00:33:47,400 Speaker 1: you can just search the name on your browser of 497 00:33:47,560 --> 00:33:52,280 Speaker 1: choice and you will see how far back this roller 498 00:33:52,400 --> 00:33:57,160 Speaker 1: coaster goes she has been. Like, this person was born 499 00:33:57,360 --> 00:34:04,120 Speaker 1: in nineteen back when Myanmar was still called Burma, and 500 00:34:04,640 --> 00:34:08,960 Speaker 1: she came to her position based partially on her lineage. 501 00:34:09,920 --> 00:34:15,120 Speaker 1: She's the youngest daughter of own son who was considered 502 00:34:15,160 --> 00:34:20,440 Speaker 1: the father of modern day Myanmar. And she has been 503 00:34:20,480 --> 00:34:24,400 Speaker 1: involved on the national stage in a big way since 504 00:34:24,760 --> 00:34:28,279 Speaker 1: the nineteen eighties. She was in the what's called the 505 00:34:28,960 --> 00:34:33,880 Speaker 1: uprising because it was August eighth. Then she became a 506 00:34:33,960 --> 00:34:38,040 Speaker 1: general secretary her of a party called the n LD 507 00:34:38,800 --> 00:34:42,680 Speaker 1: and things were looking pretty good for them for a while. 508 00:34:42,960 --> 00:34:48,000 Speaker 1: That party in the elections won the majority of seats 509 00:34:48,000 --> 00:34:53,440 Speaker 1: in parliament. So picture in the US picture, the idea 510 00:34:53,680 --> 00:34:59,839 Speaker 1: of eight percent of Congress being Democratic or Republican. It's 511 00:35:00,080 --> 00:35:03,480 Speaker 1: it's an incredible majority, right, and it seems to reflect 512 00:35:03,600 --> 00:35:08,840 Speaker 1: the will of the voters. Until the military came in 513 00:35:09,160 --> 00:35:11,919 Speaker 1: and said, shut this party down, you know what I mean, 514 00:35:12,239 --> 00:35:18,520 Speaker 1: stop everything, and they did. Uh. They put her on 515 00:35:18,680 --> 00:35:24,919 Speaker 1: house arrest, and then from yeah, and then's like over 516 00:35:24,960 --> 00:35:30,319 Speaker 1: a period of in that time period, she was locked 517 00:35:30,400 --> 00:35:36,040 Speaker 1: up in her own house for fifteen years on and off. UH, 518 00:35:36,080 --> 00:35:38,560 Speaker 1: and this made her one of the world's most prominent 519 00:35:38,719 --> 00:35:43,640 Speaker 1: political prisoners. People have tried to kill her multiple times. 520 00:35:44,360 --> 00:35:46,640 Speaker 1: She gets out of prison, she as sends the power, 521 00:35:47,480 --> 00:35:52,200 Speaker 1: the military comes back in locks her up. UH. The 522 00:35:52,239 --> 00:35:59,200 Speaker 1: most recent news. She was arrested h February of last year, 523 00:36:00,160 --> 00:36:02,800 Speaker 1: recently along with other members in the n l D party. 524 00:36:02,840 --> 00:36:07,239 Speaker 1: Oh that's National League for Democracy. Sorry, And the military 525 00:36:07,320 --> 00:36:11,120 Speaker 1: just keeps calling the elections gen d up and fraudulent 526 00:36:11,320 --> 00:36:19,560 Speaker 1: when they don't win. Sounds familiar. It could happen here, 527 00:36:21,160 --> 00:36:25,160 Speaker 1: And this is this is something that you know, you 528 00:36:25,280 --> 00:36:27,360 Speaker 1: probably heard the name a lot in the West, but 529 00:36:27,440 --> 00:36:31,200 Speaker 1: I think this story is full of deep strangeness, the 530 00:36:31,239 --> 00:36:34,640 Speaker 1: story of Myama itself. I mean, there are a lot 531 00:36:34,680 --> 00:36:39,319 Speaker 1: of reports and criticisms, especially regarding her stance on the 532 00:36:39,400 --> 00:36:43,560 Speaker 1: genocide of the Rohinga right or the massacre thereof, that 533 00:36:43,640 --> 00:36:46,719 Speaker 1: seemed to indicate she might not be entirely the hero 534 00:36:46,920 --> 00:36:50,000 Speaker 1: Western media portrays her as we're not saying she's a villain. 535 00:36:50,080 --> 00:36:53,000 Speaker 1: We're saying there's more to the story. Almost always with 536 00:36:53,040 --> 00:36:55,319 Speaker 1: these kind of figures, it reminded me a little bit 537 00:36:55,360 --> 00:37:01,640 Speaker 1: of Mother Teresa, who for decades and decades right was 538 00:37:01,640 --> 00:37:07,319 Speaker 1: was regarded as um an almost supernatural force of benevolence 539 00:37:08,480 --> 00:37:13,560 Speaker 1: until the real story started to come out. And again, 540 00:37:13,640 --> 00:37:19,279 Speaker 1: this is not at all saying that ang San Succi 541 00:37:19,440 --> 00:37:22,759 Speaker 1: is a bad faith actor or anything like that. It's 542 00:37:22,800 --> 00:37:25,200 Speaker 1: just I think we need to do an entire episode 543 00:37:25,680 --> 00:37:28,359 Speaker 1: on this political prisoner in particular. What do you guys 544 00:37:28,400 --> 00:37:31,880 Speaker 1: think for sure? You know, I want to do a 545 00:37:31,880 --> 00:37:37,080 Speaker 1: whole episode on is uh he used to be called 546 00:37:37,239 --> 00:37:40,160 Speaker 1: h Rap Brown. I'm gonna have to wrap my brain 547 00:37:40,200 --> 00:37:46,680 Speaker 1: to figure out Jamal Abdullah All I mean Jamal All 548 00:37:46,719 --> 00:37:51,520 Speaker 1: I mean, really fascinating case and it's based here in Atlanta. 549 00:37:52,320 --> 00:37:53,879 Speaker 1: I think we should do an episode on that because 550 00:37:53,920 --> 00:37:56,000 Speaker 1: he's been in prison for a while, but it seems 551 00:37:56,040 --> 00:37:59,439 Speaker 1: like maybe, uh, he didn't do what he's accused of 552 00:37:59,560 --> 00:38:02,120 Speaker 1: and it's of a known thing, but he's still in prison. 553 00:38:02,560 --> 00:38:06,560 Speaker 1: I'm just looking at it now pretty recent well, I 554 00:38:06,560 --> 00:38:11,480 Speaker 1: guess that pretty recently. So he is. He's being convicted 555 00:38:11,520 --> 00:38:16,799 Speaker 1: of shooting two deputies in the year two thousand. Yes, yeah, 556 00:38:16,880 --> 00:38:20,040 Speaker 1: let's do it. Let's do it. Uh. We want to 557 00:38:20,120 --> 00:38:24,600 Speaker 1: learn more about this. And here's another tricky curveball. We 558 00:38:24,640 --> 00:38:26,959 Speaker 1: wanted to make this episode a little bit shorter because 559 00:38:27,000 --> 00:38:31,440 Speaker 1: we're saving a lot for future shows. Folks. This kind 560 00:38:31,480 --> 00:38:35,000 Speaker 1: of stuff gets tricky very quickly because, believe it or not, 561 00:38:35,280 --> 00:38:42,600 Speaker 1: even now, there is no single internationally recognized legal definition 562 00:38:42,920 --> 00:38:46,520 Speaker 1: of a political prisoner, which means you can just take 563 00:38:46,560 --> 00:38:49,960 Speaker 1: someone prisoner as a result of them doing something you 564 00:38:50,000 --> 00:38:53,200 Speaker 1: don't like, and you can say this is an arrival politician, 565 00:38:53,480 --> 00:38:57,760 Speaker 1: This is not an activist. This is a spy, says Belarus. 566 00:38:57,760 --> 00:39:01,080 Speaker 1: This is a trader, says Russia. This is a terrorist, 567 00:39:01,239 --> 00:39:05,319 Speaker 1: says China. Do people still say dissident? There's that sort 568 00:39:05,360 --> 00:39:09,600 Speaker 1: of too buzzy. People still say dissident, But usually people 569 00:39:09,800 --> 00:39:14,600 Speaker 1: who say dissident are supporters of the dissidents, because if 570 00:39:14,640 --> 00:39:17,360 Speaker 1: if you if you say it on the official side, 571 00:39:17,719 --> 00:39:19,960 Speaker 1: that's almost giving it some legitimacy in a way. It's 572 00:39:19,960 --> 00:39:23,920 Speaker 1: better to call it something else kind of yeah, yeah, exactly. 573 00:39:23,960 --> 00:39:26,239 Speaker 1: Like how like how you can always tell when the 574 00:39:26,280 --> 00:39:29,799 Speaker 1: West doesn't like a country or a government because they 575 00:39:29,800 --> 00:39:31,720 Speaker 1: don't call it a government, they call it a regime, 576 00:39:32,040 --> 00:39:35,239 Speaker 1: you know, And the U s is a big fan 577 00:39:35,360 --> 00:39:37,680 Speaker 1: of doing that whenever somebody goes too far left in 578 00:39:37,760 --> 00:39:43,000 Speaker 1: Latin America, right, sort of the cult versus religion argument. Yes, 579 00:39:44,120 --> 00:39:47,520 Speaker 1: this reminds me of that documentary The Taxi Driver. You 580 00:39:47,600 --> 00:39:53,960 Speaker 1: guys remember that one? Okay? It was it was the 581 00:39:54,000 --> 00:39:56,919 Speaker 1: prisoners that were being held in Guantanamo Bay, and how 582 00:39:56,960 --> 00:40:02,000 Speaker 1: there was this concerted effort to pay pay people in 583 00:40:02,040 --> 00:40:06,759 Speaker 1: Afghanistan to like snitch on other people so they would 584 00:40:06,800 --> 00:40:09,160 Speaker 1: get picked up and taken over there or to have 585 00:40:09,239 --> 00:40:12,840 Speaker 1: a grave or somewhere somewhere else like that. And there's 586 00:40:12,840 --> 00:40:15,200 Speaker 1: this it's a story about this taxi driver. There's literally 587 00:40:15,239 --> 00:40:18,200 Speaker 1: just a taxi driver who got accused by these people 588 00:40:18,200 --> 00:40:20,920 Speaker 1: who wanted to make a buck from Uncle Sam. And 589 00:40:21,280 --> 00:40:23,759 Speaker 1: they just they're like, yeah, this guy's as a bad guy, 590 00:40:23,880 --> 00:40:27,160 Speaker 1: so he became an essentially political prisoner or a prisoner 591 00:40:27,200 --> 00:40:30,840 Speaker 1: of war. Yeah, And that's there's a lot of human 592 00:40:31,040 --> 00:40:34,560 Speaker 1: error to with those things, because they were incentivizing people too, 593 00:40:34,640 --> 00:40:38,400 Speaker 1: maybe falsely accused folks. And then also people were getting 594 00:40:39,440 --> 00:40:44,040 Speaker 1: detained and disappeared because their names were similar, you know 595 00:40:44,080 --> 00:40:46,960 Speaker 1: what I mean, So like if someone found you know, 596 00:40:47,920 --> 00:40:53,080 Speaker 1: like maybe they're looking for someone called roll Down and 597 00:40:53,200 --> 00:40:57,040 Speaker 1: fat Medric and my name won't work for this. I 598 00:40:57,120 --> 00:41:00,319 Speaker 1: just realized that. But you know, they they arrest someone 599 00:41:00,400 --> 00:41:06,600 Speaker 1: who just has the letters transposed. Right there, we're finally 600 00:41:06,680 --> 00:41:10,080 Speaker 1: arresting actor Tom Arnold, but unfortunately we got some guy 601 00:41:10,160 --> 00:41:13,799 Speaker 1: named Tim It's too late now off to Guantanamo, or 602 00:41:13,840 --> 00:41:17,439 Speaker 1: just some other guy literally named Tom Arnold, or yeah, 603 00:41:19,200 --> 00:41:21,520 Speaker 1: there's a lot, there are a lot. There's so many 604 00:41:21,560 --> 00:41:23,880 Speaker 1: Matt Fredericks. If one of us does something wrong, we 605 00:41:23,960 --> 00:41:26,640 Speaker 1: all got to look out. See that's why I tell 606 00:41:26,640 --> 00:41:29,200 Speaker 1: other people named Ben you know what I mean. We 607 00:41:29,440 --> 00:41:33,160 Speaker 1: we gotta move as a unit. But honestly, this is 608 00:41:33,400 --> 00:41:38,000 Speaker 1: an incredibly dangerous trend because it is dangerously convenient for 609 00:41:38,080 --> 00:41:41,480 Speaker 1: people in power. It helps you avoid accountability. You can 610 00:41:41,520 --> 00:41:46,200 Speaker 1: make examples of opposition, you can further consolidate your position, 611 00:41:46,719 --> 00:41:50,320 Speaker 1: especially again for the chaos that is on the way 612 00:41:50,360 --> 00:41:54,600 Speaker 1: in your lifetime. Folks, And maybe the most important part 613 00:41:54,600 --> 00:41:58,480 Speaker 1: of this episode are ending thought before we return to 614 00:41:58,600 --> 00:42:02,280 Speaker 1: future shows on this subject is simply this, and please 615 00:42:02,320 --> 00:42:05,759 Speaker 1: listen closely, Western conspiracy realist. In the words of our 616 00:42:05,800 --> 00:42:10,000 Speaker 1: pal Robert Evans, it could happen here. And on that 617 00:42:10,040 --> 00:42:14,080 Speaker 1: ominous note, Uh, we're gonna call it today. It's a Friday. 618 00:42:14,719 --> 00:42:18,080 Speaker 1: As we're recording this, we hope your day and your 619 00:42:18,360 --> 00:42:21,400 Speaker 1: holiday season is going well. As we round out the 620 00:42:21,520 --> 00:42:24,319 Speaker 1: end of two thousand and two. Uh, we're off to 621 00:42:24,400 --> 00:42:28,920 Speaker 1: some adventures of our own. You guys, got anything going on? Thanksgiving? Wise? 622 00:42:29,800 --> 00:42:36,600 Speaker 1: Just hanging fam hangs, oh fam, hangs. Hopefully it's enjoyable 623 00:42:36,640 --> 00:42:40,200 Speaker 1: for everybody. Uh and we can't wait to hear your 624 00:42:40,280 --> 00:42:44,200 Speaker 1: thoughts on political prisoners on some of the cases we mentioned. 625 00:42:44,400 --> 00:42:47,200 Speaker 1: On other cases you think your fellow listeners should know, 626 00:42:47,520 --> 00:42:50,239 Speaker 1: so please read us on to those projects. We want 627 00:42:50,239 --> 00:42:52,879 Speaker 1: to be easy to find online. Correct. You can find 628 00:42:52,920 --> 00:42:56,839 Speaker 1: us on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. But the handle conspiracy 629 00:42:56,840 --> 00:43:00,200 Speaker 1: stuff on Instagram were Conspiracy Stuff Show. We also have 630 00:43:00,200 --> 00:43:02,480 Speaker 1: a phone number. It is one eight three three st 631 00:43:02,680 --> 00:43:05,399 Speaker 1: d w y t K. When you call in, you've 632 00:43:05,440 --> 00:43:07,960 Speaker 1: got three minutes. 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