This week on Behind the Headlines, we're interviewing - for the second time - freelance journalist and human rights activist Eva Bartlett, who was on this show two months ago. Bartlett was aboard the Dignity, one of five Free Gaza relief operations to successfully sail to the Gaza Strip in 2008. She ended up staying in Gaza for some time, reporting from there during Israeli Operations 'Cast Lead' in 08/09, and 'Pillar of Defense' in 2012.

In the last couple of years, Bartlett has been one of the few Western journalists to report truthfully on the situation in Syria, a country she has visited several times, including independently on a journalist visa. Bartlett recently returned from spending 8 days over Christmas in the war-torn country, where she attended conferences, visited recently liberated districts, and met Syrian officials, religious and community leaders.

Listeners can find Eva's writings on Syria and Palestine at her blog, InGaza.wordpress.com, and support her continuing work as a voice for the voiceless through SyriaSolidarityMovement.org.

We hope you'll join us from 2-4pm EST / 8-10pm CET, this Sunday 10th January 2016, for an account of life in Syria you won't hear anywhere else.

Running Time: 01:32:00

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A headline, from today, on the British Guardian newspaper's web site:

Murder in Istanbul: Kremlin's hand suspected in shooting of Chechen

'Oh, those terrible Russians and that ruthless Putin are up to their old extrajudicial murder tricks again! Will they never learn about real democracy! At least we, the great Western public (and therefore representatives of the 'global community'), are holding them to account as best we can by imposing 'sanctions' and hysterically demonizing them every time they fly a plane near Scotland.'

The above reflects, more or less, the thoughts that would have rattled around the, largely empty, vessel that is the cranium of the average Western citizen, as he or she read the above Guardian headline. And what else can we expect when such pernicious propaganda is catapulted at them on a daily basis?

Look at that headline again: "Murder". Well, right there you have the judgement... MURDER! And who did? The KREMLIN! Who else! And the victim? A CHECHEN! Oh dear Lord! Those poor chech-y people who have, for decades, if I vaguely remember, been trying to tear themselves away from the greedy grasp of the new Russian/Soviet Empire! There's no need to read any further, we have all the information we need!

Broadcasting from deep in the heart of the American Empire, join your host Harrison Koehli, and fellow Sott.net editors, as they discuss everything from current events and the latest machinations and manipulations of the global elite to history, science, and religion, and how it all fits together.

2016 hasn't had an auspicious start, from the New Year's Eve assaults in Cologne, Germany, to the DOW's worst first week in nearly a decade. In Cologne reports say a 1000-strong mob of 'migrants' caused mayhem, sexually assaulting at least 100 women in the streets. What does this event mean, and what does it portend for the future? Join us as we discuss this and other news from the new year.

The Truth Perspective is brought to you by the SOTT Radio Network and SOTT.net, your one-stop source for independent, unbiased, alternative news and commentary on world events.

Live every Saturday from 2-4pm EST / 11am-1pm PST / 8-10pm CET.

Running Time: 01:07:00

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While growing up in Elizabeth, New Jersey, just a short train ride away from New York City, I always heard tales of my distant cousin, Frank Serpico "the Cop", from my father, my aunt, and my grandmother. From what I understood, he is my grandmother's third cousin, and all I knew as a kid was that he stood up to corruption among police and got shot in the face for it.

As a kid I didn't quite understand his importance yet, but when I grew up and started questioning the world around me, particularly my religious upbringing and then the government, I began to see all of the evil and corruption at the heart of society - I soon realized what a great man Frank truly is. I eventually became more interested in Frank after seeing the movie "Serpico" (1973) starring Al Pacino (based on a biography also titled Serpico written by Peter Maas) and it dawned on me how questioning authority and exposing corruption might just run in my blood. Although semi-famous, I found that hardly anyone of my generation knew who he was, let alone what he did and how important it is. I've never actually met Frank, although I would certainly like to - so if you're reading this, Serpico, don't hesitate to reach out!

With the increasing militarization of police departments, rampant police brutality across the country, the sparking of the Black Lives Matter movement, and roughly 1000 people killed by police officers in 2015 alone (well over 1000 according to killedbypolice.net), we are dealing with something serious in this country. I feel now is more important than ever for more people (particularly those of my generation) to be aware of who Frank Serpico is, what he did at great risk to his own life, and why it's important. We must all speak out about militarization of police, police brutality, and other instances of corruption in law enforcement, and it is especially important for the few remaining good cops, those who truly want to change the oppressive atmosphere within the police force that Serpico endured, to also speak out.

SOTT.net last looked in detail at the frequency of meteor fireballs in 2013, using the data garnered by the American Meteor Society (AMS). SOTT.net pointed out the increasing frequency of fireballs¹, and asked the question: "What does 2014 have in store?"

Well, the results are in, and the answer is simple: comparing 2014 to 2013, the frequency of fireballs increased by 120%. Comparing 2015 to 2014, fireballs increased by 20%. That is a significant increase, and it should be generating a lot of attention. If it is, then it's being done very quietly behind closed doors.

Since October 2013, the web site spaceweather.com has published daily data from NASA's All-Sky Fireball Network, which observes, and daily reports, fireball activity over the US.²

I have collated both sets of data - from NASA and the AMS - to produce the following graphs, taking into account that each dataset relies on different definitions of 'meteor fireball'. Click on the graphs to view them at full size.

Despite the fact that there are many people who are doing good work in the intricacies of exploring the ideal diet for humanity, it often seems there are missing pieces of the puzzle as far as having a solid foundational understanding of the ponerized world we live in. Likewise, some who do a great job of exploring the playground of the psychopaths in which we live, looking into the corruption, violence and complete lack of logic in which we're embedded, yet don't seem to have a clue about the importance of getting the human machine into an optimal state of health.

Our question stands: does anyone out there have the whole banana? Can looking into the minutiae of dietary knowledge act as a distraction from a wider view of the world in which we live? Or can we get lost in the big picture and forget about the importance of working on ourselves?

Join us on Fridays at 10 am EST as we discuss this subject and more on the SOTT Radio Network's Health and Wellness Show. With us as always will be resident animal health expert Zoya with her weekly Pet Health Segment.

Running Time: 01:46:00

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The nightmare is not over for Libya. In fact, it may only have just begun. Sirte, Muammar Gadaffi's birthplace and the last major city to fall to the 'rebels' in 2011, is once again occupied by terrorists. In recent communication with the leadership of Libya's Tribes' Council, US contacts James and Joanne Moriarty were told that the leadership of ISIS (Islamic State), Boko Harim ('ISIS in Nigeria'), Ansar al-Sharia ('ISIS in Libya'), and possibly others, all gathered in Sirte, Libya, for meetings that took place around the 9th and 10th of December 2015.

In their discussion with myself and Joe Quinn on our Behind the Headlines radio show on Sunday December 13th, the Moriartys relayed how Sirte, once a thriving city on Libya's Mediterranean coast, but now a stronghold of cut-throats and bandits, was placed on full lock-down for the mid-December terrorist coven.

Much of Sirte's population of 300,000 either succumbed to genocide or fled during and after the violent 2011 coup and NATO bombardment in Libya (told fully in horrific detail for the first time here). By mid-2012, about 70% of the population had returned to Sirte, then spent three years attempting to rebuild until, in February 2015, 'ISIS' terrorists appeared out of nowhere - in a fleet of brand, spanking new Toyota pick-ups - and commenced a siege of the city.

In August 2015, ISIS brutally quelled a rebellion by citizens who took up arms to try to push the terrorists away from their city. Desperate, the Council of Deputies (one of Libya's two 'legitimate' governments - three if you include ISIS) formally requested support from the Arab League in the form of airstrikes against the terrorists.

We recently celebrated my Grandma's 101st birthday. While we were sipping champagne, she said, out of the blue: "I heard that Russia will save us". It was a most unexpected remark given that we had never spoken about Russia, much less global politics. Rather than question her about it however, I understood that Grandma is aware of the current rhetoric about a possible 'nuclear war' between Russia and the West and, having lived through two world wars, she'd rather not have to endure another. So I just replied: "Yes, you are right, Vladimir Putin and Russia will save us," and the conversation moved on.

Despite my reassuring, hopeful answer, I doubt that Vladimir Putin, or anyone else for that matter, will save 'us', 'the world' or anything else. But Grandma's observation puzzled me. I was wondering where she got this information from. It's unlikely she got it from French mainstream media, which are aligned with their Western counterparts in conducting an anti-Russian/anti-Putin disinformation campaign. Maybe a member of staff at her nursing home ventured a similar remark? Maybe it came to her via some form of limbic resonance with supporters of Russian government policy?

Beyond the origin of Grandma's remark, I also have been wondering about Putin's influence on the global population, not on the political, economic or geostrategic level (which has been extensively covered by other observers), but on a deeper, more subtle symbolic level.

Broadcasting from deep in the heart of the American Empire, join your host Elan Martin, and fellow Sott.net editors, as they discuss everything from current events and the latest machinations and manipulations of the global elite to history, science, and religion, and how it all fits together.

While it may not be quite as 'black and white' as the title suggests, there are different spheres of 'behavior' among many governments that do point towards a particular direction that certain countries are striving towards. For instance: What does sound economic policy look like among countries that are seeking to be constructive? How is force applied when a country is aligned with the forces of destruction? And what are the things that the leaders of these countries say and do that suggest sincerity, or duplicity?

The contrasts we see are stark, but seem lost on all too many of the propagandized people of the world. But with the plethora of objective information being revealed today concerning geopolitical events, we can certainly make some important distinctions that point to some clear truths.

The Truth Perspective is brought to you by the SOTT Radio Network and SOTT.net, your one-stop source for independent, unbiased, alternative news and commentary on world events.

Live every Saturday from 2-4pm EST / 11am-1pm PST / 8-10pm CET.

Running Time: 02:06:00

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As we pass the arbitrarily chosen date to mark another successful pass around the sun, it is traditional for residents of this Big Blue Marble to reflect upon the year that's passed and make resolutions, of varying degrees, to attempt improvement in some facet of our lives.

Today on the Health and Wellness Show on the SOTT Radio Network we'll be looking into the phenomenon of New Years resolutions, but more specifically, we'll be picking out some good ones for turning around one's health in 2016. Whether you're not in the best state of health or are just looking for ways to take your body, mind and emotional health to the next level, there will be something we cover that will address ways you can make your 2016 your healthiest year yet!

Join us Fridays at 10 am EST for the SOTT Radio Network's Health and Wellness Show. With us, as always, will be resident animal health expert Zoya, with her Pet Health segment.

Running Time: 02:12:00

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Here's the transcript of the show: