Peter Dale Scott, Pepe Escobar, John Kiriakou, and Aaron Good discuss the September 9, 2001 Ahmad Shah Massoud assassination, an event that paved the way for the long-planned US invasion and occupation of Afghanistan.  Other topics covered include the US deployment of jihadis in the Central Asian "Great Game" as well as the significance of Xinjiang and China's New Silk Road.

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Here are the articles that were discussed in this episode:

"Was the Now-Forgotten Murder of One Man on September 9, 2001 a Crucial Pre-condition for 9/11?"  by Peter Dale Scott and Aaron Good
https://covertactionmagazine.com/2020/12/09/was-the-now-forgotten-murder-of-one-man-on-september-9-2001-a-crucial-pre-condition-for-9-11/

"9/9 and 9/11, 20 years later"  by Pepe Escobar
https://asiatimes.com/2021/09/9-9-and-9-11-20-years-later/

Music by Mock Orange!

Episode 2: The 9/9/2001 Massoud Assassination

My friends Roisin Adams ( Piano) and Clara Shandler (cello) are going to accompany me in December at the Vancity Theatre. It's the first live concert I've done in since the pandemic started. For a guy who used to tour a lot and play regularly around town it feels like an eternity. This is a recent rehearsal recording as we prepare for our upcoming gig. The best way to listen to this track is with headphones.

Strippers

as the raven king lay dying
by the all night pharmacy
the morning sun was rising
as he gazed across the street

he said 'a cold wind calls me home boys'
'and it will not be denied'
'but I made some trouble and I made some noise'
'and now there's nothing left inside'
'and so I cast this world aside'

and his soldiers gathered round him
as the day was growing bright
and crouched down where they found him
caught in the traffic lights

he said 'they had no ears to hear me',
'and their eyes they do not see',
'and though they had no cause to fear me'
'this world is not for me'
'no it's not for the likes of me'

and Death stood on the corner
all grim with apologies
his face fixed on the mourners
as they sang their eulogies
as they sang their eulogies

as their voices were receding
in the dust and the dirt of the street
the sun rose up to meet him
and laid gold at his feet

and every bird that flew
was gathered on the ground
and each a feather drew
for to make a fiery crown
for to make a fiery crown

As The Raven King Lay Dying

Sometimes Better, Sometimes Worse.

Rainy Town

The pandemic has forced my friends at Rural Grit Happy Hour back in Kansas City to move their weekly open mic session online. It's sad that they can't meet in person, but it has allowed me, three years after moving to the East Coast, to join in on something I've sorely missed. It's great to (virtually) hang out with these folks once again.

A couple of weeks ago, the theme was Songs About Food, and it prompted me to complete an idea that had been floating untethered in my head for a while.

For the action-packed video version of this song, go here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqxP18LbsCQ&t=35s

Egg Salad Sandwich

Callum Pitt - Ghost 

Silent like a ghost, don’t wanna be seen, I run
Like a boy near fire, dripping with gasoline
And the sun dropped behind your house as I pushed through the gate
And quickly up the thin staircase
Like I was running late

Nothing looked like it was different, you were smiling, it was bright
So much so I could imagine nothing changed and you were alright
While I wanted to believe it, I was holding you so tight

In and out of time, I feel it beating, the sun
April’s brief relief, relief is fleeting
It hurts to watch you fade this way, I’m moving to acceptance day
Lost in the fresh bouquets

We were walking down your lane, by a park we went when I was eight
It took two or three times long, the cars were lost within the birdsong
And I’ll remember all the best parts and I’ll hold them within my chest
Like the words of a song echo on and on

Nothing looked like it was different, you were smiling, it was bright
So much so I could imagine it was June and you were alright
While I wanted to believe it, sat up knowing on the night you had to go
You had to go, you had to go

Nothing looked like it was different, you were smiling, it was bright
So much so I could imagine it was June and you were alright
While I wanted to believe it, sat up knowing on the night

©℗ 2020 Humble Angel Records

Ghost

Lyrics:

The colours were running from all this distortion in my head
The speakers were humming, circling feedback in our ears
Swept by the current further until the choruses blurred and your shout was a murmur
Felt your tug away from the crowd ‘cause, everything always seems so loud

While we’re drifting in this sea of noise
Flooding in our ears and our eyes

Out of the water, these quarries feel smaller
My legs won’t seize up like a deer in the headlights

These eyes are reflectors, old movie projectors
They blur my perceptions, the waves of affection
Had drained all my colour, the previous summer, they painted a picture of hallways and wicker

So drag my body off the stage
‘Cause nothing ever seems to change

While we’re drifting in this sea of noise
Flooding in our ears and our eyes

Sea Of Noise

Track 8 from the album "However Measured or Far Away", available at https://hanklebury.bandcamp.com/album/however-measured-or-far-away

Strippers

Rodney DeCroo

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