War zones since the early 2000s have challenged the core principles of modern journalism and prompted a reexamination of the role of war journalism during violent conflict.

In this episode we examine a unique type of reporting called investigative journalism, requiring unbridled courage, integrity and sacrifice from certain journalists to bring stories of major significance to public attention.

The Alchemist and His Apprentice -The Stagecraft of Mass Media Manipulation In this episode we focus on how the media is manipulated and controlled by governments, corporations and interest groups to further their respective causes.

This episode is PART 2 of a dual episode focusing on the covert element of American public policy, aimed at destabilizing foreign governments, toppling foreign leaders, and launching military regime change.

Throughout its history the United States has used regime change, employing military and covert operations to overthrow or prop up governments as part of an integral tool of US foreign policy for over a hundred years.

President of the United States Dwight D. Eisenhower, in his farewell address of 1961 was the first to express concern about the impact of “an immense military establishment and a large arms industry” which he noted was “new in American experience”.

Throughout the course of history, military alliances have existed, to act either as a counter-balancing force or to repel a perceived threat.

The Euromaidan protests which took place in Kiev between 2013-2014 focused international attention on Ukraine as a shining symbol of democratic values and reform, across Eastern Europe & Eurasia.

Managing the damaged relations between Russia and the West have escalated new heights, due to the Ukraine invasion of February 24.

When analyzing the Ukraine Crisis which stems from early February 2014, and has now been transformed into a full scale military conflict, it’s important to understand the highly complex dynamics involved which have led to military confrontation between Russian and Ukrainian forces. These events have created a major flashpoint, reminiscent of cold war politics during the post war era. This nuanced situation in modern international relations is the result of interactions between various actors involved in this real life tragedy from NATO led Western powers, to state aggression between Ukraine & Russia, and also extending to various representatives of nationalist-separatism from the Lugansk and Donetsk Peoples Republics, both located in the historical Donbass region of Eastern Ukraine. Moreover, the Ukraine Crisis, which has been over-simplified by western media, as an ideological battle between democracy and autocracy or aggression and counter-aggression; is far from being a binary issue or indeed, the sole source of conflict between NATO and Russia. Clearly, the Ukraine crisis is now a global tragedy and humanitarian catastrophe, as evidenced by the thousands of people already killed; the mass displacement of refugees and emerging accounts of human outrage. So, how do we understand the armed conflict in Ukraine? and What are its implications for the country’s future as an independent nation? There are several competing narratives to explain the armed conflict in Ukraine and I will briefly mention three, to place the ongoing conflict in some form of context. In this episode, my aim is to establish a common denominator of events which hopefully all sides would agree upon regarding the underlying causes of the current crisis in Ukraine. The starting point, is to consider that Ukraine as a nation has only existed since 1919, as a socialist republic under the former USSR, but it has been plagued with conflicting internal divisions ever since. These come in the form of cultural, linguistic, regional and ethnic divisions which are partly responsible for the country’s struggling or failing democracy. I examine the major internal factors for this failure, including the absence of a binding and harmonious national ideology; the influence of Oligarchic elites; the issue of nationalism and also a fragmented political landscape. I discuss the main political events which led to the capitulation of power by President Victor Yanukovych in 2014, including the “Orange Revolution” of 2004 and The Maidan events in 2014. I also discuss the role of external actors such as the United States in actively influencing the outcome of the Maidan events. Also, the contentious issue of NATO’s Eastward Expansion towards Russia’s borders, as well as the role of the European Union (EU) and NATO. In the final section I examine the strategic implications of the Ukraine crisis by focusing on the wider geo-political context and key developments in international relations, such as