Podcasts about iranian president hassan rouhani

Good morning, this is Toby Sumpter with your CrossPolitic news brief for Tuesday, January 7th, 2020. In response to the US killing of Iranian Terrorist Qasem Soleimani last Friday, the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that the US had committed a grave mistake. On the day of the attack, Iran's Foreign Minister Javid Zarif tweeted that the airstrike was an “act of international terrorism,” suggesting that General Soleimani had been the most effective force fighting ISIS and Al Qaeda. The Foreign Minister said the act was “extremely dangerous & a foolish escalation” adding that “the US bears responsibility for all consequences of its rogue adventurism.” “Soleimani was the international face of resistance,” Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a statement, “and all lovers of resistance will be his avengers.” He added that “harsh retaliation is waiting.” Khamenei has ordered three days of public mourning, according to the AP.  The Daily Mail reports that on Saturday, Iranian General Gholamali Abuhamzeh, a Revolutionary Guards commander in the southern province of Kerman, threatened that Iran had itendified 35 targets for potential strikes and raised the red flags of revenge over every key mosque. Abuhamzeh said vital American targets in the region had been identified a 'long time ago', including ships in the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and Tel Aviv. “The Strait of Hormuz is a vital point for the West and a large number of American destroyers and warships cross there … some 35 U.S. targets in the region as well as Tel Aviv are within our reach,” he said, according to Reuters. Trump responded on Sunday via Twitter: “Iran is talking very boldly about targeting certain USA assets as revenge for our ridding the world of their terrorist leader who had just killed an American, & badly wounded many others, not to mention all of the people he had killed over his lifetime, including recently.... ....hundreds of Iranian protesters. He was already attacking our Embassy, and preparing for additional hits in other locations. Iran has been nothing but problems for many years. Let this serve as a WARNING that if Iran strikes any Americans, or American assets, we have... ...targeted 52 Iranian sites (representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago), some at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture, and those targets, and Iran itself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD. The USA wants no more threats!” Many commentators pointed out that the threat to strike 52 cultural sites would seem to be a breach of international law. Others were also quick to say that this is the sort of international crisis they feared Trump would blunder into. But Trump continued on Twitter undeterred: Quoting a tweet from Texas Representative Dan Crenshaw who asked what is so controversial about there being repercussions for terrorists attacking the US, Trump said, “They attacked us, & we hit back. If they attack again, which I would strongly advise them not to do, we will hit them harder than they have ever been hit before! Trump followed up with two more tweets on the subject: “The United States just spent Two Trillion Dollars on Military Equipment. We are the biggest and by far the BEST in the World! If Iran attacks an American Base, or any American, we will be sending some of that brand new beautiful equipment their way...and without hesitation! These Media Posts will serve as notification to the United States Congress that should Iran strike any U.S. person or target, the United States will quickly & fully strike back, & perhaps in a disproportionate manner. Such legal notice is not required, but is given nevertheless!”  The US House Foreign Affairs Committee's Twitter account shot back, quoting this last tweet from the President, “This Media Post will serve as a reminder that war powers reside in the Congress under the United States Constitution. And that you should read the War Powers Act. And that you're not a dictator.” It seems that the House is suddenly interested in the constitution again…  On Sunday Iran announced that it is withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal. In exchange for economic sanctions being lifted, Iran had agreed to end all uranium enrichment programs for at least 15 years and submit to various inspections. However, last May, Trump had reinstated sanctions against Iran and states that trade with Iran, effectively ending America's participating in the deal. Iran responded by giving the other nuclear deal signatories 60 days to protect it from US sanctions, threatening to resume production of enriched uranium. Nuclear watchdog IAEA says that Iran has recommenced enriched uranium production. Trump responded to Iran's announcement on Sunday with all caps and an exclamation point: “Iran will never have a nuclear weapon!” Meanwhile the Iraqi Parliament passed a non-binding resolution asking US forces to leave the country, and Reuters reported Monday that the US Marine Corp Brigadier General William H. Seely III, the commanding general of Task Force Iraq had written a letter addressed to the Iraqi defense ministry's Combined Joint Operations Baghdad, stating, “Sir, in deference to the sovereignty of the Republic of Iraq, and as requested by the Iraqi Parliament and the Prime Minister, CJTF-OIR will be repositioning forces over the course of the coming days and weeks to prepare for onward movement… We respect your sovereign decision to order our departure.” [This letter was later repudiated by Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who insisted that the US has no plans to withdraw troops, according to Reuters. Trump also said such withdrawal would only be accompanied by severe sanctions.] Finally, on this topic, it's worth noting that a 1996 interview with Joe Biden captures him on a news program insisting strongly that if Iran every attacked a US facility it should be considered an act of war and that ANY retaliation would be warranted. Hmmm… We'll just let simmer for a bit and see if anyone notices. Probably not.  But speaking of fires, Australia continues to be ravaged by the worst wildfires seen in decades. CNN reports that dozens have died and more that 1300 houses have been destroyed, with over 14.7 million acres burned across six states, with 8.9 million of those acres in the hardest hit New South Wales. It's estimated that perhaps a third of the koalas in New South Wales may have been killed by the fires, which has caused some Hollywood elites to speak out in great alarm. But of course you can get more sympathy in Hollywood for koalas than you can for human babies, as evidenced by the applause and tears Actress Michelle Williams received at the Gold Globe Awards on Sunday night, when she announced that she had employed “a woman's right to choose,” implying that she had killed at least one of her children, so that she could pursue a career in acting.  But back to the Australian forest fires, higher than average temperatures, high winds, lightning strikes, arsonists, and the recent legalization of sodomite marriage in 2017 are all blamed by leading scientists. However, what you won't hear in the news is the fact that beginning the 1990s, Bob Carr's liberal Labor government began a massive forest lock-up program. Peter Austin writes at theland.com.au, “Before that "greening" frenzy began, soon after Carr came to office in 1995, national parks and reserves accounted for some 4.8 per cent of New South Wales. Today the total area of the state controlled by the National Parks and Wildlife Service is more than 9pc. In less than 20 years, therefore, the area of national parks and related reserves has virtually doubled, but the resources deployed to manage this vastly expanding empire have not doubled with it. On the contrary, it was revealed last week that even since 2011, successive budget cuts have resulted in the NPWS slashing its staffing of rangers by one-third, thereby impairing its capacity to conduct hazard reduction burns. But before Carr took over, much of the coastal bushland now locked up in national park was prudently managed state forest, where fuel loads were kept down by logging programs, regular thinning and cattle grazing.” Turns out that the GREEN Religion doesn't keep things Green at all. It just results in them turning black. And I'm not just talking about the United Methodist Church. This a lesson in government incompetence. But it's also a lesson in biblical jurisdictions. It is not the Civil Magistrate's job to managed forests. Incidentally, it's not the civil magistrate's job to fund the arts or media or news or education. God did not give those jobs to that office. Therefore, it is disobedience to God and inevitable tyranny for the State to assume those powers. Should Christians care about the environment? Of course. But we should care about it through private ownership of land, and private foundations and associations that will have skin in the game. Personal responsibility is key to success. Bureaucrats and committees cannot be expected to care that much about what doesn't actually belong to them. The other thing to note here is that God commanded mankind to take dominion of the earth and cultivate it. This means in part that the earth needs cultivating. We need godly foresters and loggers and conservationists who understand that just like man is not good all alone and needs a helper, so too, the land is not good all alone and needs gardeners. And the more the GREENIES fail to actually care for the earth, enterprising Christians should be looking for ways to pry the government's fat fingers off the land and return it to private citizens and foundations.  This is Toby Sumpter with your CrossPolitic New Brief for Tuesday, January 7th, 2020. If you would like to encourage more of this, and why wouldn't you, please share the show and consider becoming a CrossPolitic Member. As a member you get access to a number of behind the scenes interviews, our CrossPolitic Worldview Series, and several masterclasses on parenting, Christian business principles, God and Government, eschatology, and a Proverbs Bible Study. You can find out more and become a member at flfnetwork.com/membership. 

In the biggest decline seen in generations, the US life expectancy plummeted by 1.5 years due to COVID, drug overdoses, homicides and chronic diseases.Dr. Yolandra Hancock, board-certified pediatrician and obesity medicine specialist, joins Dr. Gigi El-Bayoumi, professor of Medicine at GW University Hospital and founding director at Rodham Institute at George Washington University, to discuss the effects of Covid on last year's death toll. The US life expectancy fell by 1.5 years last year, in part to hundreds and thousands of covid deaths.Martin Sieff, senior fellow at the American University in Moscow, joins us to discuss Nord Stream 2. Both US and German officials announced that the two respective countries reached an agreement allowing for the completion of the Russian natural gas pipeline.Scott Ritter, former UN weapon inspector in Iraq, joins us to discuss the Iran Security Council rejecting the draft proposal to restore the nuclear deal. According to a spokesman for Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Iran's Supreme National Security Council rejected the draft agreement that was negotiated in Vienna "indirectly with the US to restore the nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA.Linwood Tauheed, associate professor of economics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, joins us to talk about the economy. News reports indicate the economy is having a harder time rebooting itself this summer than this past spring when many in the US were getting vaccinated and receiving stimulus checks.Dr. Sharon Anderson, former professor of law at Georgetown, Harvard and Howard Universities, CEO of CSG Consulting Services, and author of the new book, Emotional Civility--The New Standard of Global Success, joins us to discuss new reports that FBI informants entrapped those charged in the plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Nino Pagliccia, activist and writer, joins us to discuss Cuba. A responsiblestatecraft.org article states the "excuses for why the US can't lift Trump restrictions on the cash Americans send their families there are outdated and inaccurate."KJ Noh, writer and peace activist, joins us to talk about China. In a joint statement with Japan, Britain has announced that they have plans to permanently deploy two warships to Asia.Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations security analyst, joins us to talk about the Russian Zircon missile. Top priority has been given by the Kremlin to modernize the country's arsenal

Today on The Leaders' Brief - The number of active coronavirus cases in India fell by 165,000 at the start of last week, the biggest ever drop recorded by the country. Last Monday also saw the total number of daily cases drop below the 300,000 marks after almost two months. The death toll due to COVID, however, continued breaking records. Added to the country's COVID situation, India's western coast, which includes the state of Maharashtra, was ravaged by Tauktae, a severe cyclonic storm, which killed over 20 people in the last week. The ongoing clash between Palestine-backed militants and Israeli forces has placed the USA in a tricky spot in reviving the Iran nuclear deal. Weeks after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani voiced optimism saying that negotiations with the US and allies over rejoining the Iran Nuclear deal had made almost 70% progress, Israel witnessed its worst-ever violence in decades with the everyday conflict between Iran-supported Hamas group and Israeli forces.  The European Union and United States have started discussions to address metal tariffs imposed by US President Joe Biden's predecessor, Donal Trump. Under former President Trump, the USA had in 2018 imposed a 25% tariff on European steel and 10% on aluminium on grounds of national security. Since then the issue has continued to strain the EU-US relationship.  About egomonk: Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedInegomonk is a global intelligence platform delivering asymmetric outcomes by bringing organizations closer to the communities they want to serve and the leaders they wish to influence. If you wish to collaborate with us then email us at contact@egomonk.com.

Gerald Horne, Professor of History at the University of Houston, TX, author, historian, researcher joins us to discuss Iran. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is making positive statements about the JCPOA conference in Vienna. Rouhani told a cabinet meeting that the talks mark a new chapter in the work to revive the agreement. He also stated that "If (Washington) shows it is honest and sincere, that's all we ask... I think we'll be able to negotiate in a short time, if necessary, with the (other parties to the deal)."

Ray McGovern, former CIA analyst and co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity, joins us to discuss Joe Biden's foreign policy regarding Russia. President Biden is indicating that he has reviewed the numerous unhinged allegations against the Russian Federation and, unsurprisingly, the very intelligence agencies that are responsible for those allegations have substantiated them. Biden is reported to be preparing a substantial suite of reprisals to "punish" Russia for the alleged incidents.Gerald Horne, professor of history at the University of Houston, author, historian, and researcher, joins us to discuss Iran. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is making positive statements about the JCPOA conference in Vienna. Rouhani told a cabinet meeting that the talks mark a new chapter in the work to revive the agreement. He also stated that "If (Washington) shows it is honest and sincere, that's all we ask... I think we'll be able to negotiate in a short time, if necessary, with the (other parties to the deal)."George Koo, journalist, social activist, international business consultant and chemical engineer, joins us to discuss China. In his latest article in Asia Times, Koo argues that Joe Biden is determined to follow Donald Trump's policies on China. Koo goes on to explain how the US history of militarism has brought us to a dangerous period in which the US is openly threatening a nuclear power with unhinged regime change rhetoric.Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations security analyst, joins us to discuss Ukraine. The tension rises in Eastern Europe as Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky visits the Eastern front and makes a hard push for NATO membership for a nation that many are viewing as a US colony. International security analysts are warning that bringing NATO to Russia's border would be a dangerous escalation and most are calling to diffuse the situation through diplomatic means.Dr. Colin Campbell, a Washington, DC, news correspondent, joins us to discuss US domestic policy. West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin has dampened the hopes of some in his party, as he has taken a firm stance against abolishing the filibuster. Manchin says that under no circumstances will he vote to weaken or eliminate the filibuster in what is now his most definite position on the issue. Also, President Biden has released his plan of action on gun control. Robert Fantina, journalist and Palestine activist, joins us to discuss Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is vehemently opposing a US return to the Iran nuclear deal. His rhetoric has become unhinged as he now claims that reentering the deal will guarantee the annihilation of Israel. Laith Marouf, broadcaster and journalist based in Beirut, Lebanon joins us to discuss Iraq. Tensions rise in Iraq as citizens demand that US troops exit the war-torn nation and leaders work to keep various paramilitary groups from attacking US assets. Middle East Eye is reporting that the US has agreed to leave, but has not yet established a timetable for withdrawal. Also, Israel has again attacked Syria with missiles, but Syrian anti-aircraft and anti-missile batteries seem to have intercepted most of the incoming projectiles.Digital activist Suzie Dawson joins us to discuss social media censorship. Twitter has shut down the account of the startup company "Panquake" without an explanation. Panquake is a new platform that is working to create an alternative to US government manipulated online companies. The company uses blockchain technology and open-source software to ensure a free and honest user experience.

Dr. Emmitt Riley, political scientist and assistant professor of Africana Studies at DePauw University joins us to discuss the first 100 days of the Biden administration. Biden began by signing multiple executive orders mostly aimed at reversing the policies of the previous administration. As the COVID-19 pandemic and its related economic fallout are the most pressing issues on his plate, Biden mandated masks on all federal properties, extended moratoriums on evictions, and postponed payments on federal student loans. “We'll press forward with speed and urgency, for we have much to do in this winter of peril and possibility,” Biden said in his inaugural address. Dan Kovalik, labor and human rights lawyer, professor, and author, joins us to discuss think tank diplomacy. The Washington Post recently ran an alarming article supposing that North Korea is on the verge of threatening the US with an intercontinental ballistic missile. The article failed to disclose that the expert upon which it relied, Michael Elleman, works for a think tank that is heavily funded by weapons manufacturers and includes a former NATO secretary-general and previously included the CEO of Lockheed Martin. John Whitehead, president of the Rutherford Institute and author of "Battlefield America: The War on the American People," returns to discuss the deep state control of US policy. Whitehead argues that former US President Donald Trump handed his administration over to corporations, weapons manufacturers and lobbyists, and that Biden will be no different. Whitehead agrees there was a coup attempt in the United States but he says, "Indeed, the real coup happened when our government ‘of the people, by the people, for the people' was overthrown by a profit-driven, militaristic, techno-corporate state that is in cahoots with a government ‘of the rich, by the elite, for the corporations.'” Dr. Yolandra Hancock, a board-certified pediatrician and obesity medicine specialist, joins us to discuss the new administration's COVID-19 plan. Biden's plan includes a variety of measures including a speedy return of children to schools and increased funding for testing and the administration of the vaccine program. Also, the US COVID-19 death toll has passed the 400,000 mark, with no respite from the outbreak on the horizon. Hancock also discusses whether the public should wait for a better vaccine or take its chances with one of the varieties currently available. Robert Fantina, pro-Palestinian activist, peace and human rights leader, journalist and author of “Essays on Palestine,” returns to discuss the potential for a US return to the Iran nuclear deal. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is calling on Biden to return to the 2015 agreement and lift the sanctions reimposed by the Trump administration; however, Biden's underlings seem to be throwing some cold water on the proposal. Antony Blinken, Biden's secretary of state nominee, has implied he will be looking for an expansion of the deal, a measure that Iran has made clear it will refuse to consider. James Carey, editor and co-owner of Geopolitics Alert, joins us to discuss early indications of the Biden administration's Yemen policies. Blinken indicated during his Tuesday Senate confirmation hearing that the Biden administration will be reviewing the designation of Yemen's Houthis as a terrorist organization, and will likely end support for the Saudi war on the impoverished nation. The terrorist designation was panned internationally as it was expected to intensify the worst humanitarian crisis on Earth. George Koo, journalist, social activist, international business consultant and chemical engineer joins us to discuss US policies regarding China. In a surprise move, China levied sanctions against a number of officials from the outgoing Trump administration. Meanwhile, newly confirmed Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines is advocating for a more aggressive and assertive policy against China. After criticizing the Trump foreign policy towards Asia, it appears the Biden team will adopt it and increase tensions in the region. As Biden's nominees push for confrontation, Beijing is asking for a better relationship through mutual respect and cooperation. Ted Rall, political cartoonist and syndicated columnist, returns to discuss the expansion of online censorship. In what seems to be a bow to the official US foreign policy, Twitter is suspending the accounts of the incoming Venezuelan parliament. The social media behemoth is recognizing Juan Guaido as the interim president of the South American country despite the results of the nation's constitutional elections and the fact that the European Union no longer agrees with that assessment. In another US State Department-sponsored move, Twitter has locked the accounts of China's US embassy over their recent statements in defiance of US claims about the Uighur Muslim population in Xinjiang.

Caleb Maupin, journalist, and political analyst, joins us to discuss a recent Greenwald article and appearance on Fox News in which he argued that the censoring of the Hunter Biden laptop story prior to the election was an elaborate disinformation program by intelligence community figures, media outlets and tech companies. Greenwald told Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Thursday that "we need to recognize what a historic crime and disgrace this is." Also, Maupin discusses recent remarks by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani that his nation is willing to return to its commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal, with no need for more negotiations.Dr. Yolandra Hancock, board-certified pediatrician and obesity medicine specialist, joins us to talk about a public hearing on Tuesday by the Central District Health board in Boise, Idaho. Officials halted a vote on a public health order due to fears for their safety and public safety, according to local outlet KTVB. Anti-mask protesters were around the building and were reportedly at the homes of some of the officials, causing some to state that they feared for the safety of their families. Also, she discusses a report that women, who tend to take the lead on family health care decisions, are more wary than men of the rapidly developed COVID-19 vaccines that could soon be available to the public. Dr. Linwood Tauheed, associate professor of economics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, returns to The Critical Hour to discuss the public outrage displayed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and others over the lack of $1,200 stimulus payments to Americans in proposed legislation for pandemic relief. Additionally, in a sign of severe economic desperation, the prevalence of shoplifting of food, diapers, baby formula and other necessities in the US appears to be even greater now than it was just after other national crises like the 2008 recession, which saw shoplifting rise 34%, according to the Washington Post.Margaret Kimberley, editor and senior columnist at Black Agenda Report and author of "Prejudential: Black America and the Presidents"; and Ajamu Baraka, former US vice-presidential candidate for the Green Party, come together to discuss several important stories, including retired Army Gen. Lloyd Austin being named as US President-elect Joe Biden's pick for secretary of defense. The choice Austin has unleashed a firestorm of criticism, with Glenn Greenwald saying on Twitter that he was "yet another high-level Biden nominee enmeshed in DC's corporatist 'revolving door' of legalized influence-peddling." Also, they talk about Greenwald's recent article in which he expresses outrage over the media's censorship and outright lies regarding the Hunter Biden laptop story. He argues that the timing and coordination between the media and current and former intelligence officials point to a deliberate and complex disinformation operation. Jim Kavanagh, writer at The Polemicist and CounterPunch; and Scott Ritter, former UN weapons inspector in Iraq, return to discuss a report that claims Israel is staging a variety of violent provocations in an attempt to lure Iran into a war with the United States before US President Donald Trump leaves office. Other stories include Joe Biden's retread Cabinet; a Department of Justice investigation into Hunter Biden's taxes and business affairs; and Rouhani's fig-leaf gestures aimed at returning to the JCPOA.

Margaret Flowers, pediatrician, health reform activist and co-director at Popular Resistance, joins us to discuss Thursday's day-long meeting of the US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Independent Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, at which officials examined whether Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine should be approved for public use in the US.Jack Rasmus, professor of economics and politics at St. Mary's College of California, returns to talk about the US Labor Department numbers that came out Thursday showing that jobless claims jumped to 853,000 last week, up more than 100,000 from the preceding week as COVID-19 continues to hamper the economy.Chris Garaffa, web developer and Technologist, joins us to discuss the US Federal Trade Commission and more than 40 states suing Facebook in an antitrust case, saying the company had bought out its competition to corner the market. According to the New York Times, the plaintiffs "called for the deals to be unwound, escalating regulators' battle against the biggest tech companies in a way that could remake the social media industry." Federal and state regulators "said in separate lawsuits that Facebook's purchases, especially Instagram for $1 billion in 2012 and WhatsApp for $19 billion two years later, eliminated competition that could have one day challenged the company's dominance." This comes as YouTube has moved to ban videos that claim fraud influenced the 2020 US presidential election.Dave Lindorff, investigative reporter and founder of This Can't Be Happening!, joins us to discuss the federal investigation into US President-elect Joe Biden's son Hunter, who said Wednesday that he had been contacted about an investigation into his taxes by the US Attorney's Office in Delaware. A Wednesday article in Politico says that a person with "firsthand knowledge of the investigation" claims that the probe has been "more extensive" than Hunter's statement indicates. "The person said that, as of early last year, investigators in Delaware and Washington were also probing potential money laundering and Hunter Biden's foreign ties," the outlet noted. A recent report by the Associated Press also found a number of sexual misconduct allegations against senior FBI officials in the last five years, with those individuals being allowed to transfer or resign with full benefits and no criminal charges against them.Alfred de Zayas, professor of international law at the Geneva School of Diplomacy, former secretary of the UN Human Rights Committee and Former UN independent expert on international order, joins us to discuss the International Criminal Court's (ICC) decision to drop a probe into actions by British forces in Iraq, despite evidence of war crimes. According to a Wednesday article in Common Dreams, the decision was blasted by the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) General Secretary Wolfgang Kaleck, who said it "reinforces longstanding double standards in international justice and shows once again that powerful actors can get away with systematic torture." Kaleck also noted that the decision "is a severe blow to Iraqi torture survivors." Nick Davies, peace activist and author of "Blood on Our Hands, the American Invasion of Iraq," joins Dr. Wilmer Leon to discuss a MintPress News story entitled "John Kerry's Think Tank Calls for War With Russia Over Climate Change." Kerry, who was recently appointed as the Biden team's special presidential envoy for climate and who is a founding member of the American Security Project think tank, was quoted as saying, "America will soon have a government that treats the climate crisis as the urgent national security threat it is." The organization was quoted in the article as saying, "NATO faces a severe military challenge in the European Arctic area of operation. ... The US military should actively participate in Arctic joint exercises, and publicize US military deployments to the region, with particular focus on the Russian border – perhaps by returning the US Marine deployment to Norway."Marjorie Cohn, professor of law at the Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, California and a former president of the National Lawyers Guild, joins us to discuss a Consortium News article which said, "The United Nations' top official on torture Tuesday called on British authorities to release or place under house arrest WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange" during his US extradition trail proceedings. Nils Meizer, UN special rapporteur on torture, cited a report saying that "some 65 of the 165 inmates at Belmarsh, including numerous prisoners in the wing where Assange is jailed, have tested positive for coronavirus." He called Assange's imprisonment "arbitrary deprivation of liberty" that has "severely violated" the journalist's human rights.Laith Marouf, broadcaster and journalist based in Beirut, Lebanon, joins us to discuss Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's remarks that Iran will return to its commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal if other countries do the same. According to Al Jazeera, "Following the assassination of nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh outside Tehran last month, the Iranian parliament, dominated by conservatives and hardliners, quickly passed a bill that aims to increase uranium enrichment and expel inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The Rouhani administration has explicitly said it opposes the legislation and was not consulted in its drafting."

Dr. Jack Rasmus, professor of economics and politics at St. Mary's College of California, joins us to discuss his recent article, entitled "How Could 70 Million Still Have Voted for Trump?" He surmises that economic and health reasons are not the only sources of Trump support, and that such support is also "grounded in the 'ethnic' composition of his mostly White European heritage followers who are fearful 'their' white culture is being overwhelmed by the growing numbers and diversity of people of color in America."Pediatrician, health reform activist and Co-Director at Popular Resistance Margaret Flowers joins us to discuss the US' recent, record-breaking wave of COVID-19 cases. She also talks about Pfizer's new vaccine, which, according to the company, has been found to be more than 90% effective in preventing COVID-19 among those who have not already experienced infection.Greg Palast, investigative reporter, joins us to talk about the US 2020 election. Discussion items include who is ahead in the states still counting and the accuracy of the vote counts.Ajamu Baraka, former US vice-presidential candidate for the Green Party, joins us to discuss how just days after the election, corporate Democrats are already attacking US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and other progressives. According to a Sunday article in Jacobin, "Since the election was called for Joe Biden, there has been a multitiered effort to blame disappointing election results on progressives, even as exit polls and voting results show that progressive organizing rescued Democrats from the jaws of a presidential defeat. "David Schultz, author and professor of political science and law at Hamline University, joins us to discuss Trump's refusal to concede the election. According to a Sunday article in The Guardian, "Donald Trump's resolve not to accept the result of the presidential election appeared unshaken on Sunday, as he continued to promote conspiracy theories about the vote."Scott Ritter, former UN weapons inspector in Iraq, joins us to discuss the struggle Biden faces to re-enter the Iran deal. Antiwar.com reported Sunday, "In comments Saturday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called on President-elect Joe Biden to return to fulfilling commitments under the P5+1 nuclear deal, saying Iran would continue its resistance to the US until they return to the deal."Nick Davies, author of "Blood on Our Hands: The American Invasion and Destruction of Iraq," joins us to discuss Luis Arce, who was recently sworn in as Bolivia's president. "In his first speech as president, Arce criticized the de facto government's management, which destroyed Bolivia's economy," Telesur reported Sunday. He also "promised to rebuild the South American country," the outlet noted.Lucy Komisar, investigative journalist focusing on corporate and financial corruption, joins us to discuss the weaponization of human rights and whether the Magnitsky Act denies due process.

Listen to the Sun. Nov. 8, 2020 edition of the Pan-African Journal: Worldwide Radio Broadcast hosted by Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire. The program features our PANW report with dispatches on the escalating conflict in the Horn of Africa nation of Ethiopia where the Federal government has deployed troops to the north of the country; Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has responded to the results of the United States elections calling for President-elect Joe Biden to reactivate the nuclear deal which was abandoned by outgoing leader Donald Trump; we look at the role of African women in the struggle against COVID-19; and the U.S. elections still remains a source of conflict with the Trump administration claiming massive voter fraud amid political defeat. In the second hour we take an in-depth look at the elections in the U.S. Finally, we examine the circumstances in Ethiopia leading to the current internal crises.

Jim Kavanagh, Writer at The Polemicist and CounterPunch, joins us to discuss the lawsuits that the president's campaign filed. On Thursday, judges in Georgia and Michigan dismissed two of the suits. Daniel Lazare, investigative journalist and author of "The Velvet Coup," discusses recent statements from Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. On Wednesday, Rouhani said in a televised Iranian Cabinet meeting that his country is prepared for a complicated relationship with the US regardless of who wins the presidential election. He also said the US should respect Iran and return to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal. "We want to be respected, not subject to sanctions," Rouhani said, according to Al-Monitor. "No matter who wins the US election … what we want is for the US to return to law … to return to international and multilateral accords."Laith Marouf, broadcaster and journalist based in Beirut, Lebanon, joins us to discuss a potential Biden administration's goals for Syria. "According to a report from Asharq Al-Awsat, a senior Biden advisor met with a group of Syrians to go over what a Biden administration's Syria policy would look like," Antiwar.com reported Tuesday. "The advisor said Biden would keep a US military presence in northeast Syria to counter Russia and keep reconstruction funds from the country unless 'meaningful' political reform occurs."Shane Stranahan, co-host of Radio Sputnik's Fault Lines, discusses the legalization of marijuana in several US states and other changes in drug laws. "Voters in various states across the country approved a series of statewide ballot proposals on Election Day legalizing the use and distribution of marijuana for either medical or adult-use purposes," The Hill reported Wednesday. Also, the Associated Press reported that samed day, "In a first in the nation, Oregon has rejected charging drug users with criminal offenses, with voters passing a ballot measure that decriminalizes possession of heroin, methamphetamine, LSD, oxycodone, and other hard drugs."Ray McGovern, Former CIA analyst and co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity, joins us to discuss US online censorship. "Anonymous officials told The Washington Post that the US undertook a cyber operation within the last two weeks against Iran," Antiwar.com reported Tuesday. "US Cyber Command Chief Gen. Paul Nakasone issued a statement late Tuesday night that said the US took action against 'adversaries' to prevent election interference," the outlet noted.Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations and security analyst, joins us to discuss the latest in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Russian President Vladimir Putin met with religious leaders Wednesday and said that Moscow is doing everything it can to bring the conflict to an end.Danny Sjursen, retired US Army Major and author of "Patriotic Dissent: America in the Age of Endless War," joins us to discuss Latin America resisting the US. "Iran's foreign minister began his trip to Latin America in Venezuela, where he arrived on Wednesday to promote a strategic alliance," Telesur reported Tuesday. In addition to Venezuela, the trip includes stops in Cuba and Bolivia. Meanwhile, over at Venezuelanalysis.com, "Steve Ellner argues that average Venezuelans understand that US sanctions hurt them and should be resisted."Ajamu Baraka, former US vice-presidential candidate for the Green Party, joins us to discuss Kenn Orphan's Thursday article at CounterPunch about the root of the current problems in America. Orphan argues that "Donald Trump was never the real problem. He was and is the rancid product of a centuries-long experiment in racist colonial settler imperialism, first born on the continent, then later exported to the entire world."

As many are aware, there's a partisan battle brewing over who will fill the seat left by the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The fight will affect issues like gun control, abortion and religious liberty, which are important to the political right, but it could also damage the court's image and reputation. What will come next? "Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has returned from his official visits to Suriname, Guyana, Colombia and Brazil, where he discussed the possibilities of regime change in Venezuela," MintPress News reported Monday. He has now announced "a $348 million package he said was a 'response to the ongoing humanitarian crisis caused by the corrupt and illegitimate Maduro regime,' and signaled the US' 'commitment to the Venezuelan people,'" the outlet noted. What are we to make of all of this? A September 18 piece by Ahmed Abdulkareem in MintPress News is entitled "2,000 Days Since It Began, the War in Yemen Is Poised To Turn Even More Deadly." He writes, "Realistically, the war has become little more than a pretext to control Yemen's strategic sites and natural wealth. Saudi Arabia and the UAE now occupy entire southern provinces from al-Mahara to the Bab al-Mandab Strait. Somehow, though, they have not yet allowed [former President Abdrabbuh Mansur] Hadi and his old guard to return." What can we expect next?Who is Michele Flournoy, and could she be the angel of death for the American empire? There's a great piece in Antiwar.com, published Wednesday and written by Medea Benjamin and Nicolas JS Davies, that asks this question, and we are joined by KJ Noh to discuss it."Russia's foreign intelligence service SVR has exposed some Western countries' involvement in fueling the Alexey Navalny case, with the Nord Stream 2 project being the main target, SVR Director Sergei Naryshkin said in a statement issued by the SVR press bureau on Tuesday," TASS reported. Are the covers really being pulled off here? There's a verbal and rhetorical shootout happening at the UN. "Tensions between the US and China took center stage at the 75th UN General Assembly on Tuesday, and President Trump used his speech to go after Beijing," Antiwar.com reported. "The president blamed China for the coronavirus pandemic and said Beijing 'unleashed' the virus on the world." What can we expect next?"Iranian President Hassan Rouhani delivered a defiant and fiery speech Tuesday to the UN General Assembly as his nation grapples with the Middle East's worst coronavirus outbreak and a weakened economy, but he insisted it is the US that that will surrender to the resilience of Iran," the Associated Press reported Tuesday. It does not seem as though Iran is backing down. What has been the response to this speech worldwide?"Venezuela has called for the world to fight 'hegemony' and 'imperialist ideas,' while Cuba called the United States 'the greatest danger to international peace and security' during the United Nations General Assembly's (UNGA) virtual summit to mark 75 years of the global body," Al Jazeera reported Tuesday. Are other countries agreeing?Guests:Marjorie Cohn - Professor of law at the Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, California, and a former president of the National Lawyers GuildTeri Mattson - Latin America coordinator for Code PinkElisabeth Myers - Lawyer, former editor-in-chief of Inside Arabia and democracy lead for Democrats AbroadNicolas JS Davies - Peace activist and author of "Blood on Our Hands: The American Invasion and Destruction of Iraq"Mark Sleboda - Moscow-based international relations and security analystKJ Noh - Peace activist, writer and teacherDr. Gerald Horne - Professor of history at the University of Houston, author, historian and researcherCaleb Maupin - Journalist and political analyst

On January 8, 2020, the Daily Times printed this article: “World War III is really knocking at the door as the news erupted of growing tensions between the US and Iran. The internet started trending World War III after Iranian general Qassem Soleimani was killed in a US airstrike near the Baghdad airport. The attack was conducted by an American drone officially confirmed by US and Iranian sources. The American airstrike is the leading indicator of war, and the recent pugnacious sentiments could precipitate a major conflict in the region. The attack may be a potential turning point in the Gulf crisis and is anticipated to draw severe retaliation from Iran. This is a dangerous escalation that could lead to another disastrous war in the Middle East. The situation is becoming tense and the fear of war has intensified between the two countries. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has vowed that Iran would “take revenge” following Soleimani’s death. Tens of thousands of people thronged the streets of Tehran and people have started protests to demonstrate their anger after the US strike slayed Soleimani.Surely, we are in a very prophetically critical time in the earth, and as current events continue to herald the very real possibility of World War III, not only in light of the most recent issue with Iran, but also what is taking place in the other major countries of the world as well, God’s people are being urged to take our calling more seriously as His Voice in proclamation of Salvation’s Eternal Life Truth to a lost and dying world while there is yet time.For even if we have more time than these latest dangers have warranted, in the collective sense of the indicators His Prophetic Word has given us, we have more credibility given to the expectation that we are the last generation before all He has promised will take place and Jesus Christ returns. And while Lucifer forms his “One World Religion” God’s true Church must contend even more earnestly for the True Faith which was once for all delivered to the Saints while there is still time to do so!Support the show (http://www.agapelightministries.com/tp40/Application.asp?app=Donate&ID=39635)

On this episode of The Critical Hour, Dr. Wilmer Leon is joined by Caleb Maupin, journalist and political analyst who focuses his coverage on US foreign policy; and Dr. Jack Rasmus, professor of economics at Saint Mary's College of California and author of several books.It's Friday, so that means it's panel time."The third impeachment trial in US history officially began Thursday amid a swirl of new allegations about President [Donald] Trump's dealings with Ukraine, which several Republicans rushed to downplay as they dismissed Democrats' calls for further investigation," the Washington Post reported. "Lev Parnas, a former associate of Trump's personal lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani, has alleged that Trump knew of his role in the effort to dig up dirt in Ukraine that could benefit the president politically." Are these new revelations making it tougher for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to hold his line?"[Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth] Warren and [Vermont Sen. Bernie] Sanders remain at odds over whether he told her, during a private dinner in 2018 about the presidential election, that a woman couldn't win -- neither backed off their previous statements," CNN reported Wednesday. "But both of the populist politicians seemed intent on avoiding a debate stage crack-up.""Senior administration officials declined Sunday to confirm President Trump's assertion that four US embassies had been targeted for attack by Iran, while saying that Trump's 'interpretation' of the threat was consistent with overall intelligence that justified the killing of a senior Iranian general," the Washington Post reported. They are really having a problem getting their lie together. Furthermore, 11 US troops were wounded in the Iranian missile strike on US bases in Iraq last week, though it was initially reported that no Americans were wounded. "The acknowledgment is a departure from initial reports from defense officials and the president, who described as inconsequential the effects of the missile salvos launched in retaliation for a US strike that killed Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad," the Washington Post reported Friday."Iranian President Hassan Rouhani dismissed on Wednesday a proposal for a new 'Trump deal' aimed at resolving a nuclear row, saying it was a 'strange' offer and criticizing US President Donald Trump for always breaking promises," Reuters reported Wednesday. "British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has praised Trump as a great dealmaker, called on Tuesday for the president to replace Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with major powers with his own new pact to ensure Tehran does not get an atomic weapon. Trump said he agreed with Johnson that a 'Trump deal' should replace the Iran nuclear deal. In a televised speech, Rouhani told Washington to return to the nuclear pact, which Washington abandoned in 2018, under which Tehran curbed its nuclear work in return for the lifting of international sanctions on Iran." There are a few odd things here to me: the first is Johnson making this proposal, and the second is the idea of a “Trump deal,” almost as though Trump just wants his name on the thing, the same way he updated NAFTA and claims it as his own."A week before Germany, France and Britain formally accused Iran of breaching the 2015 nuclear deal, the Trump administration issued a private threat to the Europeans that shocked officials in all three countries," the Washington Post reported Wednesday. "If they refused to call out Tehran and initiate an arcane dispute mechanism in the deal, the United States would impose a 25% tariff on European automobiles, the Trump officials warned, according to European officials familiar with the conversations."GUESTS:Caleb Maupin — Journalist and political analyst who focuses his coverage on US foreign policy and the global system of monopoly capitalism and imperialism.Dr. Jack Rasmus — Professor of economics at Saint Mary's College of California and author of "Central Bankers at the End of Their Ropes: Monetary Policy and the Coming Depression." Jim Kavanagh — Political analyst and commentator and editor of The Polemicist.Daniel Lazare — Journalist and author of three books: "The Frozen Republic," "The Velvet Coup" and "America's Undeclared War."

The Scalpel with Dr. Keith Rose is proudly sponsored by Zbones Bone Conduction Headphones   Learn more @ zbones.io   Interview with Veteran, Actor, Director, Writer, and Patriot, Kerry Patton.   Kerry Patton - IMDB    https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6435165/   Ours may become the first civilization destroyed, not by the power of our enemies, but by the ignorance of our teachers and the dangerous nonsense they are teaching our children. In an age of artificial intelligence, they are creating artificial stupidity. Thomas Sowell   If they were taught actual history and civics. If they understood the founding   "The aim of every political Constitution, is or ought to be first to obtain for rulers men who possess most wisdom to discern, and most virtue to pursue, the common good of society; and in the next place, to take the most effectual precautions for keeping them virtuous whilst they continue to hold their public trust." James Madison   ". . . Virtue, morality, and religion. This is the armor, my friend, and this alone that renders us invincible. These are the tactics we should study. If we lose these, we are conquered, fallen indeed . . . so long as our manners and principles remain sound, there is no danger." Patrick Henry   Cut 1: Remember “webiles wobble but they don’t fall down https://grabien.com/file.php?id=799151   NADLER: “There is an overwhelming case beyond any reasonable doubt that the president betrayed the country by using by withholding federal funds appropriated by Congress, breaking the law in doing so, in order to extort a foreign government into intervening in our election to embarrass or to try to embarrass a potential opponent of his. There’s overwhelming evidence of that. We couldn’t wait because — I mean, some people said well, let the election take care of it. He’s trying to cheat in that election. So it is essential that we bring this impeachment to stop the president from trying to rig — not from trying, he tried — from rigging the next election, from conspiring with a foreign government as the Russian government attempted to rig our last election. The evidence is overwhelming. The latest evidence with Parnas and Giuliani makes it even more so. It made sense to wait a while, as the more evidence filled up but we have to proceed, because the election, the integrity of the election is at stake. Let me at one other thing. This is a test of the Constitution. The president’s conduct violates the Constitution in every single way. Trying to rig an election. Stonewalling the Congress saying no one may testify because I can have a coverup despite Congress. But it’s a test of the Constitution now. The Senate is intended by the Constitution to conduct a fair trial. The American people know that in a trial you permit witnesses. You present the evidence. If the Senate doesn’t permit the introduction of all relevant witnesses and all of documents that the House wants to introduce, because the House is the prosecutor here, then the Senate is engaging in an unconstitutional and disgusting coverup. So The question is does the Senate — the Senate is on trial as well as the president — Does the Senate conduct a trial according to the Constitution to vindicate the Republic or does the Senate participate in the president’s crimes by covering them up?”   Obama Passed the Buck. Trump Refused to Play. https://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/296902/obama-passed-the-buck-trump-refused-to-play https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/01/donald-trump-and-mythmakers-caroline-glick/   Cut 2: https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2020/01/brian-mast-speaks-silence-ensues.php   We're All Being Pretty Quiet About Obama's Failures, Aren't We https://thefederalist.com/2015/12/15/were-all-being-pretty-quiet-about-obamas-failures-arent-we/   Move away from self government the more destruction you experience. No one can legislate self government. All country’s suffering social decay Are a lack of self government. Break laws personally, breaking of personal law produces public chaos. Don’t have a community problem, we hAve personal problems that Effect the community.   Small Business: Entrepreuners ^^^. Increased regulations extinguish Individual drive where   Work (ergon) means to become. If you go to work you can be sent home.   Growth without management leads to chaos. Massive unchecked growth consumes resources indiscriminately. The larger an unchecked, unmanaged, and unaccountable group becomes (without self government) the more it consumes.   In the real free market the better you manage, the more resources you are given. In government the poorer you manage, the more resources are taken to fix the unmanageable situation. (Throw more money at it)which creates opportunity for the morally challenged, (no self government) to enrich themselves while seemingly trying to solve the unsolvable problem (intentionally). This usually spawns more opportunity for growth of the disfunctional organization and that sums up our expanding leviathan of a central government. are thrown at it.   Self government is a must when oversight is at a minimum.   Individual in the free market gets paid for creating solutions and solving problems. There ability to address and solve problems create value. The more coherent and orderly one provides in business, the greater their value.   Politicians, media, govt beaucracy create problems with no solutions that allows them to create wealth by exploting chaos.   In the real world you don’t work for money, you are paid for solutions. In the political realm, you are not paid for solutions but increase your wealth by creating problems for which there are no solutions. Just more programs, think tanks, non profits, ect. Creating a need so you can take more from those who work with the by product of disincentivizing the best and brightest from reaching for the stars to fulfill their purpose and destiny. Self government brings stability, order, and clarity. Where problems are solved, diseases are cured and the civil society benefits as a whole from the individual’s self governing. When legislative government grows past its confines and intent... it produces chaos, destruction and the dissolution of the civil society.   POSTED ON JANUARY 15, 2020 BY SCOTT JOHNSON IN IRAN, JOHN KERRY, OBAMA FOREIGN POLICY “A LITTLE BIT OF MONEY” REVISITED The Democrats can’t wait to realign American policy on Iran consistent with the inclinations of the mullahcracy. It is a bloody disgrace. Lee Smith performs a great service reminding us of the essential elements of Obama’s policy in the Tablet column “Obama passed the buck.” I had forgotten some of the details. I strongly recommend Lee’s refresher course. The cash and other financial resources made available to Iran in part as ransom and in part to secure the JCPOA aren’t the worst of it, but they have done great damage. Lee puts it this way (and I think he has it right): There were several money streams the former White House poured into the regime. One was sanctions relief, worth hundreds of billions of dollars. Last month Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that in leaving the JCPOA and reimposing sanctions, Trump cost the regime $200 billion. The Obama administration provided another source of income by unlocking escrow accounts when the deal was implemented in January 2016, flooding the regime with some $100 billion in previously frozen oil receipts. The most infamous payoff was the $1.7 billion in cash the administration shipped off to the IRGC on wooden pallets in exchange for U.S. citizens held hostage by the regime. The White House said that there was no “quid pro quo,” that it was Iran’s money to begin with—$400 million the pre-revolutionary government had deposited in 1979 to buy U.S. arms, plus interest. But the U.S. had already used the $400 million to compensate terror victims of the Islamic Republic. That was Iran’s money. The $400 million the Obama administration used to “pay back” the Iranians belonged to the U.S. taxpayer. Of course, that’s not how Obama administration Secretary of State John Kerry puts it. We have the spectacle of John Kerry defending Obama’s policy with an explanation like this one last week reported by the Washington Free Beacon: “Kerry on $1.7 Billion Payment to Iran: ‘We Gave Them a Little Bit of Money’” Kerry appeared on the CBS Sunday morning gabfest and was pressed mildly on this point by host Margaret Brennan (transcript here ). The clip below captures the exchange.   Trump Economy Is Really Experiencing a Middle-Class Boom https://www.heritage.org/markets-and-finance/commentary/trump-economy-really-experiencing-middle-class-boom Under our watch https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/01/new-post-trump-constitution-partisan-impeachment-endless-investigations/     #KerryPatton #Hollywood #Deterrence #GoodGuys #Soleimani #Iran #Iraq #MerryChristmas #Deception #DrKeith #TheScalpel #News #Politics #Future #Conservatives #Democrats #hypocrites #liberals #immigration #presidentialcandidate #brands #america #freedom #branding #progressive #truth #history #Dependence #independence #ValerieJarrett #POTUS #MAGA #Trump

The House of Representatives voted Wednesday to send articles of impeachment against US President Donald Trump to the Senate, setting up what will likely e a very partisan trial in the chamber. The 223-198 vote was mostly along party lines, with Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN), who also voted against impeaching Trump last month, being the only Democrat to defect. Also on Wednesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) chose seven members of the House to serve as managers of Trump's trial in the Senate, which could begin as early as January 21. Those seven managers are House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA); House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY); House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY); and Reps. Jason Crow (D-CO), Val Demings (D-FL), Sylvia Garcia (D-TX) and Zoe Lofgren (D-CA). The trial is likely to continue past Trump's scheduled State of the Union address in early February. What are we to make of these latest developments?"Iranian President Hassan Rouhani dismissed on Wednesday a proposal for a new 'Trump deal' aimed at resolving a nuclear row, saying it was a 'strange' offer and criticizing US President Donald Trump for always breaking promises," Reuters reported. What are we to take away from this discussion?"A whittled-down field of Democratic presidential candidates on Tuesday focused on their shared disdain for President Trump and elaborated on a host of policy differences domestic and foreign in an Iowa presidential debate whose most animated moment turned on whether a woman could become president," the Washington Post reported. Were there any valuable takeaways from this debate?GUESTS:Stephen Lendman - Editor of and contributor to the book "Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III." Richard Lachmann - American sociologist, specialist in comparative historical sociology and professor at the University at Albany, SUNY. Lachmann is best known as the author of the book "Capitalists in Spite of Themselves," which has been awarded several prizes, including the American Sociological Association Distinguished Scholarly Book Award.Dr. Ramzy Baroud - US-Palestinian journalist, media consultant, author, columnist and editor of Palestine Chronicle. He is a former managing editor of Middle East Eye and former deputy managing editor of Al Jazeera online. Melik Abdul - Republican strategist.

Good morning, this is Toby Sumpter with your CrossPolitic news brief for Tuesday, January 7th, 2020. In response to the US killing of Iranian Terrorist Qasem Soleimani last Friday, the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that the US had committed a grave mistake. On the day of the attack, Iran's Foreign Minister Javid Zarif tweeted […]

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has announce yet another "step" away from the JCPOA, the fourth this year. As Iran resumes feeding UF6 into some of the cascades at the Fordow Enrichment Plant, Anne and Jeffrey discuss the steps that led us here and the prospect for preserving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Support us over at Patreon.com/acwpodcast!

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced this week that Iran will move forward with plans to develop its nuclear program, a move that violates the 2015 nuclear deal. The post Iran to Expand Nuclear Capabilities in Violation of 2015 Pact appeared first on International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.

At the United Nations General Assembly last week, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani first agreed to a meeting with Donald Trump, but backed out at the last minute after insisting that the U.S. first lift all sanctions against the Islamic Republic. Following what has been identified as an Iranian attack on Saudi oil facilities last month, […] The post Iran Backs Out of Nuke Talks with US appeared first on International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.

The transcript the White House released Wednesday morning confirms US President Donald Trump did ask his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy to investigate former US Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter. The July 25 phone call is reportedly what led a whistleblower to file a complaint against the president. It came about a week after the White House stopped nearly $400 million in military aid from being sent to the Ukraine.Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced new sanctions Wednesday against entities he said buy oil from Iran in defiance of American sanctions imposed earlier this year. Several of the targeted entities are in China, the biggest foreign buyer of Iran's oil. However, it has been buying less from Iran and more from Saudi Arabia in recent months because of US pressure. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani addressed the United Nations General Assembly Wednesday, one day after President Trump called Iran one of the world's greatest threats. Several Western leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, have been lobbying for Trump and Rouhani to meet, which they hope could defuse the increasing tensions between Washington and Tehran. Rouhani has indicated he's willing to talk but only if Trump agrees to lift punishing economic sanctions it has imposed on Iran.The British House of Commons will reconvene today after UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's decision to suspend Parliament was ruled illegal. Earlier this month, Johnson called for a suspension of Parliament until two weeks before the October 31 Brexit deadline. On Tuesday, Britain's highest court ruled that suspending Parliament for five weeks was unlawful and had the effect of limiting debate by lawmakers on Britain's exit from the European Union. Opposition party leaders have called on Johnson to resign.GUESTS:Lee Stranahan — Co-host of Fault Lines on Sputnik News Radio.John Kiriakou — Co-host of Loud and Clear on Sputnik News Radio.Daniel Lazare — Journalist and author of three books: "The Frozen Republic," "The Velvet Coup" and "America's Undeclared War." David Schultz — Professor of political science at Hamline University and author of "Presidential Swing States: Why Only Ten Matter."

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Jim Kavanagh, the editor of thepolemicist.net.At least 200 Democrats have now said that they support impeaching President Trump for abuse of power after he apparently pressured Ukrainian President Zelensky to assist in an investigation of former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter. But the White House released what it says is a transcript of that call. And the accusations against Trump are now not so clear. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York yesterday, said that Washington must lift sanctions imposed on Iran in order for Tehran to return to the negotiating table. President Trump, in his own speech before the General Assembly, said the US wants “partners, not adversaries,” but only after he condemned Iran as the world’s gravest threat to peace. Kevin Zeese, co-coordinator of Popular Resistance. You can find their work at popularresistance.org, joins the show. Google “corruption and gentrification” and you get almost half a million links to articles, studies, and scholarly research papers from all across America. Cities from Washington to Los Angeles, to Baltimore and Buffalo and San Francisco are all gentrifying, driving up prices and forcing poor people and minorities out of the neighborhoods that many of them have known for generations. The problems with this are many. But add corrupt municipal officials and politicians, and you have a looming disaster, including right here in the nation’s capital. Brian and John speak with Yasmina Mrabet and Tmac, both organizers with LinkUp, a community group that works to prevent displacement. The Chief Executive Officer of the vaping pod maker Juul resigned yesterday and was replaced by the former Chief Growth Officer of the tobacco giant Altria as Massachusetts joined New York and California in banning the flavored smoking product. Dozens of people, mostly young people, have developed dangerous lung diseases, and at least seven have died, after smoking vaping pods. Altria owns a 35 percent stake in Juul. Dr. Louis Kyriakoudes, a professor at Middle Tennessee State University, director of the Albert Gore Research Center, and one of only three experts who has testified against Big Tobacco, according to The Nation magazine, joins the show. Google has won, in part, a major case in Europe in its appeal of the EU’s so-called “Right to be Forgotten” law. The law allowed people in Europe to request the removal of old news about them that might be harmful to their reputations or otherwise embarrassing. The European Court of Justice, the EU’s highest court, ruled that while Google must delete such information in Europe, it doesn’t have to do so for the rest of the world. Patricia Gorky, a software engineer and technology and security analyst, joins Brian and John. Wednesday’s weekly series, In the News, is where the hosts look at the most important ongoing developments of the week and put them into perspective. Sputnik news analysts Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek join the show.Wednesday’s regular segment, Beyond Nuclear, is about nuclear issues, including weapons, energy, waste, and the future of nuclear technology in the United States. Kevin Kamps, the Radioactive Waste Watchdog at the organization Beyond Nuclear, and Sputnik news analyst and producer Nicole Roussell, join the show.

At the June 2019 Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, when the Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, he remarked that the relations between the two countries were “multifaceted” and “multilateral.” The two countries have continued developing their ties despite tightened sanctions. What are the main economic and political drivers of Russia-Iran cooperation? Are there any irreconcilable differences between the two and where does Iran fit in U.S.-Russia relations?  This event is made possible by the generous support of the Carnegie Corporation of New York.   

Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America are glad to see Republicans hold on to a pair of North Carolina congressional seats, including one that Democrats were hoping would be a harbinger of 2020.  They also shudder as Iranian President Hassan Rouhani cheers the exit of National Security Adviser John Bolton and now urges President Trump to end the maximum pressure campaign.  And they groan as Trump Campaign Manager Brad Parscale openly forecasts a Trump political dynasty.

On this episode of The Critical Hour, Dr. Wilmer Leon is joined by Caleb Maupin, journalist and political analyst focusing on US foreign policy and capitalism; Daniel Lazare, journalist and author; and Dr. Jack Rasmus, professor of economics at Saint Mary's College of California. It's Friday, so that means it's panel time. The forecast for Hurricane Dorian keeps becoming more ominous and serious, particularly in Florida, even as the specifics as to exactly where it will strike remain uncertain. Dorian steadily strengthened Thursday night and Friday morning, growing into an “extremely dangerous” Category 3 storm with winds of 115 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center's 2 p.m. EDT bulletin. This intensification trend is forecast to continue. By the time Dorian bears down on Florida on Labor Day, it is forecast to be a Category 4 hurricane with 140 mph winds. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani declared Tuesday that the US should lift sanctions against Tehran if it wants to negotiate, saying, "We will not witness any positive development unless the United States abandons its sanctions and corrects the wrong path it has chosen." This was just a day after Rouhani seemingly signaled a willingness to meet with US President Donald Trump, telling Iranian citizens that diplomacy could solve the country's problems. We'll discuss this in the context of Trump's fabricated China phone call while at the recent G7 meeting in France.Video doorbell company Ring is working with more than 400 police departments to make it easier for law enforcement to access homeowners videos. The Amazon-owned company made the announcement this week, saying the partnerships will allow local law enforcement agencies to post important safety information and view and comment on public posts to a portal operated by Ring. Is this really more "Big Brother" and law enforcement invading privacy?It was reported on Monday that Bank of England Governor Mark Carney took aim at the US dollar's "destabilizing" role in the world economy last Friday and said central banks might need to join together to create their own replacement reserve currency. How big of signal is this sending, and what is it a signal of?Queen Elizabeth II approved a request by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson Friday to shut down Parliament for several weeks ahead of Britain's upcoming departure from the European Union, a startling maneuver that will rob his opponents of time to thwart a no-deal Brexit. British lawmakers return to Parliament next week following their summer recess. Parliament then normally shuts down in late September when the political parties hold their annual conferences. The suspension will extend that period of inactivity. What does this say about the current state of Brexit?Former FBI Director James Comey violated FBI policies in his handling of memos documenting private conversations with US President Donald Trump, the Justice Department's inspector general said. The report found that none of the information shared by him or his attorneys with anyone in the media was classified, and the Justice Department has declined to prosecute him. Comey said he considered his memos to be personal rather than government documents, and that it never would've occurred to him to give them back to the FBI after he was fired. The inspector general's office disagreed, citing a policy that FBI employees must give up all documents with FBI information once they leave the bureau. Is there a double standard here? You and I would go to jail for this sort of thing, but not Comey, because we have different rules for ordinary people and the VIPs. "We have previously faulted Comey for acting unilaterally and inconsistent with Department policy. Comey's unauthorized disclosure of sensitive law enforcement information about the [Michael] Flynn investigation merits similar criticism," the inspector general noted.We'll discuss all these topics and more!GUESTS:Caleb Maupin — Journalist and political analyst who focuses his coverage on US foreign policy and the global system of monopoly capitalism and imperialism.Dr. Jack Rasmus — Professor of economics at Saint Mary's College of California and author of "Central Bankers at the End of Their Ropes: Monetary Policy and the Coming Depression." Daniel Lazare — Journalist and author of three books: "The Frozen Republic," "The Velvet Coup" and "America's Undeclared War."

On this episode of The Critical Hour, Dr. Wilmer Leon is joined by Dr. Jack Rasmus, professor of economics at Saint Mary's College of California. A recent New York Law Journal article titled "Deutsche Bank Tells 2nd Circuit It Has Tax Returns of at Least One Trump Family Member," says, "The bank wrote in a letter to the Second Circuit US Court of Appeals that it had the tax returns of someone, or multiple people, targeted by congressional subpoenas, but redacted any identifying information." The bank indicated that it had tax documents for either US President Donald Trump or one of his three eldest children, who have played roles in his business dealings. A decision from the court, which is expected soon, may allow Congress to obtain those filings and other financial records of Trump or his children. Democratic lawmakers have been seeking Trump's tax returns and subpoenaed Deutsche Bank and Capital One, which have had business relationships with the president. Trump, in turn, sued to block the banks from complying with the subpoenas. The banks had until 4 p.m. Tuesday to respond to the subpoenas. What does all this mean?Trump said Monday there's a "really good chance" he could meet with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on their nuclear impasse after a surprise intervention by French President Emmanuel Macron during the G7 summit to try to bring Washington and Tehran together after decades of conflict. Macron orchestrated the high-stakes gamble to invite Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, whose plane landed at the locked-down airport of the coastal resort of Biarritz during the G-7 meeting. Rouhani on Tuesday dashed hopes of a potential meeting with his US counterpart in the foreseeable future, saying the United States should lift all sanctions before Iran agrees to talks. Also Tuesday, Zarif called the idea of Trump and Rouhani meeting “unimaginable.”Daesh claimed responsibility for a suicide bomb attack at a wedding in Kabul earlier this month that killed 63 people and wounded 182. It has been described as one of the deadliest suicide attacks in years. Since Daesh lost its territorial caliphate in Iraq and Syria, the group has splintered and remains a threat around the region, with several local franchises sprouting up, including in Afghanistan. Is it the fear of Daesh that is motivating the Taliban to negotiate an agreement with the US?Officials are voting Tuesday to decide if Newark, New Jersey, is going to take a multi-million dollar loan to fast track the replacement of lead water pipes as the city's water crisis drags on. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo appeared Monday to announce that the county would issue bonds to extradite the ripping out of around 18,000 outdated pipes. The loans are expected to take a nearly 10-year project and wrap it up in about two-and-a-half years. However, the move is not completely locked in yet, as the Newark City Council, the Essex County Board of Commissioners and the Essex County Freeholders must ratify it.GUESTS:Dr. Jack Rasmus — Professor of economics at Saint Mary's College of California. Daniel Lazare — Journalist and author of three books: "The Frozen Republic," "The Velvet Coup" and "America's Undeclared War." Dr. Marvin Weinbaum — Scholar-in-residence and director of the Middle East Institute's Center for Pakistan and Afghanistan Studies. Bill Goodman — Practices civil rights law with Goodman & Hurwitz PC, representing families and individuals who have been the victims of police and other governmental misconduct. He is the winner of the Michigan Trial Lawyers Association “Champion of Justice” Award and has been named Public Interest Trial Lawyer of the Year.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Dr. Louis Kyriakoudes, a professor at Middle Tennessee State University, director of the Albert Gore Research Center, and one of only three experts who has testified against Big Tobacco, according to The Nation magazine.In a landmark decision yesterday, a state judge in Oklahoma ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay the state $572 million for intentionally playing down the dangers and overselling the benefits of opioids. The decision fell short of the $17 billion that Oklahoma was seeking as reimbursement addiction treatment, drug courts, and other costs of the epidemic. But it opens the company to similar suits in every other state in America. Senator Tom Cotton, a far-right wing senator from Arkansas, has an op-ed in today’s New York Times in which he says that the United States must purchase Greenland at all costs. Cotton adds that he even raised the idea with the Danish Ambassador to the US a year ago. The Danish government has repeated that the island is not for sale. Is this crazy idea becoming mainstream? Bruce Gagnon, the coordinator of the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space and a contributor to Foreign Policy In Focus, joins the show. French President Emmanuel Macron said yesterday that he would like to broker direct talks between President Trump and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, a proposal that Trump immediately endorsed. But Rouhani said today that there would be no direct talks between the two countries until US sanctions against Iran are lifted. Brian and John speak with Mohammad Marandi, an expert on American studies and postcolonial literature who teaches at the University of Tehran. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is rejecting $20 million in aid offered by the G-7 countries to fight raging wildfires in the Amazon. He also called on French President Emmanuel Macron to apologize for calling the fires an international crisis. Bolsonaro is apparently so angry at Macron that he took to Facebook today to call Macron’s wife “ugly.” Now it’s Macron who is demanding an apology. But are both politicians just grandstanding while the planet is in crisis? Aline Piva, a journalist and a member of Brazilians for Democracy and Social Justice, joins the show. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said today that he’s feeling more optimistic about achieving a Brexit deal and not crashing out of the European Union after spending the past week touring Europe and meeting with leaders. The hook seems to be--still--what to do about the Irish border. In the meantime, though, it is more and more clear that there will not be freedom of movement into the UK by EU nationals once the deal is done. Neil Clark, a journalist and broadcaster whose work has appeared in The Guardian, The Week, and Morning Star, joins Brian and John. Tuesday’s weekly series is False Profits—A Weekly Look at Wall Street and Corporate Capitalism with Daniel Sankey. Brian and John speak with financial policy analyst Daniel Sankey.Today’s regular segment that airs every Tuesday is called Women & Society with Dr. Hannah Dickinson. This weekly segment is about the major issues, challenges, and struggles facing women in all aspects of society. Hannah Dickinson, an associate professor at Hobart and William Smith Colleges and an organizer with the Geneva Women’s Assembly; Nathalie Hrizi, an educator, a political activist, and the editor of Breaking the Chains, a women’s magazine; and Loud & Clear producer Nicole Roussell join the show.

Simon's report on President Macron's Iran initiative at the G7 Summit in Biarritz, and President Donald Trump's reaction.  From Clive Bull's programme on the UK's LBC.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, John Kiriakou and Nicole Roussell (sitting in for Brian Becker) are joined by Gareth Porter, a historian, investigative journalist, and analyst specializing in U.S. national security policy.Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said today that Iran would enrich as much uranium as it wants, beginning on Sunday, because of the Trump Administration’s decision to scrap the JCPOA. Meanwhile, a Defense Department spokesman said that several apparently empty ships have been seen approaching Iranian waters, they’ve dropped off the radar, and they have reappeared days later, apparently full and leaving Iranian waters. Edward Gallagher, a Navy SEAL accused of war crimes in Iraq was found not guilty of first degree murder and myriad other charges in the deaths of civilians and one ISIS fighter in 2017. He was convicted of the crime of posing with a body and sentenced to four months, although he already has served more than that in pretrial detention. Gallagher’s own men turned him in, and his arrest and trial exposed great fissures between those SEALS who followed the rules of engagement and those who saw their primary goal as hunting terrorists while ignoring US and international law. Dave Lindorff, an investigative reporter and a columnist for CounterPunch whose writings are also at ThisCantBeHappening.net, joins the show. The British Parliament will soon enter its summer recess, even if it has decided nothing on Brexit. As Conservative Party members choose a new leader and, by extension, a new Prime Minister, will a soft Brexit finally become a reality? Will it be under Prime Minister Boris Johnson? And what will become of Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange? He’s in a British prison fighting extradition to the United States. John speaks with Neil Clark, a journalist and broadcaster whose work has appeared in The Guardian, The Week, and Morning Star. Wednesday’s weekly series, In the News, is where the hosts look at the most important ongoing developments of the week and put them into perspective. Today they discuss President Trump’s flashy and expensive military parade he’s putting on tomorrow, the ongoing reports of criminally inhumane conditions at detention facilities, the NAVY Seal who just escaped conviction of war crimes, and a call to end war published in several national papers by our guest Dan Kovalik. Dan Kovalik, a human rights and labor lawyer and the author of the book “The Plot to Overthrow Venezuela: How the US is Orchestrating a Coup for Oil” and co-author with award-winning filmmaker Oliver Stone of the op-ed published this week entitled, “We must stop our nation’s push for relentless war,” joins the show. Wednesday’s regular segment, Beyond Nuclear, is about nuclear issues, including weapons, energy, waste, and the future of nuclear technology in the United States. Kevin Kamps, the Radioactive Waste Watchdog at the organization Beyond Nuclear, joins the show.

It's Friday, so that means it's panel time. Thursday night was the second round of the first debate of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary in Miami. How did the 10 candidates do compared to those the night before? The US Supreme Court handed Republicans a key victory this week by refusing to halt even the most extreme gerrymandered maps. But Democrats may have a win on blocking the citizenship question from the US Census. The Supreme Court ruled that federal courts are powerless to hear challenges to partisan gerrymandering, the practice in which the party that controls the state legislature draws voting maps to help elect its candidates. The vote was 5-4, with the court's more conservative members in the majority. In a momentous decision, the court closed the door on such claims.US President Donald Trump warned on Tuesday that any attack Tehran might carry out “on anything American” would result in the “obliteration” of parts of Iran. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the White House is "suffering from mental disability" and behaving as "no sane person" in the wake of new sanctions imposed by Trump earlier this week, which an Iranian spokesman said have closed the "channel of diplomacy forever." The very personal exchange was reminiscent of similar verbal clashes between the US and North Korean leaders in late 2017 and underlined the volatility of US foreign policy in the present standoff in the Gulf. Trump has swung between dire threats and offers of talks without preconditions while ramping up sanctions.We've got a special report from Radio Sputnik's Walter Smolarek, who is in South Korea interviewing Dr. Moon Chun In, special assistant to South Korean President Moon Jae In.We've got all these stories and more!GUESTS:Bob Schlehuber — Producer for By Any Means Necessary and Sputnik news analyst. Linwood Tauheed — Associate professor of economics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Daniel Lazare — Journalist and author of three books: "The Frozen Republic," "The Velvet Coup" and "America's Undeclared War. Walter Smolarek — Producer for Loud & Clear on Sputnik News Radio.

The acting Customs and Border Protection commissioner is resigning amid a surge of immigrants at the southern border. John Sanders' resignation is set for July 5, and he didn't provide a reason for stepping down. The resignation comes as CBP deals with accusations of poor living conditions at US border facilities. House Democrats are battling over a $4.5 billion emergency aid bill for the southern border. Liberals are outraged over the treatment of migrant children and are pushing for more protections in the bill. They want tougher standards for facilities that house migrant families. In the meantime, the White House is threatening a presidential veto, as it seeks more funding for ICE detention. House leaders want to get the bill passed before next week's July 4 recess. In an open letter, 18 individuals from 11 wealthy families detailed the sweeping benefits of imposing a wealth tax on the richest Americans. What signal is this sending to the broader American electorate? “We are writing to call on all candidates for president, whether they are Republicans or Democrats, support a moderate wealth tax on the fortunes of the richest 1/10 of the richest 1% of Americans — on us. The next dollar of new tax revenue should come from the most financially fortunate, not from middle-income and lower-income Americans.” How much revenue could realistically be generated from a tax of this nature?US President Donald Trump said in a Tuesday tweet, “Any attack by Iran on anything American will be met with great and overwhelming force. In some areas, overwhelming will mean obliteration.” He called Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's comments “ignorant and insulting.” Rouhani said earlier Tuesday that the White House was "afflicted by mental retardation" and vowed that Tehran would not be intimidated by American sanctions. “Imposing useless sanctions on Iran's Supreme Leader [Ayatollah Ali Khamenei] and the commander of Iran's diplomacy [Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif] is the permanent closure of the path of diplomacy,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said on Twitter. What does this mean going forward?A recent New York Times piece, "Guantánamo Case to Test Whether Torture Can Be Put on the Docket," details abuse Majid Khan suffered while in CIA prisons. "Mr. Khan, a confessed Qaeda courier, was held in almost total darkness for a year, fearing he would be drowned in an icy tub and isolated in a cell with bugs that bit him until he bled. In 2004, his second year of CIA detention, the agency 'infused' a purée of pasta, sauce, nuts, raisins and hummus up Mr. Khan's rectum when he went on a hunger strike, according to a Senate Intelligence Committee report. Now Mr. Khan and his legal team are pursuing a strategy in an effort to force the United States government to acknowledge what was done to him in a way it never has for any of the detainees who were subjected to torture — and to give him a measure of compensation for it." The government is fighting the case, so what will happen next?GUESTS:Maru Mora-Villalpando — Nationally known immigrant rights activist, co-founder of the Latinx organization Mijente and community organizer with Northwest Detention Center Resistance. Dr. Jack Rasmus — Professor of economics at Saint Mary's College of California and author of "Central Bankers at the End of Their Ropes: Monetary Policy and the Coming Depression."Jefferson Morley — Journalist and editor who has worked in Washington journalism for over 30 years, 15 of which were spent as an editor and reporter at The Washington Post. The author of "The Ghost: The Secret Life of CIA Spymaster James Jesus Angleton" and "Our Man in Mexico: Winston Scott and the Hidden History of the CIA," Morley has written about intelligence, the military and politics for Salon, The Atlantic and The Intercept, among others. Jim Kavanagh — Political analyst and commentator and editor of The Polemicist.Dr. Ajamu Baraka — American political activist and former Green Party nominee for vice president of the United States in the 2016 election.

US President Donald Trump says he is imposing new, tougher sanctions on Iran. He stressed at the White House Monday that Iran can never be in possession of a nuclear weapon and says his administration will continue to increase pressure on Tehran. Trump said new sanctions were already in motion prior to last week's downing of a US drone by Iran. According to Trump, the sanctions are crippling Iran's economy. He also accused Iran of being the top sponsor of terrorism in the world. Officials in Tehran have described US sanctions against Iranian people as “economic war” and “economic terrorism,” and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has said that since the sanctions include ordinary people, they are examples of “crimes against humanity.” Turkey's opposition has dealt President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a stinging blow by winning control of Istanbul in a re-run mayoral election, breaking his aura of invincibility and delivering a message from voters unhappy over his ever-tightening grip on power. Ekrem Imamoglu of the secularist Republican People's Party (CHP) secured 54.21% of votes, the head of the country's High Election Board announced on Monday - a far wider victory margin than his narrow win three months ago. The previous result was annulled after protests from Erdogan's Islamist-rooted AK Party, which said there had been widespread voting irregularities. The decision to re-run the vote was criticized by Western allies and caused uproar among domestic opponents who said Turkey's democracy was under threat. Democratic US presidential candidates are hoping they garnered black support after attending a notable fish fry in South Carolina on Friday. Twenty-one of 24 presidential hopefuls gathered at the event hosted by the highest ranking black lawmaker in Congress, South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn. The fish fry is seen as a chance to build a voter base in the early primary state, which boasts a Democratic electorate that is primarily black, at 60%. Though South Carolina typically votes Republican, many Democratic candidates see it as a boon for winning the party nomination. Both Senators Kamala Harris and Cory Booker have sought the attention of South Carolina voters, but former Vice President Joe Biden still dominates the field among black voters, with 52%. South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg is facing tough questions about the police killing of a black man in his city last week. The 2020 Democratic presidential candidate held a town hall Sunday for a crowd that at times booed and shouted over him. Mayor Pete acknowledged the lack of trust between the black community in South Bend and the police. He also pointed out reforms that he's already made as mayor but admitted that they might not have gone far enough. Trump says he's delaying his deportation raids for two weeks. He tweeted Sunday that he had delayed planned immigration raids in nearly a dozen cities because he wants to give Democrats "every last chance" to address immigration issues. ICE agents were expected to round up about 2,000 illegal immigrants around the country before Trump called off the raids. On Twitter, he warned that if progress is not made in Congress, "big deportation" begins in two weeks. GUESTS:Daniel Lazare — Journalist and author of three books: "The Frozen Republic," "The Velvet Coup" and "America's Undeclared War." Dr. Clarence Lusane — African-American author, activist, lecturer and chair of the political science department at Howard University.Oscar Chacon — Co‐founder and executive director of Alianza Americas, dedicated to improving the quality of life of Latino immigrant communities in the US, as well as of peoples throughout the Americas. Shermichael Singelton — Writer, political consultant and former CNN political commentator.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced that his country is taking steps to halt its compliance with elements of the landmark nuclear deal in response to Trump pulling out of the accord and stiffening sanctions on Tehran.

Wednesday, May 8, 2019 *) Iran inches away from nuclear deal amid US sanctions, and South Africans head to the polls in parliamentary and provincial elections. *) This is TRT World’s Daily News Brief for Wednesday, May 8th. *)Iran threatens more nuclear deal measures Iranian President Hassan Rouhani gives world powers sixty days to set new terms for the 2015 nuclear deal. If that deadline is not met Iran will stop complying with the landmark accord. What does that mean? For starters, Iran will resume high level enrichment of uranium. *)Shrine blast kills 9 in Lahore A powerful bomb targeting the elite police force at a popular Sufi shrine in Pakistan has killed at least nine people and wounded 23 others. Lahore police chief Ghazanfar Ali said the bombing at Data Darbar occurred when hundreds of pilgrims were inside and outside the shrine. Officials say a suicide bomber carried out the attack near the entrance used by women. *)Pakistani woman acquitted of blasphemy lands in Canada A Pakistani Christian woman who spent eight years on death row over false blasphemy charges has landed in Canada, her lawyer told CNN. Aasia Bibi was forced into hiding for her own safety after she was acquitted by the Supreme Court more than six months ago. In January, proponents of Pakistan’s contentious blasphemy law made a last ditch effort to see Aasia Bibi return to death row but failed. *)Lawmakers to be prosecuted in Venezuela Venezuela's pro-government Constituent Assembly stripped seven opposition legislators of immunity for joining rallies on April 30 amid a failed uprising. The Supreme Court said the legislators should be investigated for crimes including conspiracy, treason and rebellion. Venezuela has been in a state of political crisis ever since Juan Guaido declared himself interim president in a bid to oust Nicolas Maduro. *)South Africans vote in parliamentary, provincial elections And finally, South Africans head to the polls in parliamentary and provincial elections. The ruling ANC party is currently expected to win but is unlikely to do as well as it did five years ago. Voting begins at 0500 GMT and polling stations will close at 1900 GMT. *): And that’s your daily news brief from TRT World ... For more, head to TRTWorld.com.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by international affairs and security analyst Mark Sleboda.Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said today that Iran would no longer comply with parts of the landmark nuclear deal, the JCPOA, and will resume uranium enrichment if the other countries that remain in the deal--China, France, Germany, Russia, and the UK--fail to protect Iran’s banking and oil sectors. The move comes as Washington has ramped up military and economic pressure on Iran. Drivers for rideshare services Uber and Lyft are going on strike today in more than a dozen cities across the United States, as well as in the UK, Australia, and around South America. Drivers want a liveable wage, job security, and regulated fares, among other things. After factoring in commissions, fees, and vehicle expenses, the average driver makes $9.21 an hour, but has no health insurance, no retirement, and no job security. Web developer and technologist Chris Garaffa joins the show. The House Judiciary Committee voted today to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress, a misdemeanor, for failing to provide it with an unredacted copy of the Mueller report and for failing to appear before the committee to testify. Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that Barr should be held in contempt, but she has not yet scheduled a floor vote. Meanwhile, Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler says he may also seek to hold former White House Counsel Don McGahn in contempt for refusing to testify. Brian and John speak with Coleen Rowley, a former FBI special agent who in 2002 was named Time Magazine person of the year along with two other whistleblowers. The New York Times has acquired Donald Trump’s tax returns from 1985 to 1994. They show that Trump’s companies lost $1.17 billion during that period, while the man and his family continued to earn hundreds of millions of dollars. Trump’s paper losses were so significant, that he did not pay any income taxes at all for eight years. Not a single dollar. Ted Rall, an award-winning editorial cartoonist and columnist whose work is at rall.com, joins the show. Millions of South Africans went to the polls today in the first election since Cyril Ramaphosa became president early last year amid promises to rid his African National Congress of corruption and redistribute the country’s land in favor of the Black majority. The ANC is almost certain to retain its status as the largest party, but with newer parties like the Economic Freedom Fighters rising in the polls its majority is in doubt. Eugene Puryear, the host of By Any Means Necessary, which you can hear every day, Monday through Friday, here on Sputnik Radio, joins Brian and John. Wednesday’s weekly series, In the News, is where the hosts look at the most important ongoing developments of the week and put them into perspective. Sputnik news analysts and producers Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek join the show.Wednesday’s regular segment, Beyond Nuclear, is about nuclear issues, including weapons, energy, waste, and the future of nuclear technology in the United States. Kevin Kamps, the Radioactive Waste Watchdog at the organization Beyond Nuclear, and Sputnik news analyst and producer Nicole Roussell, join the show.

The Embassy Protection Collective is a group of activists who are residing at the Venezuelan Embassy 24 hours a day at the invitation of diplomatic staff. They've labeled the Trump administration's attempts to replace Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro a coup and an illegal act in contravention of international norms. Embassy staff is calling the Americans staying there Colectivos por la Paz (Collectives for Peace). One of the activists involved in the protest is Sputnik's own John Kiriakou, co-host of Loud and Clear. He will be speaking Wednesday night at the embassy in Georgetown about the CIA's involvement in regime change. Embassies of foreign nations are considered sovereign territory under the Geneva Conventions. The US government would be acting in contravention of international law if it entered another sovereign country's embassy and replaced its diplomats with those having no legal standing under the Geneva Conventions. Why is Thursday such an important day?On Monday the US announced that, in a bid to reduce Iran's oil exports to zero, it would on May 2 end US sanctions waivers that countries such as India, China, South Korea and Turkey currently have on buying Iranian crude. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Wednesday that Iran would be willing to negotiate with the US if it reverses economic sanctions and apologizes for its “illegal” actions, according to official media outlets. Is there a message behind Rouhani's statement? The gruesome killing of James Byrd, a 49-year-old African American man, in 1998 seemed to hark back to an era of lynchings and racially motivated slayings across the South. The trials of the three white men charged with the crime drew wide attention to Jasper, a town of about 7,500 in East Texas, just a short drive from the state's boundary with Louisiana. Texas officials announced this week that one of Byrd's killers, John William King, 44, will be executed Wednesday night, two decades after being convicted. If King is executed, it will make him the fourth person executed this year in the United States, and it would be one of the final legal steps in a case that has prompted a national discussion about hate crime legislation. But will it provide closure in a case that remains painful 20 years later?GUESTS:John Kiriakou — Co-host of Loud and Clear on Radio Sputnik. Daniel Lazare — Journalist and author of three books: "The Frozen Republic," "The Velvet Coup" and "America's Undeclared War." Gary Bledsoe — Distinguished Austin lawyer, president of the Texas NAACP and acting dean of Texas Southern University's Thurgood Marshall School of Law.Eddie Hopkins — Head of the Jasper Economic Development Corporation in Texas.

Sitting beside Iranian President Hassan Rouhani at a joint press conference in Tehran on 22 April, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan admitted that “Iran has suffered from terrorism, from groups operating within Pakistan”. He was on his first official visit to Iran and his primary publicly-stated objective was to address the issue of terrorism which was, he confessed, becoming a “divisive” factor in Iran-Pakistan bilateral ties. Significantly, Khan specifically mentioned that Pakistan’s security chief was part of his delegation. This was obviously a reference to General Asim Munir, Director-General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). For more podcasts from The Quint, check out our [Podcasts](https://www.thequint.com/news/podcast) section.

Today on Sojourner Truth with Margaret Prescod: On Saturday, September 22, assailants carried out an attack against the government of Iran. They attacked during an Islamic Revolutionary Guard military parade and killed 25 people, including children, and wounding 60 others. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani blamed the United States and Saudi Arabia for being behind the attacks, at least providing weapons and other support to attackers. Meanwhile, Donald Trump is speaking at the United Nations today for the General Assembly, where he is expected to ramp up his rhetoric against Iran and to gloat about the severe sanctions he has imposed on the country. This, after he pulled out of the nuclear weapons agreement the U.S. had signed along with the European Union, Russia and China. Meanwhile, the European Union and Iran have reportedly signed a deal to get around penalties imposed by the United States for countries that still want to do business with Iran. Our guest is James Paul, the author of the new book, "Of Foxes and Chickens: Oligarchy and Power in the U.N. Security Council." And, an update on Hurricane Florence focusing on the pollution unleashed as a result of the flooding still on the uptick in the Carolinas. From the flooding of massive hog farms to the flooding of coal ash pits, we speak with Forrest English, a riverkeeper for the Pamlico and Tar rivers in North Carolina who is using aircraft and drones to monitor pollution. Also, an update on the sexual assault charges against Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh. Our guest is Farah Tanis, a women's human rights activist who serves as the co-founder and Executive Director of the Black Women's Blueprint. Finally, the Sojourner Truth Election Watch with Dorothy Reik.

Today on Sojourner Truth with Margaret Prescod: On Saturday, September 22, assailants carried out an attack against the government of Iran. They attacked during an Islamic Revolutionary Guard military parade and killed 25 people, including children, and wounding 60 others. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani blamed the United States and Saudi Arabia for being behind the attacks, at least providing weapons and other support to attackers. Meanwhile, Donald Trump is speaking at the United Nations today for the General Assembly, where he is expected to ramp up his rhetoric against Iran and to gloat about the severe sanctions he has imposed on the country. This, after he pulled out of the nuclear weapons agreement the U.S. had signed along with the European Union, Russia and China. Meanwhile, the European Union and Iran have reportedly signed a deal to get around penalties imposed by the United States for countries that still want to do business with Iran. Our guest is James Paul, the author of the new book, "Of Foxes and Chickens: Oligarchy and Power in the U.N. Security Council." And, an update on Hurricane Florence focusing on the pollution unleashed as a result of the flooding still on the uptick in the Carolinas. From the flooding of massive hog farms to the flooding of coal ash pits, we speak with Forrest English, a riverkeeper for the Pamlico and Tar rivers in North Carolina who is using aircraft and drones to monitor pollution. Also, an update on the sexual assault charges against Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh. Our guest is Farah Tanis, a women's human rights activist who serves as the co-founder and Executive Director of the Black Women's Blueprint. Finally, the Sojourner Truth Election Watch with Dorothy Reik.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Abby Martin, host of The Empire Files, and Mike Prysner, the producer. You can support their ongoing work at patreon.com/EmpireFiles and GoFundMe.com/keep-empire-files-going. Progressive alternative media in the United States is under attack. Recently, the prominent TeleSur program The Empire Files was shut down as a consequence of U.S. sanctions imposed on Venezuela. Meanwhile Facebook and other social media giants have been censoring and concealing content that doesn’t fit the corporate media narrative. Monday’s weekly series is False Profits—A Weekly Look at Wall Street and Corporate Capitalism with Daniel Sankey. Daniel Sankey, a financial policy analyst, joins the show. Despite being caught in a lie, CNN is standing behind their reporting. Lanny Davis, lawyer for former President Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen, told CNN as an anonymous source (and then other outlets as well) that Cohen had details on the Trump Tower meeting that special counsel Robert Mueller is keen to find out about. Then, in an apparent bid to muddy the waters, in the past few days he’s been saying Cohen doesn’t necessarily have information. Several outlets outed him as their source, embarrassing him in his flip-flopping—but confusingly, CNN is still “confident in our reporting.” Brian and John speak with Jim Kavanagh, the editor of thepolemicist.net whose latest is "Be Careful What You Ask For: Wasting Time with Manafort, Cohen, and Russiagate.” Donald Trump tweeted this morning criticizing Google’s manipulation of search results. While his outrage was directed at their reported suppression of right-wing outlets, beneath the surface are huge implications about Google’s power and ability to surveil virtually every part of our lives. Dr. Robert Epstein, the senior research psychologist at the American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology, joins the show. Chemnitz, a German city in the state of Saxony, has erupted in racist rioting and violence in the last few days, with crowds yelling anti-immigrant slogans and using the illegal Nazi straight-arm salute facing off with crowds of anti-racist protesters. What does this mean for the rise of the far-right in Germany and in Europe? John Wight, the host of the weekly Sputnik Radio show Hard Facts, joins Brian and John. The Russian defense minister today announced that huge military drills involving hundreds of thousands of soldiers will take place in the country’s east next month. With a sizable contingent of Chinese troops expected to participate, many are taking this as a sign that the two rising powers are moving closer together in response to the U.S. government’s new doctrine of “major power competition.” International affairs and security analyst Mark Sleboda joins the show.After questioning Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s Parliament censured him today and referred him to the judiciary. This comes shortly after the ministers of economy and labor were fired by lawmakers. Is the Iranian leadership changing? Are the US sanctions playing into these changes? Brian and John speak with Mohammad Marandi, an expert on American studies and postcolonial literature who teaches at the University of Tehran.

On this week’s episode, Zack, Jenn, and Alex look at the economics behind Trump’s offer to sit down with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. The Iranian economy is in trouble after the US withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal, due to the impending threat of new sanctions; Trump hopes this will pressure the Iranians to come back to the negotiating table, but it might actually backfire. On Elsewhere, they talk about Google’s plan to move into China by building a censored search engine, and the ways tech giants are like mini states. Alex reveals his love of pistachios, Jenn expresses distaste for Bing, and Zack pinpoints the “Iranian carrot.” References! We played a clip from a recent Trump rally in Tampa, Florida. The full rally can be found here. Jenn read a quote from this Chicago Tribune article, which also goes deeper into the Iranian economy. Alex gave us a recap on America’s previous sanctions and the Iran nuclear deal. More details here. He also mentioned that the Iranian currency has dropped dramatically since 2012. In discussing the protests, the team referenced the Green Movement. Zack suggests this research on the effects of sanctions as further reading. The Intercept piece that broke the Google Project Dragonfly story. More on Google’s first go-round in China, and on Operation Aurora. Jenn ran through some censorship specifics. She gave the example of the Winnie the Pooh ban and, more recently, the crackdown on women calling out sexual assault. Alex mentioned that Google employees pushed back against Pentagon contracts.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is warning the US that war with Iran would be "the mother of all wars" but did not rule out the possibility of a peace agreement. Americans "must understand that war with Iran is the mother of all wars and peace with Iran is the mother of all peace," Rouhani said while addressing diplomats Sunday in Tehran, according to Iran's state-run news agency IRNA. The Iranian leader also had a message for US President Trump: "do not play with the lion's tail, because you will regret it eternally." His comments come months after the Trump administration announced that the US is quitting the Iran nuclear deal brokered during the Obama administration and reinstating sanctions on the country. The sanctions are set to be reimposed November 4, and more than 50 international firms have said they will leave the Iranian market, Brian Hook, a State Department policy and planning director, said earlier this month.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Sundrop Carter, executive director of the Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coalition.The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 today to let stand President Trump’s travel ban on predominantly Muslim countries. The majority said that the ban fell within the scope of presidential authority. Meanwhile, the head of Customs and Border Protection said yesterday that the bureau has temporarily stopped referring for criminal prosecution adults who cross the border with children.The Syrian government said today that Israel fired two missiles that struck targets near Damascus Airport this morning. Meanwhile, fighting in the south intensifies as the battle for control of one of the armed opposition’s last strongholds gets underway. Rick Sterling, an investigative journalist and member of the Syria Solidarity Movement, joins the show. We continue our weekly series False Profits -- A Weekly Look at Wall Street and Corporate Capitalism with financial policy analyst Daniel Sankey.Whistleblower Reality Winner agreed to a sentence today of 63 months in federal prison, on one felony count of espionage. In contrast, Jeffrey Sterling had 7 counts of espionage and received 42 months. Winner’s sentence is especially harsh, but is a harbinger of things to come from the Trump Administration. Brian and John speak with Kevin Gosztola, the managing editor for Shadowproof.com and co-host of the podcast Unauthorized Disclosure. The European Union Withdrawal Bill has formally become law in the UK, following a delicate compromise between the government of Theresa May and both houses of the British parliament. The legislation enables EU law to be transferred into UK law and it repeals all previous laws that allowed the UK to join the EU. It is one of the final pieces of legislation necessary to implement Brexit. Legendary anti-war activist and former British parliamentarian George Galloway joins the show.Iranian President Hassan Rouhani promised that the government would be able to handle the economic pressure of new US sanctions, a day after traders demonstrated outside parliament to protest a sharp fall in the value of the national currency. Those sanctions are due to take effect soon. Mohammad Marandi, an expert on American studies and postcolonial literature who teaches at the University of Tehran, joins the show. Have you ever been to Brooklyn Heights in Brooklyn, NY? It has a fantastic view of lower Manhattan. One of the most imposing buildings you see is the AT&T Building. It’s a skyscraper, but it has no windows. Why? According to The Intercept, it doubles as a secret facility for NSA. And apparently there are other such AT&T buildings in most major American cities, including Washington. The Supreme Court yesterday ruled on two highly-anticipated gerrymandering cases in North Carolina and Texas, saying that most of the controversial maps in both states will be used in the upcoming election. The ruling allows three of the four Texas districts to stand, and all of the North Carolina districts. Brian and John speak with Chris Hughes, a staff attorney at FairVote who focuses on ranked choice voting, voting rights, and electoral reform.

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by William Pepper, an attorney who has worked for years to prove the role of the government in the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He and Dr. King allied around the anti-war movement and he continued to represent the King family after Dr. King’s death.Tomorrow, April 4, marks the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Recent polls show that a majority of Americans do not believe that his vision of a just society has been realized. Many Americans—including the King family—also question the official story about who was responsible for the assassination. Tuesday’s weekly series continues, looking at the top economic issues of the day, focusing on Trump’s criticism of Amazon. Financial policy analyst Daniel Sankey joins the show. Thousands of teachers across Kentucky and Oklahoma have entered the second day of their strikes for better pay, benefits, and working conditions in a movement that has spread rapidly since West Virginia teachers successfully struck earlier this year. Brian and John speak with Derek Ford, an assistant professor of education studies at DePauw University and a community organizer whose latest book is “Education and the Production of Space.” A report published over the weekend by sports news website Deadspin showed dozens of television news anchors from local stations around the country owned by the conservative Sinclair Broadcasting Group reciting the exact same script warning against what they called “biased and false news.” The episode reveals the power of a company long criticized for pushing its conservative agenda into homes across the country. Tim Karr, the senior director of strategy and communications at Free Press, joins the show. Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Ankara today to launch Turkey’s first nuclear power plant with Turkish President Recep Tayip Erdogan and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to discuss Syria, energy, and defense issues. The Russian state nuclear energy agency will build the $20 billion nuclear power facility. The Russian state news agency also noted that Russia will expedite the delivery of the Russian S-400 air defense system to Turkey. Mark Sleboda, an international affairs and security analyst, joins Brian and John. Prosecutors in the Russia probe revealed last night that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein authorized them in August of last year to investigate allegations that President Trump’s campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, was colluding with Russian government officials to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. The revelation comes amid a lawsuit filed by Manafort, which challenges the Special Counsel’s investigative authority and the indictments already issued. Jim Kavanagh, the editor of ThePolemicist.net who recently published “The Warm War: Russiamania at the Boiling Point” at Counterpunch, and Dan Kovalik, a human rights and labor lawyer who is the author of the soon to be released book “The Plot to Attack Iran,” joins the show.Yesterday, China announced an additional $3 billion in tariffs on US goods, and the stock market took a huge hit. The big spike in stock market volatility indicates that a full-fledged trade war between the US and China may be getting under way. The US is now expected to announce further tariffs on $50 to $60 billion in Chinese imports, to which the Chinese have already promised a response in the “same proportion.” Brian and John continue their conversation from yesterday with Jude Woodward, the London mayor Ken Livingstone's advisor on culture and creative industries and the author of the new book “The US vs China: Asia's new Cold War?”

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani was sworn in this week to his second term as the U.S. put into place new sanctions against Iran. The sanctions were ordered in response to Iran's recent ballistic missile tests that may be in violation of the Iran nuclear deal.

After nearly 27 years of diplomatic stasis, Saudi Arabia is reaching out to Iraq. Phil and Cooper shed some light on the little-discussed relations between these two countries, as well as Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's second inauguration this past week. Also, Frankenstein in Baghdad and other spooky stuff. 03:41 - Saudi Arabia engages Iraq after a quarter century (Bruce Riedel) 15:14 - Rouhani uses inauguration to send message of moderation (Ali Hashem) 15:14 - Rouhani officially begins second term (Ali Hashem) 15:14 - Iranian MPs face backlash over selfies with Mogherini (Al-Monitor Staff) 20:49 - 'Frankenstein in Baghdad' to come to life in film (Omar al-Jaffal) Song: Husam Al Rassam - Habibti Mnin (iTunes | Spotify | YouTube)

In U.S. News Senators Richard Burr and Mark Warner announced on Friday that former FBI Director James Comey will publicly testify before a Senate Committee.  No date has been set, but the appearance before the committee will likely come sometime after Memorial Day. On Friday, former New York Congressmen Anthony Weiner plead guilty to sending obscene materials to a minor and will have to register as a sex offender.  Most of us remember that Weiner resigned from Congress in 2011 after it was revealed he was sending explicit texts to several women.     In International News Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have pledged $100,000 to a World Bank fund for women entrepreneurs.  The fund was the idea of Ivanka Trump.  The World Bank president, Jim Young Kim, stated, “This is really a stunning achievement. I've never seen anything come together so quickly, and I really have to say that Ivanka's leadership has been tremendous." During his first foreign trip as President and while delivering a speech to dozens of Arab and Muslim nations leaders, President Trump called for those leader to do their fair share and help with the burden in the fight against extremists.  Trump also called on the leaders to, “Drive them out of your places of worship. Drive them out of your communities. Drive them out of your holy land. And drive them out of this Earth." Iranian President Hassan Rouhani won reelection as president of that nation with 57% of the vote.  He won by a wide margin considering there were three other candidates in contention.  Rouhani is known as a more moderate leader by Iranian standards and was key in getting some sanctions eased in Iran when reaching a nuclear agreement with President Obama’s administration.   Members of the NGO Operations Mercy were attacked at a house in Kabul, Afghanistan over the weekend.  One German aid worker was killed and her Afghan bodyguard was beheaded in the attack.  A Finnish aid worker was also abducted.   Be sure to listen to our shows on May 15th and 16th for a discussion about the war in Afghanistan with international relations expert Matt Archibald.  Remember that our chats with guests are non-political and you get actual information. In Tech News Facebook is rolling out an option to order food within their platform, both on the mobile app and desktop site.  Unfortunately, we could not test the service and received a message that there aren’t any places that can deliver to you right now. The ransomware WannaCry that has encrypted many computer files while demanding that a ransom be paid or the files will be permanently gone has spread to over 300,000 computers worldwide.  However, French researchers claimed over the weekend that they have found a way to save the files under certain conditions.  First, the computer must not have been rebooted and second, the deadline for the ransom must not have passed.     A link to their solution can be found on our website. WannaCry — Decrypting files with WanaKiwi + Demos:  https://goo.gl/iIFDZs Also, be sure to check out our chat about Cyber Security with the producer of The Cyber Wire on May 10th’s show.  

Listen to the Sat. Jan. 28, 2017 edition of the Pan-African Journal: Worldwide Radio Broadcast hosted by Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire. The program includes our regular PANW reports with dispatches on the closing of more than 20 schools in the city of Detroit which has been subjected to emergency management and other forms of outside interference for the last 18 years; United States President Donald Trump has signed an executive order in defiance of the Indigenous people at Standing Rock to resume construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL); the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has sharply criticized the decision by Trump to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico; and the Egyptian foreign minister has met with his Ethiopian counterpart to discuss the development of the Great Renaissance Dam Project. In the second hour we will rebroadcast a radio lecture by Abayomi Azikiwe from 2014 chronicling the historical crisis of the underdevelopment of the city of Detroit within the context of the continuing attacks on African Americans. Finally we conclude our monthlong tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. examining his opposition to the war in Vietnam. 

"Iran's supreme leader tweeted a graphic Saturday that appears to depict President Obama holding a gun to his head as Britain relaxed its travel advice to the nation, citing decreased hostility under the Iranian government.  "US president has said he could knock out Iran’s military. We welcome no war, nor do we initiate any war, but.." reads the caption above the tweet sent by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on @khamenei_ir, his English language account.  Khamenei's account has not been verified by Twitter but is widely believed to be the supreme leader's based on its content, which often rails against the United States and Israel. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani also has an unverified Twitter account, @HassanRouhani. The latest tweet on Khamenei's account mirrors a similar one sent July 17 that didn't contain an image, but said: "US pres. said he could knock out Iran’s army. Of course we neither welcome, nor begin war, but in case of war, US will leave it disgraced." That tweet came just three days after the United States and other world powers reached a historic agreement with Iran that called for limits on Tehran's nuclear program in return for lifting economic sanctions that have crippled Iran's economy. Meanwhile, the British government eased its travel advice to Iran on Saturday, saying it no longer advises "against all but essential travel to the rest of Iran" and has "updated our advice to provide greater clarity on the risks that may affect British nationals traveling to Iran." The government still maintains its advice to avoid travel in some areas, particularly along Iran's borders. "Our policy is to recommend against travel to an area when we judge that the risk is unacceptably high. We consider that continues to be the case for specific areas of Iran, notably along Iran’s borders with Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan," British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said in a statement. "But we believe that in other areas of Iran the risk to British nationals has changed, in part due to decreasing hostility under President Rouhani’s government," he added." Dan Perkins, is a master storyteller and author of The Brotherhood of the Red Nile Trilogy, which centers around Islamic nuclear terrorism against the USA. He is a nationally recognized expert on radical Islam and a contributor to DailySurge.com and TheHill.com.  

Speakers: Ambassador John Limbert, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern (Iranian) Affairs; Chris Emery, University of Plymouth; Roham Alvandi, LSE Chair: Toby Dodge, LSE Middle East Centre The historic September 2013 phone call between Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and U.S. President Barack Obama represented the highest-level contact between Iran and the United States since relations between the two countries were severed in 1980, in the midst of the Tehran hostage crisis. This roundtable examines the troubled history of US-Iran relations, past failed efforts at détente, and the prospects for a breakthrough in US-Iran relations in 2014. Recorded on 15 May 2014.

This week we're talking to regular Americans about the Government shutdown. We're also considering the relationship between President Obama and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. Ash Muncaster also has the day's headlines.