Podcasts about Yemen

Peaceful protesters killed or injured almost every day in Sudan  Conflict escalates in Yemen with more civilians dead Earthquake in Afghanistan kills at least 26

Shlomo and Sarah Adani were married for longer than most people are alive. They grew up together in the small village of Dalah in Yemen, and were practically inseparable for more than eight decades. Renana Adani, their granddaughter, describes a partnership that began before the invention of color TV, atomic energy or super glue, and ended in Jerusalem within a span of forty-eight hours. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

America's Obsession with Illusion Richard Gale and Gary Null PhD Progressive Radio Network, January 14, 2022 “He who despises his own life is soon master of others” – English proverb For the vast majority of Americans, the past year has been the most challenging in their lives – certainly for young adults. However, not everyone has been suffering equally. The nation's health or illness is not uniform. Much of our suffering is dependent upon the institutionalization and negligence of previous injustices, the loss of social equanimity, economic heedlessness, and our leaders' unmitigated greed and pursuit of power. Nor is everyone adversely affected by the shifts underway in the imaginations of the political and ideological universes. The transnational class of corporate and banking elites, for example, has little motivation to respect or contribute to national boundaries and interests. They perceive themselves as global actors. For the generals and captains of neoliberal globalization, the puppet masters of financial markets, the Covid-19 pandemic only caused annoying disruptions in the quality of their lives. For the remainder, it has been cataclysmic. As we begin 2022 should we not pause and reflect carefully about what we want and don't want as individuals and a nation to secure a sustainable future? A deep and collective introspection into the shared moral principles is called for. It is no longer what we say or profess that has any truth or significance. Rather what we actualize in our daily lives and as a society is going to determine whether the future will be better future or worse. Only our actions can realistically convey the deeper values in the American psyche. Therefore we need to ask ourselves more difficult questions to discover the real moral poverty that defines us as a civilization. Where were the large demonstrations against the trillion-dollar bailout of Wall Street and foreign banks when barely a penny was spent for the average citizen? Where were the demonstrations against home foreclosures and the loss of small family farms?  Debt drenched student aid? Exploitive payday loans and exorbitant credit card fees? There was no outrage against Obama's broken promises on universal healthcare, a platform that helped bring him to the White House. The single-minded attention on the pandemic has cancelled out 2.5 million homeless American children and 46 million adults and children who go hungry daily. Where was a collective voice condemning the hundreds of billion tax dollars to increase the power of the military and intelligence complexes as American cities further collapsed into ghettos? Where were the marches against corporations off-shoring jobs? Why no vocal outrage against the invasions of Libya and Syria, or the US' ongoing support of rogue dictatorships, such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE for crimes against humanity in Yemen? Where are the protests against corporations exploiting slave labor in poor countries such as Bangladesh and Indonesia?  There were no noteworthy protests for any of these issues. And yet these are true existential threats to our very democracy. Bertrand Russell wrote, “one should care about the world they do not see.” Should we not be planning ahead for the future of our children, grandchildren and ourselves instead of being incapacitated by fear? The national popular disinterest in these and other crises foreshadows something on the horizon that does not bode well for most Americans. It is a simple principle to understand; yet so subtle it will likely go unnoticed until everyone is individually and collectively affected. It is the utter lack of balance within the nation's body politick, and across the media that spoon feeds us virtual images of a faux theatrical play, the illusory icons on our minds' monitor screens, that shape our perceptions of reality. This is how control is exerted over our thoughts, speech and actions. In fact, it is only after people exercise their thoughts independently, with the certain belief that they have actual self-control over their lives, that they can arrive at the realization that their perceptions may be largely distorted. Throughout America's history there has been a system of three federal branches to assure there is a platform for checks and balances as well as a structure to contain the tensions between them. That system now is being rapidly challenged and eroded. Now the middle of the road Democrats officially control the White House and both legislative bodies. We will see what awaits us. There is also what is commonly referred to as the “fourth estate,” the powers of the press and news media that control the framing of the political narrative and partisan issues. In the past, the media was expected to hold the government accountable by exposing its conflicts of interest that endanger the public, its misdemeanors, and systemic corruption. This too is in decay as the media has been fully captured by corporate interests and now aligns itself politically and ideologically with the new political elite determined to reshape democracy and launch a new reset that will dramatically infringe on individual rights and liberties. Finally, there is the growing influence of a fourth branch of government, the corpocracy and its private interests. We might also include the US intelligence community that increasingly operates independently from executive and legislative oversight. Together we can witness this loose cabal of seemingly independent entities, working simultaneously in consortium and in opposition to each other, propelling us towards a future tsunami of greater polarization and immense social disruption. Earlier generations were not threatened by the telecommunication and technological giants, such as Google, Facebook and Amazon. Clinton's Communications Decency Act of 1996, despite its well-meaning intentions to protect free speech, was otherwise destructively naïve. At that time it was sensible; however, that was before the advent of the social media that now dominates our lives and shapes political discourse. Silicon Valley has become a force far more powerful than the lobbyists on K Street to ensure that corporate Democrats are raised to a position of absolute power. Yet the problem would be equally threatening if it were the corporate and radicalized GOP in power. The centrist Democratic left, lulled in a passivity that “it can't happen here,” is every bit as dangerous and delusional as the Republican far-right's paranoia over conspiracies squatting behind every nook and cranny. A moderate centrist right no longer exists as it has now exited reality like a herd of lemmings to follow Trump phenomena over a phantasmagoric cliff. The more important question to contemplate is how this will impact yourself and average citizens. What happens elsewhere around the world can no longer be viewed in isolation. Globalization is perhaps the most holistic phenomena within the matrix of financial capital movements and post-modern social restructuring. China has the means to socially control most of its population, especially in urban areas. On the other hand, China would be unable to succeed in this endeavor without the direct assistance, trade and technological development of Silicon Valley and the private innovators of intelligence and surveillance applied science. China has already launched social scoring, a nefarious means to reward and penalize public activity. If a person protests the lack of personal freedom, democratic values and free speech, his or her social score decreases. And through digital networks, authorities can monitor and identify every Chinese citizen's movements. All of this technology is ready for launch in the US and other developed nations. However, rather than social scoring, it is block chain, the digital database that gathers any information it is programmed for. Block chain has already been employed for almost a decade. At this moment the federal government and individual states are blindly over-reacting to Covid's health threats, the climate and environment, and the collapse of social cohesion. These threats are eliciting government mandates, such as vaccination. A Biden federal vaccine mandate would overrule individual state laws. The fact that this is being publicly stated should quell many conspiratorial theories. It is part of a more comprehensive and long-term agenda for expanding government social control under the pretense and propaganda of keeping Americans safe under the banner of national security. New laws are under construction that would redefine hate speech. Censorship of free speech for criticizing official narratives and policies to tackle the pandemic are being enforced. Any criticism towards the failures of the Covid-19 vaccines is redefined as threats to public health. People raising such critiques may eventually find their names on domestic terrorist lists. This scenario is not beyond the imagination. Wikileaks revealed that environmental, animal protection, and human rights groups have been labeled as domestic terrorist organizations. Guilt by association laws, for example buried in Obama's National Defense Authorization Act, are in place. Expanding a law's scope is far easier than erasing it from the books. Consequently, it is not unlikely that these laws may eventually widen to include charges of subversion based solely on the emails you read, the videos you watch or the broadcasts you listen to. This would inevitably lead to the death toll for any residue of integrity in journalism. Silicon Valley's collusion with the government has canceled the voices of some of our best investigative journalists, such as Chris Hedges, Sharyl Attkinsson, Glenn Greenwald, Max Blumenthal and Craig Murray. These are only a few of many examples. The new unstated law is that original investigation must support the official narrative, otherwise it will be prohibited from accessible public view. We may recall that under the second Bush administration, the justice department created “free speech zones,” fenced off or confined areas where demonstrators were only permitted to exercise their Constitutional rights of free protest and expression. Today we are only several small amendments away before the right to assemble being banned altogether. Faced with growing condemnation by many nations, the US' hegemony on the world geopolitical arena has waned considerably. Biden's administration and its return to neocon foreign against Russia and China and neoliberal market policies will likely make every effort to regain the dominance it lost during the past four years. What has vanished in the US' former full spectrum dominance over the geopolitical landscape is now being inverted to strengthen federal hegemonic reign over the American population. Finally, we need to awaken to modern technologies' remarkable sophistication and its certain threats to the health of our societies, and even to our definition of being human. Sadly, this is an industry each of us has been complicit in advancing. Coining a term by one of the planet's most important and forgotten 20th century prophetic voices, the Trappist monk Father Thomas Merton, we are facing a great Unspeakable, a spiritual crisis contributing to the existential vacuity of modern American culture. Few are aware that in his 1964 collection of meditations, Seeds of Destruction, Merton predicted that the civil rights movement would confront a catastrophic impasse and may find itself without leadership. Four years later, Martin Luther King Jr, who Merton had a deep correspondence with, was assassinated. Merton would die suddenly later that same year under very mysterious circumstances in Thailand. Another way to describe the Unspeakable is criminal Sovereignty, with a capital S, to convey its almost numinous qualities. If alive today, Merton would look upon both the extreme right and left as mere expressions of the meaninglessness of American life manifesting as a turbulent ocean of afflictive emotions and thoughts. Instead of technology serving the needs of humanity, Americans are being increasingly conditioned to willingly bow as slaves to technology. The public, Somerset Maugham warned, “are easily disillusioned then they are angry or it was the illusion they loved.” The Unspeakable's unspoken mantra is: technology must progress regardless of how many people fall destitute, jobless, debt ridden and physically ill with only suicide as a recourse to escape. “American democracy today,” Merton observed over 55 years ago, “is just cheap pressed wood fiber, cardboard and spray paint.” Consequently, the elite sitting in the global control tower view the Great Reset's technological regime as preferable to democracy's kabuki theater. Advanced surveillance, artificial intelligence, intelligent robotics, transhumanism, a 5G internet of everything, genetic engineering, and weather modification should be our guiding avatars. The solutions, he would argue, can no longer be found in civil discourse or the rights of human beings gathering in assembly. For the ruling elite, the masses are blind sheep wandering in search of a shepherd. This is what author Ronald Wright called the “progress trap” – progress' unending efforts to feed technology's hunger to devour natural and human capital, interest free. And the mainstream press and news media, in its' malady of cognitive dissonance, serves as its unreflective cheerleader for our march towards civilizational collapse. Merton was keenly aware of technology's dangers to social stability. In a 1967 letter he took aim at the “universal myth that technology infallibly makes everything in every way better for everybody. It does not.” However, Merton was by no means a Luddite. “Technology could indeed make a better world for millions of human beings,” he wrote. Yet there remained the nightmare of technology transforming the world into a “more collectivist, cybernated mass culture.” Decades before the first desktop, Merton foresaw a complete fragmentation of the nation's moral and spiritual fabric when people will begin basing all of their political and ethical decisions on computers. Prophetically he wrote to a friend, “just wait until they start philosophizing with computers!” That was 1967. He even foresaw technology becoming a means to elevate the slaves of technology's false self, to satisfy narcissistic appetites for admiration and status. In other words, the woke social media. “The greatest need of our time,” Merton wrote in his Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander, “is to clean out the enormous mass of mental and emotional rubbish that clutters our minds and makes all political and social life a mass illness. Without this housecleaning we cannot begin to see. Unless we see we cannot think. The purification must begin with the mass media.” For this reason we urgently need to penetrate the illusions of propaganda and popular falsehoods, across the entire political spectrum as well the self-appointed pontificating Pharisees who are ushering a new socio-economic era where endless technological innovation has precedence over human lives. Despite its newness, it has also been clearly predictable. No doubt, if Orwell were penning his great novel today, the emergence of this new American era we are witnessing would not be fiction.

On Conflicts of Interest #216, Kyle Anzalone breaks down the CIA program to train insurgents in Ukraine. While only few details of the program were revealed, since 2015, the CIA has hired a paramilitary to train Ukrainians in the US on insurgency tactics. While the program is presented as defensive, officials admit the program has been used to make battlefield gains inside Ukraine.  Kyle discusses the recent talks between Russia and NATO. Much like the meeting between the US and Russia, the dialog ended without agreement or much progress being made. However, Russia arrested several members of a hacking group at the request of the US - presenting an opening for more dialog.  Kyle updates the war in Ethiopia. With US drones and airstrikes, the Ethiopian government has turned back the Tigray People Liberation Front's advance. After halting the offensive, in a move that appears to be directed at ending the war, the Ethiopian government released several prisoners.. However, Ethiopia has not let up on its air war which, so far this year, has claimed the lives of over 100 Tigrayian civilians. Ethiopian leader Abiy spoke with Biden as Ethiopian drones targeted civilian camps.  Kyle explains the recent developments in the Yemen War. The UAE-backed Giants brigade made major gains against Houthi fighters in Maarib and Shabwah. However, the people of Yemen continue to flee to areas controlled by the Houthi as they are more stable and secure.  Kyle wraps up the show with a discussion of North Korea's recent missile tests. Since South Korea President Moon Jae-in announced a possible end to the Korean war, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has carried out three missile tests. The US reacted to the tests with new sanctions on North Korea.  Odysee Rumble  Donate LBRY Credits bTTEiLoteVdMbLS7YqDVSZyjEY1eMgW7CP Donate Bitcoin 36PP4kT28jjUZcL44dXDonFwrVVDHntsrk Donate Bitcoin Cash Qp6gznu4xm97cj7j9vqepqxcfuctq2exvvqu7aamz6 Patreon Subscribe Star YouTube Facebook  Twitter  MeWe Apple Podcast  Amazon Music Google Podcasts Spotify iHeart Radio Support Our Sponsor Visit Paloma Verde and use code PEACE for 25% off our CBD  

On Conflicts of Interest #216, Kyle Anzalone breaks down the CIA program to train insurgents in Ukraine. While only few details of the program were revealed, since 2015, the CIA has hired a paramilitary to train Ukrainians in the US on insurgency tactics. While the program is presented as defensive, officials admit the program has been used to make battlefield gains inside Ukraine.    Kyle discusses the recent talks between Russia and NATO. Much like the meeting between the US and Russia, the dialog ended without agreement or much progress being made. However, Russia arrested several members of a hacking group at the request of the US - presenting an opening for more dialog.    Kyle updates the war in Ethiopia. With US drones and airstrikes, the Ethiopian government has turned back the Tigray People Liberation Front's advance. After halting the offensive, in a move that appears to be directed at ending the war, the Ethiopian government released several prisoners.. However, Ethiopia has not let up on its airwar which, so far this year, has claimed the lives of over 100 Tigrayian civilians. Ethiopian leader Abiy spoke with Biden as Ethiopian drones targeted civilian camps.    Kyle explains the recent developments in the Yemen War. The UAE backed Giants brigade made major gains against Houthi fighters in Maarib and Shabwah. However, the people of Yemen continue to flee to areas controlled by the Houthi as they are more stable and secure.    Kyle wraps up the show with a discussion of North Korea's recent missile tests. Since South Korea President Moon Jae-in announced a possible end to the Korean war, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has carried out three missile tests. The US reacted to the tests with new sanctions on North Korea. 

Trita Parsi of the Quincy Institute recently wrote a piece in a German publication arguing that the noninterventionist sentiment of the Trump years was not an arbitration. So Scott brought him on to talk about it. They discuss Parsi's expectations for the future of Europe's security structure. They then get into whether or not public opinion has any impact on American foreign policy. Next, they discuss how global perceptions of Biden's political situation are affecting the Iran deal negotiations. Lastly, they touch on the continuing war in Yemen.  Discussed on the show: “The end of American adventurism abroad” (IPS) Doomsday by Daniel Ellsberg  “Biden's Shameful Silence on Saudi Arabia's War in Yemen” (The New Republic)  “In Strategic Shift, U.S. Draws Closer to Yemeni Rebels” (Wall Street Journal) Trita Parsi is the Executive Vice President of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft and the author of Losing an Enemy: Obama, Iran and the Triumph of Diplomacy. Parsi is the recipient of the 2010 Grawemeyer Award for Ideas Improving World Order. Follow him on Twitter @tparsi. This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: The War State and Why The Vietnam War?, by Mike Swanson; Tom Woods' Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; EasyShip; Free Range Feeder; Thc Hemp Spot; Green Mill Supercritical; Bug-A-Salt and Listen and Think Audio. Shop Libertarian Institute merch or donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal or Bitcoin: 1DZBZNJrxUhQhEzgDh7k8JXHXRjYu5tZiG.

Trita Parsi of the Quincy Institute recently wrote a piece in a German publication arguing that the noninterventionist sentiment of the Trump years was not an arbitration. So Scott brought him on to talk about it. They discuss Parsi's expectations for the future of Europe's security structure. They then get into whether or not public opinion has any impact on American foreign policy. Next, they discuss how global perceptions of Biden's political situation are affecting the Iran deal negotiations. Lastly, they touch on the continuing war in Yemen.  Discussed on the show: “The end of American adventurism abroad” (IPS) Doomsday by Daniel Ellsberg  “Biden's Shameful Silence on Saudi Arabia's War in Yemen” (The New Republic)  “In Strategic Shift, U.S. Draws Closer to Yemeni Rebels” (Wall Street Journal) Trita Parsi is the Executive Vice President of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft and the author of Losing an Enemy: Obama, Iran and the Triumph of Diplomacy. Parsi is the recipient of the 2010 Grawemeyer Award for Ideas Improving World Order. Follow him on Twitter @tparsi. This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: The War State and Why The Vietnam War?, by Mike Swanson; Tom Woods' Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; EasyShip; Free Range Feeder; Thc Hemp Spot; Green Mill Supercritical; Bug-A-Salt and Listen and Think Audio. Shop Libertarian Institute merch or donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal or Bitcoin: 1DZBZNJrxUhQhEzgDh7k8JXHXRjYu5tZiG.

America's Obsession with Illusion Richard Gale and Gary Null PhD Progressive Radio Network, January 14, 2022   “He who despises his own life is soon master of others” – English proverb   For the vast majority of Americans, the past year has been the most challenging in their lives – certainly for young adults. However, not everyone has been suffering equally. The nation's health or illness is not uniform. Much of our suffering is dependent upon the institutionalization and negligence of previous injustices, the loss of social equanimity, economic heedlessness, and our leaders' unmitigated greed and pursuit of power.  Nor is everyone adversely affected by the shifts underway in the imaginations of the political and ideological universes. The transnational class of corporate and banking elites, for example, has little motivation to respect or contribute to national boundaries and interests. They perceive themselves as global actors. For the generals and captains of neoliberal globalization, the puppet masters of financial markets, the Covid-19 pandemic only caused annoying disruptions in the quality of their lives. For the remainder, it has been cataclysmic.   As we begin 2022 should we not pause and reflect carefully about what we want as and don't want as individuals and a nation for securing a sustainable future? Fundamental is a deep introspection into the common and moral principles we are living today. It is not what we say or profess, but what we actualize in our daily lives and as a collective society that matters. Only our actions can realistically convey the deeper values in the American psyche.    Therefore we need to ask ourselves more difficult questions to discover the real moral poverty that defines us as a civilization. Where were the large demonstrations against the trillion-dollar bailout of Wall Street and foreign banks when barely a penny for the average citizen was spent? Where were the demonstrations against home foreclosures and the loss of small family farms?  Debt drenched student aid? Exploitive payday loans and exorbitant credit card fees. There were no protests against Obama's broken promises on universal healthcare. The single-minded attention on the pandemic has cancelled out 2.5 million homeless American children and 46 million adults and children who go daily. Where was a collective voice condemning the hundreds of billion tax dollars to increase the power of the military and intelligence complexes as American cities further collapsed into ghettos? Where were the marches against corporations off-shoring jobs. Why no vocal outrage against Obama's invasions of Libya and Syria, or the US ongoing support of rogue dictatorships, such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE, for crimes against humanity in Yemen. Where are the protests against corporations exploiting slave labor in poor countries such as Bangladesh and Indonesia.  There were no noteworthy protests for any of these issues. And yet these are true existential threats to our very democracy. Bertrand Russell wrote, “one should care about the world they do not see.” Should we not therefore be planning ahead for the future of our children, grandchildren and ourselves instead of being incapacitated by fear.   The national popular disinterest in these and other crises forebodes something on the horizon that does not bode well for most Americans. It is a simple principle to understand; yet so subtle it will likely go unnoticed until everyone is individually and collectively affected. It is the utter lack of balance within the nation's body politick, and across the media that spoon feeds us virtual images of a faux theatrical play, the illusory icons on our minds' monitor screens, that shape our perceptions of reality. This is how control is exerted over our thoughts, speech and actions. In fact, it is only after people exercise their thoughts independently, with the certain belief that they have actual self-control over their lives, that they arrive at the realization that their perceptions may be largely distorted.   Throughout America's history there has been a system of three federal branches to assure there is a platform for checks and balances as well as a structure to contain the tensions between them. That system now is being rapidly challenged and eroded. Now the middle of the road Democrats officially control the White House and both legislative bodies. We will see what awaits us.   There is also what is commonly referred to as the “fourth estate,” the powers of the press and news media that control the framing of the political narrative and partisan issues. In the past, the media was expected to hold the government accountable by exposing its conflicts of interest that endanger the public, its misdemeanors, and systemic corruption. This too is in decay as the media has been fully captured by corporate interests and now aligns itself politically and ideologically with the new political elite determined to reshape democracy and launch a new reset that will dramatically infringe on individual rights and liberties.   Finally, there is the growing influence of a fourth branch of government, the corpocracy and its private interests. We might also include the US intelligence community that increasingly operates independently from executive and legislative oversight.   Together we can witness this loose cabal of seemingly independent entities, working simultaneously in consortium and in opposition to each other, propelling us towards a future tsunami of greater polarization and immense social disruption.   Earlier generations were not threatened by the telecommunication and technological giants, such as Google, Facebook and Amazon. Clinton's Communications Decency Act of 1996, despite its well-meaning intentions to protect free speech, was otherwise destructively naïve. At that time it was sensible; however, that was before the advent of the social media that now dominates our lives and shapes political discourse. Silicon Valley has become a force far more powerful than the lobbyists on K Street to ensure that corporate Democrats are raised to a position of absolute power. Yet the problem would be equally threatening if it were the corporate and radicalized GOP in power.   The centrist Democratic left, lulled in a passivity that “it can't happen here,” is every bit as dangerous and delusional as the Republican far-right's paranoia over conspiracies squatting behind every nook and cranny. A moderate centrist right no longer exists as it has now exited reality like a herd of lemmings to follow Trump phenomena over a phantasmagoric cliff.   The more important question to contemplate is how this will impact yourself and average citizens. What happens elsewhere around the world can no longer be viewed in isolation. Globalization is perhaps the most holistic phenomena within the matrix of financial capital movements and post-modern social restructuring. China has the means to socially control most of its population, especially in urban areas. On the other hand, China would be unable to succeed in this endeavor without the direct assistance, trade and technological development of Silicon Valley and the private innovators of intelligence and surveillance applied science. China has already launched social scoring, a nefarious means to reward and penalize public activity. If a person protests the lack of personal freedom, democratic values and free speech, his or her social score decreases. And through digital networks, authorities can monitor and identify every Chinese citizen's movements. All of this technology is ready for launch in the US and other developed nations. However, rather than social scoring, it is block chain, the digital database that gathers any information it is programmed for. Block chain has already been employed for almost a decade.    At this moment the federal government and individual states are blindly over-reacting to Covid's health threats, the climate and environment, and the collapse of social cohesion. These threats are eliciting government mandates, such as vaccination. A Biden federal vaccine mandate would overrule individual state laws. The fact that this is being publicly stated should quell many conspiratorial theories. It is part of a more comprehensive and long-term agenda for expanding government social control under the pretense and propaganda of keeping Americans safe under the banner of national security.   New laws are under construction that would redefine hate speech. Censorship of free speech for criticizing official narratives and policies to tackle the pandemic are being enforced. Any criticism towards the failures of the Covid-19 vaccines is redefined as threats to public health. People raising such critiques may eventually find their names on domestic terrorist lists. This scenario is not beyond the imagination. Wikileaks revealed that environmental, animal protection, and human rights groups have been labeled as domestic terrorist organizations. Guilt by association laws, for example buried in Obama's National Defense Authorization Act, are in place. Expanding a law's scope is far easier than erasing it from the books. Consequently, it is not unlikely that these laws may eventually widen to include charges of subversion based solely on the emails you read, the videos you watch or the broadcasts you listen to. This would inevitably lead to the death toll for any residue of integrity in journalism. Silicon Valley's collusion with the government has canceled the voices of some of our best investigative journalists, such as Chris Hedges, Sharyl Attkinsson, Glenn Greenwald, Max Blumenthal and Craig Murray. These are only a few of many examples. The new unstated law is that original investigation must support the official narrative, otherwise it will be prohibited from accessible public view.    We may recall that under the second Bush administration, the justice department created “free speech zones,” fenced off or confined areas where demonstrators were only permitted to exercise their Constitutional rights of free protest and expression. Today we are only several small amendments away before the right to assemble being banned altogether.   Faced with growing condemnation by many nations, the US' hegemony on the world geopolitical arena has waned considerably. Biden's administration and its return to neocon foreign against Russia and China and neoliberal market policies will likely make every effort to regain the dominance it lost during the past four years. What has vanished in the US' former full spectrum dominance over the geopolitical landscape is now being inverted to strengthen federal hegemonic reign over the American population.   Finally, we need to awaken to modern technologies' remarkable sophistication and its certain threats to the health of our societies, and even to our definition of being human. Sadly, this is an industry each of us has been complicit in advancing. Coining a term by one of the planet's most important and forgotten 20th century prophetic voices, the Trappist monk Father Thomas Merton, we are facing a great Unspeakable, a spiritual crisis contributing to the existential vacuity of modern American culture. Few are aware that in his 1964 collection of meditations, Seeds of Destruction, Merton predicted that the civil rights movement would confront a catastrophic impasse and may find itself without leadership. Four years later, Martin Luther King Jr, who Merton had a deep correspondence with, was assassinated. Merton would die suddenly later that same year under very mysterious circumstances in Thailand.   Another way to describe the Unspeakable is criminal Sovereignty, with a capital S, to convey its almost numinous qualities. If alive today, Merton would look upon both the extreme right and left as mere expressions of the meaninglessness of American life manifesting as a turbulent ocean of afflictive emotions and thoughts. Instead of technology serving the needs of humanity, Americans are being increasingly conditioned to willingly bow as slaves to technology. The public, Somerset Maugham warned, “are easily disillusioned then they are angry or it was the illusion they loved.” The Unspeakable's unspoken mantra is: technology must progress regardless of how many people fall destitute, jobless, debt ridden and physically ill with only suicide as a recourse to escape. “American democracy today,” Merton observed over 55 years ago, “is just cheap pressed wood fiber, cardboard and spray paint.” Consequently, the elite sitting in the global control tower view the Great Reset's technological regime as preferable to democracy's kabuki theater. Advanced surveillance, artificial intelligence, intelligent robotics, transhumanism, a 5G internet of everything, genetic engineering, and weather modification should be our guiding avatars. The solutions, he would argue, can no longer be found in civil discourse or the rights of human beings gathering in assembly. For the ruling elite, the masses are blind sheep wandering in search of a shepherd. This is what author Ronald Wright called the “progress trap” – progress' unending efforts to feed technology's hunger to devour natural and human capital, interest free. And the mainstream press and news media, in its' malady of cognitive dissonance, serves as its unreflective cheerleader for our march towards civilizational collapse.    Merton was keenly aware of technology's dangers to social stability. In a 1967 letter he took aim at the “universal myth that technology infallibly makes everything in every way better for everybody. It does not.” However, Merton was by no means a Luddite. “Technology could indeed make a better world for millions of human beings,” he wrote. Yet there remained the nightmare of technology transforming the world into a “more collectivist, cybernated mass culture.” Decades before the first desktop, Merton foresaw a complete fragmentation of the nation's moral and spiritual fabric when people will begin basing all of their political and ethical decisions on computers. Prophetically he wrote to a friend, “just wait until they start philosophizing with computers!” That was 1967. He even foresaw technology becoming a means to elevate the slaves of technology's false self, to satisfy narcissistic appetites for admiration and status. In other words, the woke social media.   “The greatest need of our time,” Merton wrote in his Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander, “is to clean out the enormous mass of mental and emotional rubbish that clutters our minds and makes all political and social life a mass illness. Without this housecleaning we cannot begin to see. Unless we see we cannot think. The purification must begin with the mass media.”   For this reason we urgently need to penetrate the illusions of propaganda and popular falsehoods, across the entire political spectrum as well the self-appointed pontificating Pharisees who are ushering a new socio-economic era where endless technological innovation has precedence over human lives. Despite its newness, it has also been clearly predictable. No doubt, if Orwell were penning his great novel today, the emergence of this new American era we are witnessing would not be fiction.

On this edition of Parallax Views, Shireen Tahmaaseb Hunter, an Honorary Fellow at Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding (ACMCU) at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and author of Iran Divided: Historic Roots of Iranian Debates in Identity, Culture and Governance in the 21st Century, joins Parallax Views to discuss her Responsible Statecraft article "Time to look inward: Not all of Iran's problems are caused by the West". This differs from previous interviews about Iran in that the focus is not on the U.S. role in the problems of getting back into the JCPOA, but the problems Hunter sees with Iran's hardline elements from a realist foreign policy perspective. Hunter argues that Iran should be taking a realist approach to its foreign policy that puts the Iranian people before its relationships with other countries. Additionally, we have a discussion about what realism is and the misunderstandings about it. In this conversation we discuss Iran and the anti-imperialist struggle, Iran and Assad's Syria, Henry Kissinger and his association with realism (and why Hunter questions the categorization of Kissinger as a realist), the "Axis of Resistance" (also: the "Axis of Rejection"), Iran and Israel/Palestine, power relationships as shaping international relationships whether we like it or not, lack of education and understanding about international affairs, Iran and Saudi Arabia, the unresolved question of Palestine and its use by various political forces, hardliners vs. moderates in Iran, hardliners in the U.S. like Mike Pompeo and John Bolton (and the almost symbiotic relationship between U.S. hardliners and Iran hardliners), the devastating impacts of sanctions on Iran, Clinton and Iran, similarities between what we are seeing now with the tensions between the U.S. and Iran and the tensions of the Cold War, the American tendency to ignore history, the weight of history and the implausibility of totally clean "restarts", the accomplishment of the Iran Deal under Obama, negotiations between the U.S. and Iran going forward, structural impediments to Iran negotiations from the U.S. end of things (including lobbying efforts against U.S.-Iran reconciliation), Russia and U.S.-Iran reconciliation,  reconciliation will be based on compromise, the principles of international relations, Teddy Roosevelt's maxim "speak softly and carry a big steak", Iran and its proxies, the Yemen issue in regard to talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran, why Obama was able to get the Iran deal through and his understanding of the dynamics of the third world, the need to rescue the realist school, the damage caused by extreme idealists, military intervention and the way it can impeded democracy, the greatest security theats today are climate change and pandemics, and much, much more!

Photo: Yemeni village, 1994 The Hotcakes of Yemen.  Malcolm Hoenlein @Conf_of_pres @mhoenlein1 @ThadMcCotter @theamgreatness https://politicstoday.org/arms-sell-like-hotcakes-yemen-turns-into-a-hub-for-arm-dealers/

Ben Higgins is best known from season 20 of ABC's hit series, “The Bachelor,” where he opened himself up to millions of viewers, giving them the chance to truly get to know him. The opportunity ultimately led to an enhanced platform that he now uses to share what he is most passionate about with others – his faith, his hope for humanity and his love of sports. Born and raised in Winona Lake, IN, Ben currently resides in Denver, CO, where he moved after graduating from Indiana University in 2012. Since “The Bachelor,” Ben has been keeping up with a number of projects with the help of some of his closest friends. Most importantly, Ben co-founded Generous International, a for purpose company dedicated to contributing profits to social issues around the world, starting with a cup of coffee. With a vision to change the way society thinks of consumer products, all Generous merchandise is designed specifically to create and multiply good in the world. Whether creating jobs, feeding children or improving education, it begins with giving back in order to build a world that we all want to live in. Ben stays connected with his loyal Bachelor following with his iHeartMedia podcast, “Almost Famous,” which he co-hosts with his friend and former Bachelor contestant, Ashley Iaconetti. With over 80 million downloads it's the perfect destination for fans to get an inside perspective on the popular franchise as they break down the current Bachelor season in addition to discussing pop culture, offering relationship advice and allowing listeners to keep up with their personal lives. In 2018 Ben partnered with nationally recognized chef Daniel Asher and the team at Culinary Creative Group to open his first restaurant venture Ash ‘Kara in Denver, Co. Ash ‘Kara is a globally inspired restaurant with influences from Israel, the Middle East, and Mesopotamia. Ash ‘Kara which is Hebrew street slang for “totally!” or “right on!” explores the continuous evolution of Israeli cuisine with ingredients and flavors from across Europe and North Africa including Yemen, Syria, Morocco, Egypt, Turkey and Spain into a menu of shareable items from Ash ‘Kara's wood-fired oven. In November of 2019 Ben teamed up with chef Blake Edmunds to open up his second restaurant “Mister Oso”. Mister Oso is a Latin inspired restaurant that channels his love of Central and South American cuisine through a casual, flavor-bomb menu of salads, smoked and roasted meat tacos, ceviches, and crudos. In August of 2019 Ben was announced by Warner Brothers as the host of their newest project “Bachelor Live On Stage”. In February of 2020 Ben and the team hit the road to tour 65 cities throughout the United States hosting a live show in front of 2,000 plus people every night. In March of 2020 in a response to the COVID-19 pandemic Ben and his team announced the start of an apparel project called My Fan Threads. My Fan Threads sells custom apparel online with a print on demand process model. Of all Ben's ventures, his longest-running connection has been with Humanity and Hope United, where he holds a seat on the board. Established by one of his best friends, Riley Fuller, Humanity & Hope United is a non-profit organization working to assist underserved villages in remote parts of Honduras. They partner with the people of each community to achieve sustainable change, focusing on the needs of individuals rather than a single issue or approach.

On COI #213, Kyle Anzalone discusses upcoming talks between the US and Russia. The talks are set to begin tomorrow in Vienna. Over the past month, the US has signaled an unwillingness to allow Ukrainian membership for a decade and Russia moved 10,000 troops away from the border with Ukraine. However, recent meetings between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and NATO officials suggest the US will go into talks with Russia refusing to compromise.  Kyle breaks down a recent Newsweek article on the Neo-Nazi movement in Ukraine. White nationalists in Ukraine have become a key part of the military supported by the US. These Ukrainian militias are recruiting globally, with some members coming from the US who are further radicalized and given battlefield experience. America backs the Neo-Nazi-infested military to play geopolitics with Russia.  Kyle updates the growing network of anti-China alliances the US is fostering in the Indo-Pacific. Japan inked a military pact with Australia last week. With a focus on hypersonic weapons, the US and Japan signed a weapons research and development agreement. Kyle talks about the escalating conflict in Yemen. Saudi Arabia is cruelly blocking fuel from reaching key ports while ramping up its airwar. However, Riyadh will soon need a resupply of Patriot missiles. The weapons sale may present an opportunity for Americans to try to end the war.  Kyle also discusses the apartheid Israeli state. A woman from Gaza documented the inhumanity she faced attempting to get medical care. Israeli tanks destroyed Palestinian wheat fields.    Odysee Rumble  Donate LBRY Credits bTTEiLoteVdMbLS7YqDVSZyjEY1eMgW7CP Donate Bitcoin 36PP4kT28jjUZcL44dXDonFwrVVDHntsrk Donate Bitcoin Cash Qp6gznu4xm97cj7j9vqepqxcfuctq2exvvqu7aamz6 Patreon Subscribe Star YouTube Facebook  Twitter  MeWe Apple Podcast  Amazon Music Google Podcasts Spotify iHeart Radio Support Our Sponsor Visit Paloma Verde and use code PEACE for 25% off our CBD  

On COI #213, Kyle Anzalone discusses upcoming talks between the US and Russia. The talks are set to begin tomorrow in Vienna. Over the past month, the US has signaled an unwillingness to allow Ukrainian membership for a decade and Russia moved 10,000 troops away from the border with Ukraine. However, recent meetings between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and NATO officials suggest the US will go into talks with Russia refusing to compromise.    Kyle breaks down a recent Newsweek article on the Neo-Nazi movement in Ukraine. White nationalists in Ukraine have become a key part of the military supported by the US. These Ukrainian militias are recruiting globally, with some members coming from the US who are further radicalized and given battlefield experience. America backs the Neo-Nazi-infested military to play geopolitics with Russia.    Kyle updates the growing network of anti-China alliances the US is fostering in the Indo-Pacific. Japan inked a military pact with Australia last week. With a focus on hypersonic weapons, the US and Japan signed a weapons research and development agreement.   Kyle talks about the escalating conflict in Yemen. Saudi Arabia is cruelly blocking fuel from reaching key ports while ramping up its airwar. However, Riyadh will soon need a resupply of Patriot missiles. The weapons sale may present an opportunity for Americans to try to end the war.    Kyle also discusses the apartheid Israeli state. A woman from Gaza documented the inhumanity she faced attempting to get medical care. Israeli tanks destroyed Palestinian wheat fields.   

The much-awaited, long-delayed African Cup of Nations football tournament begins in Cameroon. The competition is taking place against a backdrop of Covid restrictions and a civil war that has been going on in the English speaking regions of Cameroon, alongside the wider instability caused by the jihadist insurgency in Nigeria, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso. Also in the programme: Yemen, a nation torn by conflict and famine, but today we hear from one long time resident on why he loves the country. And in Serbia: fans of tennis star Novak Djokovic have been protesting his detention in an immigration centre in Australia. [Photo shows a fan with a Cameroon hat on holding a horn. Credit: AFP]

In our first show of 2022, the fight goes on for oil-rich Marib in northern Yemen, where the UN's migration agency IOM is doing its utmost to help all those who've been repeatedly displaced by the conflict. Journalists are under fire, too – UNESCO tells us - while on the COVID front line, the World Health Organization has just announced that – for the moment at least – there's no particular risk associated with holding next month's Winter Games in Beijing. And after days of nationwide protest in Kazakhstan, UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet has appealed for calm. That's all coming up in the next 15 minutes or so on UN Catch-Up Dateline Geneva with Daniel Johnson and Solange Behoteguy Cortes.

The road to democracy is rarely straightforward. There are steps forwards, and backwards, and times when it feels like you're just not going anywhere at all. So what does the future hold for the countries of the 2011 Arab Spring Revolutions? Where can people look for hope now? Abubakr and Ella al-Shamahi explore if Tunisia's new democracy is at risk, after what some are calling the coup of July 2021, when the Tunisian President sacked the PM and assumed executive power. They ask what the solutions are for the war-torn countries of the Arab Spring, like Syria and Yemen, and consider what the legacy of 2011 is. Is it the youth who have an awareness of a revolutionary history and how far people will go to gain their freedom? Are the youth where we look for hope now? (Photo: A Tunisian protester sits on top of a gate outside the parliament building in the capital Tunis, July 2021 follow the president's dismissal of Prime Minister, Hichem Mechichi. Credit: EPA)

International Rescue Committee (IRC) president and CEO David Miliband joins the podcast to discuss the IRC's Annual Emergency Watchlist report. According to the new report, the IRC finds global “system failure” driving record levels of humanitarian need and that Afghanistan, Ethiopia, and Yemen top the list of countries most at risk of deteriorating humanitarian crises in 2022.

The Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq has sealed a critical border crossing to the US protected and Kurdish governed zone in northeast Syria over a violent clash between a Syrian Kurdish youth organization and Iraqi Kurdish border forces. The closure has interrupted the flow of aid to the region as northeast Syria grapples with the effects of US sanctions against the Syrian regime, and of the COVID 19 pandemic not mention its worst drought in decadesAnalyst Hiwa Osman explains what is at stake.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Egitto: scarcerata dopo quattro anni in custodia cautelare Ola al Qaradawi, la figlia del leader spirituale dei Fratelli musulmani in esilio. L'Iran dice no al riconoscimento del governo talebano se non è inclusivo. Sudan: il premier annuncia le dimissioni. Olanda: un governo di donne, 14 su 29, tra ministre e stottosegretarie. Haiti: spari contro il convoglio del premier. Cina: dopo 33 anni dal suo rapimento ritrova la madre disegnando a memoria la mappa del suo villaggio. Questo e molto altro nel notiziario di Radio Bullets, a cura di Barbara Schiavulli Per sostenerci www.radiobullets.com/sostienici

On Conflicts of Interest #209, Kyle Anzalone discusses the lasting impacts of America's wars in Yemen, Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan.  The coming winter in Afghanistan is expected to bring extreme hunger - and even death - to millions of Afghan children. The cause of the acute starvation facing Afghan children is America's economic war. Pressure is starting to mount on Biden to make some move to reduce the suffering in Afghanistan. However, Biden has remained willing to starve children to punish the Taliban. The American people are largely unaware of the Afghans' suffering because, since the withdrawal, major news has ceased coverage of Afghanistan.  Five million Iraqi children have been orphaned by America's three decades of warfare. Many of the parentless children live in poverty and are lucky if they are able to find work. The violence and instability created by Bush's overthrow of Saddam has led to fighting by various actors throughout the country.  The NYT reported on the Pentagon's slaughter of Syrian civilians. The reporters sifted through more than 1,000 pages of documents on airstrikes in Iraq and Syria from 2014-2018. The documents show the military has little care for the civilians it kills and never holds anyone responsible for war crimes. Saudi Arabia recently bombed the airport in Yemen's capital, Sanaa. The strike damaged communications equipment. The airport has reopened but ill-functioning equipment is causing dangerous situations with flights. The UN is calling on the Saudi-backed government of Yemen to allow the equipment to be flown in.   Odysee Rumble  Donate LBRY Credits bTTEiLoteVdMbLS7YqDVSZyjEY1eMgW7CP Donate Bitcoin 36PP4kT28jjUZcL44dXDonFwrVVDHntsrk Donate Bitcoin Cash Qp6gznu4xm97cj7j9vqepqxcfuctq2exvvqu7aamz6 Patreon Subscribe Star YouTube Facebook  Twitter  MeWe Apple Podcast  Amazon Music Google Podcasts Spotify iHeart Radio Support Our Sponsor Visit Paloma Verde and use code PEACE for 25% off our CBD  

On Conflicts of Interest #209, Kyle Anzalone discusses the lasting impacts of America's wars in Yemen, Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan.  The coming winter in Afghanistan is expected to bring extreme hunger - and even death - to millions of Afghan children. The cause of the acute starvation facing Afghan children is America's economic war. Pressure is starting to mount on Biden to make some move to reduce the suffering in Afghanistan. However, Biden has remained willing to starve children to punish the Taliban. The American people are largely unaware of the Afghans' suffering because, since the withdrawal, major news has ceased coverage of Afghanistan.  Five million Iraqi children have been orphaned by America's three decades of warfare. Many of the parentless children live in poverty and are lucky if they are able to find work. The violence and instability created by Bush's overthrow of Saddam has led to fighting by various actors throughout the country.  The NYT reported on the Pentagon's slaughter of Syrian civilians. The reporters sifted through more than 1,000 pages of documents on airstrikes in Iraq and Syria from 2014-2018. The documents show the military has little care for the civilians it kills and never holds anyone responsible for war crimes. Saudi Arabia recently bombed the airport in Yemen's capital, Sanaa. The strike damaged communications equipment. The airport has reopened but ill-functioning equipment is causing dangerous situations with flights. The UN is calling on the Saudi-backed government of Yemen to allow the equipment to be flown in.  

What are you hoping for in the twelve months ahead? What might you be fearing? These are questions which we often ask ourselves at this time of year, and yet it is hard to imagine a year when they have felt quite so pressing. In this special, New Year's Day edition of From Our Own Correspondent, we hear about sentiment both optimistic and pessimistic, and about the efforts people are making to rebuild after a year of loss. Plus there is a look at why many people seem to be optimistic, whatever the challenges ahead. 2021 saw terrible, weather-related destruction, which many blamed on climate change. In California, more than eight thousand major fires broke out, their number and intensity a marked increase on what is normally seen there. Justin Rowlatt witnessed the resulting devastation, but says that amidst the burned out ruins, people were still holding out hope of recovery and reconstruction. There was plenty of destruction in 2021 that did not come from nature, war continuing to take its toll in many parts of the world. Ethiopia and Yemen were perhaps the worst examples, but there were also small-scale conflicts, like the insurgency in Myanmar. Then there were the conflicts which never really went away, like that between Israel and the Palestinians. An exchange of rocket fire with Gaza back in May, along with Israeli airstrikes, left more than two hundred dead, the overwhelming majority on the Palestinian side. When Tom Bateman went to Gaza, he met a woman trying to restart her life as a sculptor. The Coronavirus has been described as offering a lesson in humility, a challenge to our belief in humanity's power to control and manage the world around us. This tiny, sub-microscopic string of rogue DNA, has led to death on a scale most will not have experienced in their lifetime. At the same time though, vaccines and anti-viral drugs have been developed in response to Covid, which use new technologies that promise cures for other diseases in future. Rajini Vaidyanathan saw some of the worst of Covid, reporting from India where hundreds of thousands died, perhaps more than a million. But while off duty recently, she found herself struck by the effects of one individual death, in a place very familiar to her. People often talk about climate change in terms of future trouble ahead: rising sea levels, and crops no longer able to thrive. In the Pacific island nation of Fiji, whole villages have already had to be evacuated, because of current weather conditions, and what that weather is expected to do in the years ahead. Many Fijians traditionally have a strong attachment to the land they live on, so moving from their homes presents a challenge that goes way beyond mere inconvenience. When Megha Mohan visited, she found local people trying hard to retain a sense of connection to their original homes. Despite Covid, climate change, and all the other challenges which humanity faces, many remain optimistic that normal life can continue or be restored, or perhaps that something new, and better can emerge from the ashes of the old. In fact, according to Marnie Chesterton, most people are predisposed to have an optimistic outlook, and to believe there are solutions to the challenges we face.

Laura Kasinof was one of the few foreign journalists in Yemen as the Arab Spring started to unfold there. From Yemen, she reported for the New York Times. Kasinof is also the author of "Don't Be Afraid of the Bullets: An Accidental War Correspondent in Yemen." In this episode of Tahrir Podcast, she talks about how she ended up in Yemen, how that was motivated by a conversation she had at a DC party, and why Yemenis aren't afraid of bullets (and RPGs).  Kasinof's book: https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Afraid-Bullets-Accidental-Correspondent/dp/1628726482  Reach out! TahrirPodcast@gmail.com Streaming everywhere! https://linktr.ee/TahrirPodcast Support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/TahrirPodcast

Just before leaving office, German Chancellor Angela Merkel approved major arms exports to Egypt, using Germany's industrial power to effect foreign policy in a way consistent with biblical prophecy. 2021 marked the death of democracy in Hong Kong as China capped off the year by raiding and shutting down one of the last pro-democracy media outlets in the region. China is bracing for global famines by stockpiling food—to the point that it has hoarded more than half of the world's grain. Meanwhile European Union officials are preparing for future supply chain troubles by taking on more federal power over European industries. We also talk about Israeli airstrikes in Syria, Iran doubling its attacks on Saudi Arabia through the Houthis in Yemen, Donald Trump saying China should pay America and the world for releasing COVID-19, and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, which spent nearly half a billion dollars on the 2020 election, hiring a card-carrying socialist. Links German Arms Exports “Outgoing German Government Approved Record Weapons Exports” Israel Strikes Syria “Will Israeli Air Strikes Drive Iran Out of Syria?” Hong Kong—Death of Democracy “The Climax of Man's Rule Over Man” China and COVID-19 “New Report Exposes Wuhan Institute of Virology as Epicenter of Pandemic” “A Weapon to Transform America” “Where Is the China-America Clash Leading” China Hoards Food “China Hoards Half the World's Grain” EU Power Grab “The Great ‘Mart of Nations'” Houthi Attacks Against Saudi Arabia The King of the South Chan Zuckerberg Initiative “Zuckerberg Group Hires Domestic Socialists of America Leader”

Photo:  Booris Johnson — Foreign Ministers of the US, the UK, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, before a working dinner focused on Yemen, 19 July 2016 #ClassicAnatolLieven: Not yet Global Boris Johnson. and AUKUS Anatol Lieven @QuincyInst https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/09/15/joint-leaders-statement-on-aukus/

Afghanistan: le donne protestano per i loro diritti. Hong Kong: arrestati sei giornalisti per cospirazione. Camerun: liberati tre studenti condannati nel 2016 a 10 anni. Myanmar: confermata la morte di due operatori di Save the Children. L'Indonesia respinge profughi Rohingya, e rispedisce un barcone in Malesia. Questo e molto altro nel notiziario di Radio Bullets, a cura di Barbara Schiavulli Per sostenerci www.radiobullets.com/sostienici

While movement of people across, into and out of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region occurred before the Arab Spring, the numbers have jumped since 2011. A decade ago, the region was home to over 3.6 million internally displaced people (IDPs). The figure has more than tripled since, as a result of civil wars, localised conflicts and disasters. There are now around 11.7 million internally displaced people (IDPs) in Iraq, Libya, Syria and Yemen - including around 6.5 million IDPs in Syria, the highest number in the world. There are major refugee situations across the MENA region and beyond, linked to the outcomes of the 2011 Revolutions. Abubakr and Ella al-Shamahi speak to displaced people, all with different reasons for leaving their homes, and with different experiences in the years since 2011 - from a man living in a camp for internally displaced people in the last rebel held part of Syria, to their cousin, a political refugee living in exile in the UK. Producer: Sasha Edye-Lindner and Gaia Caramazza. (Photo: Yazidi people fleeing violence from forces loyal to Islamic State on outskirts of Sinjar mountain. Credit: Rodi Said/Reuters)

Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CodePink, joins us to discuss how the US prioritizes its spending. While President Biden has just signed $778 billion in new military spending into law, the U.S. Agency for International Development reportedly can't find the funds to pay for the Biden administration's effort to help vaccinate the world's population against COVID-19, according to two agency officials interviewed by Politico. Chris Hedges, investigative journalist, joins us to discuss Julian Assange. In his latest Common Dreams article, Chris posits that the legal precedent set by the sentencing of Assange means that "anyone who possesses classified information, or anyone who leaks it, will be guilty of a criminal offense." He further predicts that the sentencing of Assange will "signal the end of all investigative inquiries into the inner workings of power."Dr. Colin Campbell, DC senior news correspondent, joins us to discuss Rep. Pramila Jayapal warning that political disaster is in store for the Democrats if they fail to deliver in the New Year. Rep. Jayapal told her fellow lawmakers and the President on Sunday that "failure to deliver their promised social spending and climate agenda could have disastrous political consequences, feeding voter disillusionment and leaving millions of people without badly needed economic aid amid a deadly pandemic."James Carey, editor/co-owner at Geopoliticsalert.com, joins us to discuss the Middle East. Saudi military expert Mohammad al-Qabibaan defended the recent intense escalation of the Saudi-led coalition's bombardment campaign in Yemen during a recent appearance on RT Arabic, describing the relentless airstrikes of recent weeks as “successful operations” designed to force the Houthi Ansarullah movement to sit down at the negotiating table.Kweku Lamumba, external relations coordinator for KOSSA, joins us to discuss the kidnapping situation in Haiti. After the kidnapping of the 16 American missionaries and a Canadian in Haiti, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken initially said that the US will do "everything possible to resolve the situation" and even indicated that an FBI kidnapping team maintained contact with a church that the captured missionaries belonged to. Now there is "total silence, to the point of making people question even this act of kidnapping."Teri Mattson, Latin American coordinator for CodePink, joins us to discuss El Salvador. Teri discusses reports that a former senior Salvadoran anti-corruption prosecutor went on record to say that President Nayib Bukele's government closed down his unit's investigation into alleged allegations that the government struck a deal with the MS-13 and Barrio 18 gangs in 2019 to "reduce murder rates and help the ruling New Ideas party win legislative elections in February."John Burris, civil rights attorney, joins us to discuss the shootings in the US. Yesterday, the Los Angeles Police Department released body camera video of a shooting last week that left a 14-year-old girl dead. Also, reports indicate a shooting spree occurred in the Denver area yesterday that left five people dead, including the suspected shooter, and one police officer injured.Gary Flowers, host of “The Gary Flowers Show” on radio station Rejoice WREJ-AM 990, joins us to discuss the drop in viewership of news networks this year. Nielson data reports that after many networks drew bigger audiences the previous year amid COVID-19 and the 2020 presidential election, they now saw a drop in viewership in 2021. The largest drop was seen in cable networks, with a 38 percent drop in weekday primetime viewership for CNN, 34 percent drop for Fox News Channel, and 25 percent drop for MSNBC.

On this edition of Parallax Views, we have a double-header episode. First, free speech is an issue often discussed in American politics. One aspect of that discussion involves a movement called BDS, or Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions. The BDS movement seeks to pressure Israel on issues related to Palestinian human rights vis-a-vis the three measures of its initials. This has caused backlash from Israel and its supporters, including many evangelicals Christians in the United States. In an attempt to quash the BDS movement, the conservative organization ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council) and certain states within the U.S. are seeking to put anti-BDS laws on the books. This led to Arkansas Times publisher Alan Leverett being asked to sign a pledge that his publication would make a pledge to Israel against BDS. Leverett refused on the grounds that the publication is neither for or against Israel, is focused on local issues of significance to Arkansas rather than the Middle East, and that said the state forcing such a pledge from the Arkansas Times violates both the 1st and 14th amendments. This has not only cost the publication in advertising revenue, but has also led to a court case in which the Arkansas Times is being supported by the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union). The case, Leverett says, is not so much about Israel/Palestine (Leverett's publication has no stance on this issue) but rather free speech. The case will likely go to the Supreme Court and has ramification for freedom of speech across America. Alan Leverett  joins us to discuss this case and its implications, which has gained more attention thanks to his November op-ed in the New York Times entitled "We're a Small Arkansas Newspaper. Why is the State Making Us Sign a Pledge About Israel?" Then, the Center for International Policy's William Hartung joined me to discuss the war in Yemen and how U.S. arms sales from the Obama, Trump, and Biden Presidencies have enabled the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to carry out deadly blockades and bombings on the Yemeni people. President Biden had promised to end the U.S. support for the war in Yemen. However, he is now signing off on an arms sale worth $650 million. Congress, both Senate and the House, are seeking way to block the sales from happening. Said attempt to block the sale has received bipartisan support with its proponents including Bernie Sanders, Rand Paul, Ilhan Omar, and Ro Khanna. William and I discuss all of this as well as the problem with Washington's foreign policy establishment aka the D.C. "Blob", the changing consensus around U.S. involvement in the Middle East, the arms race with China, progressives and conservatives working together on issues pertaining to war and peace, countering the slur of "isolationism" when criticizing U.S. foreign policy, and more. Arming Repression: U.S. Military Support for Saudi Arabia, from Trump to Biden by William D. Hartung - Center for International Policy, Arms and Security Program - December 2021 "The Biden Administration's Missile Sale to Saudi Arabia Is Offensive, and Must Be Stopped" by William Hartung - Forbes 11/28/21 "Congress Should Cut Off U.S. Military Support for Saudi Arabia" by William Hartung - Forbes 11/8/21

On COI #205, Kyle Anzalone breaks down Biden's failure to reign in Covid and the Saudi “pariah” state. The US is facing staffing shortages in the medical field. Recently, a federal court reinstated a Biden rule requiring healthcare workers to take a Covid vaccine. Massachuttes has canceled 'elective' procedures to compensate for the government-created shortage. The Pentagon is now discharging unvaccinated soldiers.  Kyle also discusses the war in Yemen. Biden promised to end offensive weapons sales to Saudi Arabia. However, Saudi Arabia continues to bomb Yemen multiple times a day with American assistance. The humanitarian crisis is continuing to get worse and, due to funding shortfalls, the World Food Programme is cutting aid to millions of families. Odysee Rumble  Donate LBRY Credits bTTEiLoteVdMbLS7YqDVSZyjEY1eMgW7CP Donate Bitcoin 36PP4kT28jjUZcL44dXDonFwrVVDHntsrk Donate Bitcoin Cash Qp6gznu4xm97cj7j9vqepqxcfuctq2exvvqu7aamz6 Patreon Subscribe Star YouTube Facebook  Twitter  MeWe Apple Podcast  Amazon Music Google Podcasts Spotify iHeart Radio Support Our Sponsor Visit Paloma Verde and use code PEACE for 25% off our CBD  

On COI #205, Kyle Anzalone breaks down Biden's failure to reign in Covid and the Saudi “pariah” state. The US is facing staffing shortages in the medical field. Recently, a federal court reinstated a Biden rule requiring healthcare workers to take a Covid vaccine. Massachuttes has canceled 'elective' procedures to compensate for the government-created shortage. The Pentagon is now discharging unvaccinated soldiers.  Kyle also discusses the war in Yemen. Biden promised to end offensive weapons sales to Saudi Arabia. However, Saudi Arabia continues to bomb Yemen multiple times a day with American assistance. The humanitarian crisis is continuing to get worse and, due to funding shortfalls, the World Food Programme is cutting aid to millions of families.

Anti-conversion laws are proliferating in India, Nepal, Yemen, Canada, and Australia.--Fundamentalist Humanism and Islam forbids conversion to Christianity, but why is homosexuality such a sacrament to modern humanist autonomy---Should Christian psychologists seek out neutral ground on religion and ethics, as encouraged by men like Dr. Earl Warren Throckmorton of Grove City College----This program includes---1. The World View in 5 Minutes with Adam McManus -Communist China removes Tiananmen Square sculpture, Archbishop Desmond Tutu dead at 90, Senator Manchin- A no vote on Biden's -Build Back Better- bill---2. Generations with Kevin Swanson

A new MP3 sermon from Generations Radio is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Anti-Conversion Laws in Yemen and Canada - Fundamentalist Humanism & Islam Speaker: Kevin Swanson Broadcaster: Generations Radio Event: Radio Broadcast Date: 12/27/2021 Length: 34 min.

Dr. Colin Campbell, DC senior news correspondent, joins us to discuss this week's stories. President Biden has said that he will run again in 2024 if he is in good health. Also, we discuss supply chain and inflation problems, the president's approval ratings, and Senator Joe Manchin's (D-WV) effect on Congress.John Burris, civil rights attorney, joins us to discuss legal cases of note. Some states are acting to mitigate the issue of all-white juries when the defendants are minorities. Also, the high-profile case involving the killing of Daunte Wright may be coming to a close as the jury completes its third day of deliberation.Dr. Gigi El-Bayoumi, professor of medicine at the George Washington University Hospital and founding director at the Rodham Institute at GWU, joins us to discuss covid. Omicron is spreading amongst both the vaccinated and unvaccinated. Also, the FDA authorizes the first pill to address covid and the WHO is recommending caution and preparation due to the dominance of the Omicron variant.Jim Kavanagh, writer at thepolemicist.net and CounterPunch, and Dan Lazare, investigative journalist and author of "America's Undeclared War," come together to talk foreign policy. The OSCE has come to another ceasefire agreement regarding Eastern Ukraine, but there are questions as to whether fascist elements in the unraveling Eastern European nation can be trusted to commit to such a thing. Also, Russia and China are working on high-tech weapons, the US and Ukraine opposed a UN condemnation of Nazis, President Putin spoke to the media, and President Biden's approval ratings are cratering.Ted Rall, political cartoonist and syndicated columnist, and Kathy Kelly, American peace activist, join us to discuss this week's important news stories. We discuss the US Pentagon's history of recklessly killing civilians. Also, Saudi Arabia may be building ballistic missiles, the White House is working with Israel to develop a common strategy regarding Iran, and the UN is going to cut food aid to Yemen.

Dr. Colin Campbell, DC senior news correspondent, joins us to discuss President Biden's waning popularity. A new article in The Nation expresses the anger and frustration towards the Biden administration from young voters. The article reviews the campaign promises that Biden made and laments his failure to live up to a single commitment. Dr. Jack Rasmus, professor in economics and politics at St. Mary's College in California, joins us to discuss the economy. Dr. Jack reminds us that he predicted the death of the Build Back Better legislation. He also goes over his predictions for the next phase of the US economic and political crisis. Jim Kavanagh, writer at thepolemicist.net and CounterPunch and author of "Reconcile This: Lessons From the Latest Legislative Debacle," joins us to discuss censorship. In another major EU blow to press freedom, European satellite operator Eutelsat has removed the German-language RT DE channel from its platform under pressure from Berlin. Greg Palast, investigative reporter, joins us to discuss voting. The Brennan Center for Justice is reviewing state and local legislation and predicting a tidal wave of GOP-sponsored voter suppression starting in 2022. They say that empowering non-state partisan actors to intervene in the election process will be one of the principal methods used to create hurdles for minorities and youthful voters.Robert Fantina, journalist and Palestine activist, joins us to discuss Israel. We discuss the issue of settlements in the occupied territories and their designation under international law. Miko Peled argues that the term "illegal settlements" is misleading because there is no such thing as "legal settlements" under international law. Filmon Zerai, independent blogger with commentary for On Horn of Africa & Global Politics, joins us to discuss Ethiopia. In his Black Agenda Report article, Filmon Zerai says that "The best way for leftist anti-imperialists to support Ethiopia is to not take a hardline position on the internal politics of the country." We discuss the internal politics of Ethiopia and why it is important to take a non-activist position towards the present government.James Carey, editor/co-owner at Geopoliticsalert.com, joins us to discuss the Middle East. Intensifying Saudi airstrikes against Yemen are making it impossible for international aid flights to land in the Houthi-run zones. Kevin Gosztola, journalist and author, joins us to discuss Julian Assange. He argues that the persecution of Julian Assange will only end if the various factions of US imperial power conclude that the cost of making him an example is not worth the benefit.

On this edition of Parallax Views, it's a double feature! First up, the legendary Jim Lobe, formerly of LobeLog and IPS (Inter Press Service), joins us to discuss his Responsible Statecraft piece "Houthi hysteria breaks out at the Wall Street Journal". For the uninitiated, Lobe is known for his reporting on the neoconservative movement and the Project for a New American Century think tank in the lead up to the Iraq War initiated under George W. Bush. In this conversation we discuss the Wall Street Journal seemingly shilling for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in two recent op-eds, one by journalist Karen Elliot House and another by the Wall Street Journal's Editorial Board. Saudi Arabia has been pleading for more Patriot missles from the U.S. to support its bombing and blockade efforts against the Houthis in Yemen. According to estimates the death toll inflicted upon Yemen now exceeds 350,000 with many of the victims being children. Recently, Saudi Arabia appears to have attempted to shut down a United Nation Human Rights Council investigation into what is happening in Yemen through actions that would serve to intimidate Muslims members of the council. Despite all of this, the Wall Street Journal frames the Kingdom as facing an existential threat by what it refers to as the "Iranian-backed Houthis. Jim and I discuss all of this including the exaggeration of the relationship between Iran and the Houthis, the sham of the "existential threat" framing, and more. Additionally, Jim and I also delve into issues related to the foreign policy establishment including talk of neoconservatism, Likudism, liberal interventionism, the long shadow of 1930s Munich, the Pentagon budget, Thomas Pickering, Robert Kagan as the renegade neocon, the subtle ideological differences between various factions of the foreign policy establishment and how they come together at certain times, and much, much more! On the second half of the program we're joined by Stephen Semler of the Security Policy Reform Institute (SPRI) to discuss the whopping $778 billion Pentagon budget passed by Congress last week. Said budget ended up being longer than the one proposed by President Biden. We discuss this as well as the death of Build Back Better, Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema's support for the Pentagon budget despite their supposed aversion to runaway spending, how defense spending cuts into dealing with issues like climate change and healthcare, responding to critics who believe that defense budget spending shouldn't be debated because of the need to combat America's foreign adversary, answering the age old line about how defense spending as it stands now is good because it creates jobs, and much, much more!

Yemen alert: 8 million face reduced rations says WFP Ignoring COVID-19 will simply perpetuate it, warns UN health agency India urged to release Kashmiri activist by independent rights experts

A new study from South Africa backs up the theory that the new Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus is milder than the Delta variant. Early data from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases suggest patients admitted in this current wave are having shorter stays and, even though case numbers are higher, hospitalisations are lower. Also on the programme: Thirteen million people living in the north-eastern Chinese city of Xi'an are under a renewed lockdown due to a new Covid-19 outbreak; the UN's World Food Programme in Yemen says it will reduce the amount of aid it gives people there because of reduced funds; and why Zimbabwe's fragile economic prospects may be harmed further by the growing demand for foreign currencies. (Photo: A healthcare worker prepares a dose of the Pfizer vaccine in South Africa Credit: Reuters)

John Wayne Troxell is a retired United States Army senior noncommissioned officer who served as the third Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In this capacity he served as the principal advisor to the Chairman and the Secretary of Defense on all matters related to the troops of the United States Armed Forces to include the lethality, readiness, fitness, welfare and deployability of the force, as well as joint force development and education. This position made Troxell the most senior enlisted member of the United States Armed Forces. He enlisted in September 1982 as an armored reconnaissance specialist and graduated from One Station Unit Training at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Troxell served in the United States Army for well over 37 years in numerous units throughout his career. They include the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment in Fort Bliss, Texas; two tours in Germany with the 3rd Armored Division and 3rd Infantry Division; two tours in the 82nd Airborne Division in Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Campbell University Reserve Officer Training Corps in Buies Creek, North Carolina; and the Special Operations Division of Joint Task Force Six (Counterdrug) in El Paso, Texas. Troxell has served as the Command Sergeant Major of the 3rd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division in Fort Drum, New York and Iraq; the Regimental Command Sergeant Major of the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment in both Fort Polk, Louisiana and Fort Lewis, Washington; the Command Sergeant Major of the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division in Fort Lewis, Washington and during the Surge in Iraq; the 21st Command Sergeant Major of the US Army Armor Center and Fort Knox, Kentucky; the Command Sergeant Major of the US Army Accessions Command and Human Resource Center of Excellence in Fort Knox, Kentucky; the Command Sergeant Major of US Army I Corps at Joint Base Lewis-McCord, Washington; the Command Senior Enlisted Leader of the International Security Assistance Force Joint Command in Afghanistan and the Command Senior Enlisted Leader of the United Nations Command/Combined Forces Command/United States Forces Korea. Troxell was sworn in as the SEAC on December 11, 2015 and finished his tour of duty on December 13, 2019. His official retirement date was March 31, 2020. Troxell's five combat tours of duty include making the combat parachute jump and service in Operation Just Cause in Panama, Operation Desert Shield/Storm, two tours in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. As the SEAC, Troxell routinely visited troops deployed to countries around the world to include Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Yemen, Libya and numerous others to gain the pulse of the force for the Chairman and Secretary. His military education includes Ranger, Airborne, Jumpmaster, Pathfinder, PLDC, BNCOC, ANCOC, and the First Sergeants Course. He is a graduate of Class 51 of the US Army Sergeants Major Course and the Command Sergeants Major Course. Troxell is also a graduate of the National Defense University Keystone Joint Command Senior Enlisted Course, the US Army War College Strategic Leader Development Course, the US Army Intermediate Strategic Leader Defense Course at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the US Army Advanced Strategic Leader Development Course at Southwest Airlines and Exxon Mobile headquarters. Troxell is also a fellow at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia Pacific Center for Strategic Studies in Honolulu, Hawaii. His civilian education includes a master's degree in business administration with a concentration in strategic leadership from Trident University in California. Troxell's awards and decorations include the Combat Action Badge, the Ranger tab, the Master Parachutist Badge with combat jump star device, the Pathfinder Badge, the Driver Badge, the Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge, the 82nd Airborne Division, 10th Mountain Division,

Can the boys pack for an unknown adventure and what will they find deep in Yemen? An intriguiging find on a satellite map. New ways to play Pong and a new rationale for organic machines: power efficiency. The burger wars! Got something weird? Email neshcom@gmail.com, subject line “Weird Things.” Picks: Andrew: Saturday Morning All Star […]

The idea that states share a responsibility to shield people everywhere from atrocities is presently under threat. Despite some early twenty-first century successes, including the 2005 United Nations endorsement of the Responsibility to Protect, the project has been placed into jeopardy due to catastrophes in such places as Syria, Myanmar, and Yemen; resurgent nationalism; and growing global antagonism. In Sharing Responsibility: The History and Future of Protection from Atrocities (Princeton UP, 2021), Luke Glanville seeks to diagnose the current crisis in international protection by exploring its long and troubled history. With attention to ethics, law, and politics, he measures what possibilities remain for protecting people wherever they reside from atrocities, despite formidable challenges in the international arena. With a focus on Western natural law and the European society of states, Glanville shows that the history of the shared responsibility to protect is marked by courageous efforts, as well as troubling ties to Western imperialism, evasion, and abuse. The project of safeguarding vulnerable populations can undoubtedly devolve into blame shifting and hypocrisy, but can also spark effective burden sharing among nations. Glanville considers how states should support this responsibility, whether it can be coherently codified in law, the extent to which states have embraced their responsibilities, and what might lead them to do so more reliably in the future. Sharing Responsibility wrestles with how countries should care for imperiled people and how the ideal of the responsibility to protect might inspire just behavior in an imperfect and troubled world. Jeff Bachman is Senior Lecturer in Human Rights at American University's School of International Service in Washington, DC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

The idea that states share a responsibility to shield people everywhere from atrocities is presently under threat. Despite some early twenty-first century successes, including the 2005 United Nations endorsement of the Responsibility to Protect, the project has been placed into jeopardy due to catastrophes in such places as Syria, Myanmar, and Yemen; resurgent nationalism; and growing global antagonism. In Sharing Responsibility: The History and Future of Protection from Atrocities (Princeton UP, 2021), Luke Glanville seeks to diagnose the current crisis in international protection by exploring its long and troubled history. With attention to ethics, law, and politics, he measures what possibilities remain for protecting people wherever they reside from atrocities, despite formidable challenges in the international arena. With a focus on Western natural law and the European society of states, Glanville shows that the history of the shared responsibility to protect is marked by courageous efforts, as well as troubling ties to Western imperialism, evasion, and abuse. The project of safeguarding vulnerable populations can undoubtedly devolve into blame shifting and hypocrisy, but can also spark effective burden sharing among nations. Glanville considers how states should support this responsibility, whether it can be coherently codified in law, the extent to which states have embraced their responsibilities, and what might lead them to do so more reliably in the future. Sharing Responsibility wrestles with how countries should care for imperiled people and how the ideal of the responsibility to protect might inspire just behavior in an imperfect and troubled world. Jeff Bachman is Senior Lecturer in Human Rights at American University's School of International Service in Washington, DC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

From May 21, 2016: Four years ago, Anwar al Awlaki—an American citizen—was killed in an American drone strike in Yemen, marking the first targeted killing of a U.S. citizen by the U.S. government. While the attack occurred almost four years ago, the legality, morality and prudential nature of the strike, and others like it that occur nearly daily in a scattershot of countries around the world, remain a subject of much debate.Last week, Jefferson Powell joined Lawfare's Jack Goldsmith at the May Hoover Book Soiree for a discussion of Targeting Americans: The Constitutionality of U.S. Drone War, a new book that takes a deep look into the constitutionality of the program. Powell is a Professor of Law at Duke University, and over the hour, he argues that the killing of Anwar al Awlaki under the 2001 AUMF was constitutional, but that the Obama administration's broader claims of authority are not. He also asserts that American citizens acting as combatants in al Qaeda are not entitled to due process protections. Yet constitutional claims should not be confused with what is moral, or indeed, what is legal under international norms. Those answers, Powell suggests, must be examined through means other than constitutional law.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lawfare. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

After 7 years of conflict, Yemen is often called the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Ian Bremmer speaks with UN Resident Coordinator David Gressly about the dire situation in Yemen, where half of the population doesn't know when they will eat their next meal. Seen as a proxy war between the Saudis and the Iranians, civilians are caught in the crosshairs.

Rates of transmission of omicron continue to rise a day after the United Kingdom announced its first death from this latest variant of COVID-19. We hear from a leading epidemiologist about what we've learned since omicron was first announced. Also, leaders in Iran want people to have more children. To reach this goal, they have passed new legislation that limits access to contraceptives and abortions. Plus, Yemen's junior national soccer team scored a victory in the West Asia Cup over Saudi Arabia. Although Yemenis remain divided over the Saudi role in their country's ongoing war, they were united in celebration over their team's win. There is still time to support The World before our fundraising drive ends on Dec. 31. Your gift ensures that all our coverage on the air, on the web, and via the podcast remains free and accessible to everyone. With a donation of $130 (or $11/month), host Marco Werman will personally thank you on the podcast! Learn more and make your gift today.

Dave DeCamp is back on the show for another rapid-fire episode of some of the biggest foreign policy news. He starts out with an update on the recently resumed indirect negotiations between the U.S. and Iran. Next, he discusses the developments between Russia and Ukraine where it appears the Biden Administration is backing down from early statements that hinted at a willingness to defend Ukraine against a Russian invasion. Next DeCamp and Scott talk about China and the prospects for tension over Taiwan. Lastly, DeCamp gives a quick update on Yemen where the battle for Marib continues to rage on Discussed on the show: “Biden Orders to Prepare for ‘Other Options' If Iran Nuclear Talks Fail” (Antiwar.com) “Taiwan Is Not About China” (The American Conservative) “Taiwan Means War Only If We Want It To” (The American Conservative) news.antiwar.com   Dave DeCamp is the assistant news editor of Antiwar.com. Follow him on Twitter @decampdave. This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: The War State and Why The Vietnam War?, by Mike Swanson; Tom Woods' Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; EasyShip; Free Range Feeder; Thc Hemp Spot; Green Mill Supercritical; Bug-A-Salt; Lorenzotti Coffee and Listen and Think Audio. Shop Libertarian Institute merch or donate to the show through Patreon, PayPal or Bitcoin: 1DZBZNJrxUhQhEzgDh7k8JXHXRjYu5tZiG.

This week the senate voted down a resolution that would have blocked a defensive weapons sale to Saudi Arabia. The measure attracted support from senators of both parties for its potential to pressure the Saudis to end the war in Yemen. Intercept reporters Sara Sirota and Ken Klippenstein join Ryan Grim to discuss what the politics surrounding Saudi Arabia look like with a democrat back in the White House.https://join.theintercept.com/donate/now See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

There’s a lot of money in Biden’s spending plan targeted at the affordable-housing crisis. Vox looks at why it may not do much about skyrocketing real-estate prices. The Senate and White House are backing arms sales to Saudi Arabia. Critics say this could worsen the deadly conflict in Yemen. Reuters has the story. Dozens of previously unrecognized U.S. soldiers will receive Purple Hearts after being injured in an attack in Iraq nearly two years ago. A CBS News investigation helped them finally get their awards. Cybercriminals can ramp up activity during the busy holiday season. The Wall Street Journal explains how to avoid the latest scams online.

On Tuesday, with 39 men remaining at Guantánamo Bay, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on closing the infamous military prison. This week on Intercepted: Intercept photo editor Elise Swain breaks down the horrifying story of one Yemeni man after being released from Guantánamo. After 20 years in arbitrary detention, former Guantánamo detainee Abdulqadir al Madhfari was released from a United Arab Emirates prison to his family's care in Yemen. His freedom lasted less than a week. Suffering the mental impact of long-term detention and torture, al Madhfari fled from his own family and was captured and detained by Houthi rebels in Yemen. Swain discusses the consequences of life after Guantanamo with Mansoor Adayfi, a former detainee and author of the memoir “Don't Forget Us Here.” Mansoor calls for accountability and reparations to the men detained and tortured, describing how his life and those of others now resemble "Guantánamo 2.0." join.theintercept.com/donate/now See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Gun control advocates on the deadly high school shooting in Oxford, Michigan; The Pentagon reopens an investigation of a U.S. airstrike that killed dozens of civilians in Syria as concern also mounts about U.S. strikes in Yemen and Afghanistan; Human Rights Watch denounces U.S. rejection of a United Nations ban on killer robots. Get Democracy Now! delivered right to your inbox. Sign up for the Daily Digest: democracynow.org/subscribe