Islam and Democracy: What's the Problem? | UpFront

In a special edition of UpFront, recorded before Ennahda's announcement, Mehdi Hasan speaks to a panel of experts, analysts and activists about whether there can be a balance between Islamic and democratic values.

Iranian President Calls White House 'Mentally Retarded'

Jeremy Hunt is not just a Tory leadership hopeful, he is, in fact, also the Foreign Secretary, and today he told parliament he could not envisage any situation in which the UK joins the US in a war with Iran.

Donald Trump announced new sanctions yesterday, but Iran's President has responded by calling them "useless, outrageous and idiotic," adding that the White House appears to be "afflicted by mental retardation".

Seriously? Pompeo Seeks Saudi Advice on ‘Bad Behavior’

Author and professor of international human rights Dan Kovalik joins Rick Sanchez to unpack western canards about Iran and double-standards in discussions of “terrorism.”

President Trump's Full, Unedited Interview with Meet The Press | NBC News

President Donald Trump sat down for an exclusive interview with Meet the Press moderator Chuck Todd on Friday, June 21st, 2019.

Is the US an Honest Broker between the Israelis-Palestinians?

Iran Says 'Idiotic' New US Sanctions Have Closed Path to Diplomacy

THE GUARDIAN: Foreign ministry spokesman accuses Trump administration of destroying peace and security

Iran says the US decision to impose sanctions on its supreme leader and other top officials is “idiotic” and has permanently closed the path to diplomacy between Tehran and Washington.

Donald Trump imposed new sanctions on Monday against the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and top military chiefs, in an unprecedented step designed to increase pressure on Iran after Tehran’s downing of an unmanned American drone. Khamenei is Iran’s utmost authority who has the last say on all state matters.

Washington said it would also impose sanctions this week on Iran’s foreign minister, Javad Zarif, who negotiated the 2015 nuclear deal with the US and other major powers and has spearheaded Iranian diplomacy since.

Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani, described the White House as “afflicted by mental retardation” and said the sanctions against Khamenei were “outrageous and idiotic”, especially as the 80-year-old cleric has no overseas assets and no plans to ever travel to the US. » | Patrick Wintour, Diplomatic editor | Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Iran vs. America: What's Next?

Jamal Abdi updated us on the new sanctions on Iran. Trump’s Iranian sanctions are designed to force Iran into accepting what the US wants. The Iranian sanctions are Trump and Pompeo wanting the Iranian administration to change. The US sanctions on Iran are making it harder for moderate Iranians to protest their government rather than easier. The military strikes against Iran which were stopped ten minutes before launch and has confused both Iran and the US. Are economic sanctions ever successful? John Bolton and Mike Pompeo are running the world and running Trump. They want military action, not economic ones. Will there be a regime change in Iran as a result of the new economic sanctions?

Why Finland Has the Best Education System in the World

A segment on the approach to education in Finland taken from "Where To Invade Next" by Michael Moore.

I Was Boris Johnson’s Boss: He Is Utterly Unfit to Be Prime Minister

THE GUARDIAN: The Tory party is about to foist a tasteless joke upon the British people. He cares for nothing but his own fame and gratification

Six years ago, the Cambridge historian Christopher Clark published a study of the outbreak of the first world war, titled The Sleepwalkers. Though Clark is a fine scholar, I was unconvinced by his title, which suggested that the great powers stumbled mindlessly to disaster. On the contrary, the maddest aspect of 1914 was that each belligerent government convinced itself that it was acting rationally.

It would be fanciful to liken the ascent of Boris Johnson to the outbreak of global war, but similar forces are in play. There is room for debate about whether he is a scoundrel or mere rogue, but not much about his moral bankruptcy, rooted in a contempt for truth. Nonetheless, even before the Conservative national membership cheers him in as our prime minister – denied the option of Nigel Farage, whom some polls suggest they would prefer – Tory MPs have thronged to do just that.

I have known Johnson since the 1980s, when I edited the Daily Telegraph and he was our flamboyant Brussels correspondent. I have argued for a decade that, while he is a brilliant entertainer who made a popular maître d’ for London as its mayor, he is unfit for national office, because it seems he cares for no interest save his own fame and gratification. » | Max Hastings | Monday, June 24, 2019

Jared Kushner Now a Target in DOJ Money Laundering Investigation

Jared Kushner, the husband of Ivanka Trump and son-in-law of the President, is now the target of a DOJ investigation looking into potential money laundering that occurred at Deutsche Bank. There are many transactions in and out of his account that had been flagged as suspicious, and the DOJ can no longer ignore the evidence that is right in front of their faces. Ring of Fire’s Farron Cousins explains what’s happening.

Trump Shrugs Off Khashoggi Killing by Ally Saudi Arabia

THE NEW YORK TIMES: WASHINGTON — President Trump on Sunday shrugged off the brutal dismembering of Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist, just days after a United Nations report described how a team of Saudi assassins called Mr. Khashoggi a “sacrificial animal” before his murder.

The U.N. report urged an F.B.I. investigation into the slaying. But in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Mr. Trump said the episode had already been thoroughly investigated. He said the Middle East is “a vicious, hostile place” and noted that Saudi Arabia is an important trading partner with the United States.

“I only say they spend $400 to $450 billion over a period of time, all money, all jobs, buying equipment,” the president told Chuck Todd, the show’s moderator. “I’m not like a fool that says, ‘We don’t want to do business with them.’ And by the way, if they don’t do business with us, you know what they do? They’ll do business with the Russians or with the Chinese.” » | Michael D. Shear | Sunday, June 23, 2019

Boris Johnson as PM Would Be 'Catastrophe' for UK, Say Scottish Tories

THE GUARDIAN: Fears that Tory frontrunner’s zeal for Brexit would boost support for independence

Senior Scottish Conservatives fear Boris Johnson’s election as Tory leader could be a “catastrophe” for the UK, because it is likely to turbo-charge the campaign for Scottish independence.

Senior Tories believe Johnson’s zeal for Brexit will immediately boost support for a fresh referendum – a view echoed by Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, on Sunday. Johnson as prime minister would be “devastating, disastrous” for the party and make the case for independence stronger than ever, she said.

Scottish Tories fear Johnson’s election is a foregone conclusion given his sizeable lead among English Tory activists and members, a lead that could withstand the revelations about his late-night row with this girlfriend Carrie Symonds.

“He would have to be guilty of criminality on a huge scale to be stopped,” said one senior Conservative colleague and critic. “Our job is to move this from being a catastrophe to a challenge.” » | Severin Carrell | Sunday, June 23, 2019

Urges to Launch an Attack, Trump Listened to the Skeptics Who Said It Would Be a Costly Mistake

THE NEW YORK TIMES: WASHINGTON — He heard from his generals and his diplomats. Lawmakers weighed in and so did his advisers. But among the voices that rang powerfully for President Trump was that of one of his favorite Fox News hosts: Tucker Carlson.

While national security advisers were urging a military strike against Iran, Mr. Carlson in recent days had told Mr. Trump that responding to Tehran’s provocations with force was crazy. The hawks did not have the president’s best interests at heart, he said. And if Mr. Trump got into a war with Iran, he could kiss his chances of re-election goodbye.

However much weight that advice may or may not have had, the sentiments certainly reinforced the doubts that Mr. Trump himself harbored as he navigated his way through one of the most consequential foreign policy decisions of his presidency. By his own account, the president called off the “cocked & loaded” strike on Thursday night with only 10 minutes to spare to avoid the estimated deaths of as many as 150 people.

The concerns that Mr. Trump heard from Mr. Carlson reflected that part of the presidential ID that has always hesitated at pulling the trigger. Belligerent and confrontational as he is in his public persona, Mr. Trump has at times pulled back from the use of force, convinced that America has wasted too many lives and too much money in pointless Middle East wars and wary of repeating what he considers the mistakes of his predecessors. » | Peter Baker, Maggie Haberman and Thomas Gibbons-Neff | Friday, June 21, 2019

Will the US Attack Iran? | Inside Story

There's an intense debate in Washington about how to deal with Tehran following the downing of a U.S. drone. A tense standoff between the U.S. and Iran, following the downing of an American surveillance drone in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian state television has been showing what it says is drone wreckage retrieved at sea. American media say President Donald Trump ordered air strikes against military targets in Iran - but then later changed his mind.

Congressional leaders were briefed on the incident and called for a robust response, but they also told the president to act with caution. So what does this mean for an already tense region?

Presenter: Peter Dobbie | Guests: Mohammad Marandi, Head of American Studies at the University of Tehran; Hillary Mann Leverett, CEO of the political risk consultancy Stratega and a former U.S. State Department official; Sahil Shah, Policy Fellow at the European Leadership Network

Attacking Iran, US Will Open the Gates of Hell – George Galloway

Film-maker, writer and a renowned orator #GeorgeGalloway shares his point of view on dangerous US-Iran tensions.

Donald Tusk: Johnson May Make Brexit More Exciting, But We Won't Budge

THE GUARDIAN: EU chief says member states are united in rejecting further talks on the withdrawal deal

Brexit may become “even more exciting” when Boris Johnson is in Downing Street but the deal will not change, Donald Tusk has said, as the EU readied itself for a new British prime minister.

An offer to listen to the ideas of whoever replaces Theresa May came with a warning from the European council president and fellow leaders that the withdrawal agreement was final.

“Maybe the process of Brexit will be even more exciting than before because of some personnel decisions in London, but nothing has changed when it comes to our position,” he said. » | Daniel Boffey and Jennifer Rankin in Brussels | Friday, June 21, 2019

The Guardian View on the Tory Leadership Election: Things Fall Apart

THE GUARDIAN: Britain’s next premier is likely to be a committed Brexiter. This would mean the leavers having to own the mess they created

On Thursday evening, after five ballots in eight days among Conservative MPs, the 10 original would-be successors to Theresa May were finally reduced to two: Boris Johnson and, trailing a distant second, the foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt. The two will now face the Tory membership before one of them emerges next month in a postal ballot as the new party leader. For the first time, a prime minister of the UK will be chosen by party grassroots activists. This means the new leader will largely be the choice of middle-class white men over 55 in the south of England who support the death penalty, oppose income redistribution and back a no-deal Brexit. » | Editorial | Thursday, June 20, 2019

Democracy Now! Top US News & World Headlines — June 21, 2019

How Boris Johnson's Record Fits with the Values of the British Army – James O'Brien – LBC

Continental Europe Braced for 'Potentially Dangerous' Heatwave

THE GUARDIAN: High pressure pulling hot air northward from Africa will send temperatures soaring

A potentially record-breaking heatwave is forecast to grip much of continental Europe next week, with temperatures in cities from Spain to Germany set to exceed 32C and climb to more than 38C or even 40C in the hottest areas.

The combination of a storm stalled over the Atlantic and high pressure over central Europe would pull very hot air from Africa northward, leading to a “potentially dangerous heatwave over a large portion of western and central Europe”, forecaster AccuWeather said.

In France, temperatures of between 35C and 40C are expected across most of the country except Brittany from Monday, Météo-France said, and are unlikely to fall below 20C overnight.

“Even though it will be shortlived, this heatwave could be remarkable for its momentum and intensity,” the forecaster said in a bulletin. » | Jon Henley, Europe correspondent | Friday, June 21, 2019