Wednesday, June 13, 2018

Trump Halts War Games, Floats Troop Pullout in Korea


At the Singapore summit, President Trump announced a halt to U.S. war games on the Korean peninsula and said he wants to withdraw American troops. But if he does, he'll face stiff resistance from Congress and Pentagon, warns author James Dorsey

Sunday, June 10, 2018

BBC: A History of Art in Three Colours Episode 1: Gold


Donald Trump Picks a Fight with Justin Trudeau


After an already tense G7 meeting, U.S. President Trump took to Twitter to attack host Justin Trudeau. Trump left the summit early for a meeting with long-time foe Kim Jong-un, but he’s managed to leave a trail of broken friendships in his wake. CBC’s Wendy Mesley speaks with Foreign Affairs minister Chrystia Freeland about the nature of the Canada-U.S. relationship.

Is the Drive to Modernise Saudi Arabia Taking a Wrong Turn? | Inside Story


Female activists continue to be arrested in Saudi Arabia - two in the last three days. Rights groups say Mayaa al-Zahrani was detained for her posts on social media - expressing support for Nouf Abdul-Aziz al-Jerawi, who is also locked up.

Saudi security forces have arrested 17 activists in the past months - most of them women who have long campaigned for the right to drive. That is about to happen in two weeks time.

The first driving licences have been issued before the Kingdom lifts its controversial "men-only" ban. State media has accused the arrested activists of being foreign agents. As economic, political and cultural reforms are implemented, are Saudi leaders sending mixed messages?

Presenter: Peter Dobbie | Guests: Sami Hamdi - Editor-in-Chief, International Interest; Suad Abu-Dayyeh - Equality Now; Mamdouh Salameh - Oil economist


Embarrassing Defeat for the US in Its Efforts to Expel Venezuela from the Organization of American States (OAS)


At the OAS nineteen member states voted in favor, four against and eleven abstained when the US tried to have Venezuela sanctioned. US will not hesitate to bear tremendous pressure on member countries to get its way in Latin America. We speak to CEPR's Mark Weisbrot about the vote and how it came about

Trump Kim Summit: US President Donald Trump Arrives in Singapore – BBC News


Kudlow: Canada's Trudeau Stabbed Us in the Back


President Donald Trump's top economic adviser Larry Kudlow says Trump pulled out of backing the G7 communiqué in reaction to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's statement criticizing the United States.

Producing Nostalgia: Iranian Diaspora TV's Rebranding of the Shah | The Listening Post



Kayhan Life: Spotlight on a Global Iranian Community »

Saturday, June 09, 2018

Dave Rubin’s Interview with Tucker Carlson


How Does Direct Democracy Work in Liechtenstein? – VisualPolitik EN


Despite being a constitutional monarchy, most of the political decisions in this Principality are done through referendums. This includes economic policy, social spending and even… Citizenship!

Even the right to self-determination can be guaranteed by referendum. This means that any of the 11 municipalities inside of Liechtenstein can hold a popular vote to decide whether they want to stay in the country or become an independent nation. Sounds pretty crazy, right?

How is all of this possible? How can you manage to guarantee such a stable political system when people can vote in any crazy law they want with a referendum? Well… This is what we were wondering here at VisualPolitik.

And we figured the best way to answer these questions is by going to the country and asking. So, we did just that!


Trump Speaks at G7 before Heading to North Korea Summit


President Donald Trump makes remarks at the G7 summit ahead of his planned trip to Singapore for the North Korea summit.

Holocaust – Witness: Paula Gris


Holocaust survivor Paula Gris is interviewed on Shalom TV's original series commemorating the Six Million. An educator at the Breman Jewish Heritage Museum in Atlanta, Ms. Gris has been engaged in teaching children and adults since 1981.

Life Inside: Voices from North Korea – BBC News


Speaking to ordinary citizens inside North Korea is almost impossible, with visitors heavily policed and communication with the outside world blocked. But two residents were willing to speak to the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme, despite the threat of death or imprisonment.

In North Korea, where leader Kim Jong-un has almost godlike status, to question him out loud is for many unthinkable. Citizens are taught he is all-knowing, and told to inform on dissenters - including their own family members. By speaking out, market trader Sun Hui - not her real name - knows she is putting her life at risk.


Austria Crackdown – Government to Shut Down Mosques | Al Jazeera English


The Austrian government is shutting down seven mosques and expelling imams. It's part of measures by the chancellor Sebastian Kurz to target what he calls "political Islam" in the country. Al Jazeera’s Dominic Kane reports from neighbouring Germany.

Gaddafi's Son: Libya Like McDonald's for NATO - Fast War as Fast Food (July 2011)


With the war in Libya at the focal point of international relations, RT's gained access to Colonel Gaddafi's son in NATO-targeted Tripoli. Saif al-Islam thinks his country's wanted for its riches, but says the people won't let Libya fall under foreign control.

Friday, June 08, 2018

Holocaust – Witness: Gena Turgel


Auschwitz survivor Gena Turgel, who went from concentration camp victim to a woman honored by the Queen of England, tells her amazing story on the Shalom TV original series, "Witness."

Cameron 'Tried to Get Daily Mail's Editor Paul Dacre Sacked' over Brexit - BBC Newsnight (January 2017)


The proprietor of the Daily Mail told its editor that David Cameron pressed for him to be sacked during the EU referendum, BBC Newsnight has learned. Lord Rothermere told Paul Dacre the prime minister urged him to rein in his pro-Brexit editor, then suggested he sack him, a source told the BBC. A spokesman for Mr Cameron said he "did not believe he could determine who edits the Daily Mail". Emily Maitlis reports.

G7 Gets Underway amid Rising Tensions with Trump


Question Time – June 7, 2018


This week's Question Time, filmed in Reading. Topics discussed include grammar schools and the Brexit white paper.

Thursday, June 07, 2018

Paul Dacre's Legacy as Daily Mail Editor: Discussion - BBC Newsnight


Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre is to stand down in November. What has been his influence on British political debate? Lord Adonis and Daily Mail political columnist, Peter Oborne, have very different views.

Trump Frees Alice Johnson; What About Thousands Still Serving Life for Nonviolent Drug Offenses?


President Trump has commuted the life sentence of a woman who was imprisoned for a first-time nonviolent drug offense, after her cause was taken up by reality television star Kim Kardashian West. Alice Marie Johnson, a 63-year-old grandmother from Memphis, was released Wednesday from federal prison in Aliceville, Alabama, where she had been serving her sentence for nearly 22 years. While Alice Marie Johnson has been released, thousands of other prisoners are still serving life without parole for nonviolent drug offenses. We speak with Jennifer Turner, who was part of the legal team representing Johnson in her application for clemency. She is a human rights researcher with the American Civil Liberties Union and author of the ACLU report titled “A Living Death: Life Without Parole for Nonviolent Offenses.”

Top US News & World Headlines — June 7, 2018


Tommy Robinson Is in Prison and This Is Why


Wednesday, June 06, 2018

Wolfgang Schäuble on Brexit and the Issues Facing Europe - BBC Newsnight


How does Brexit rank among Germany’s concerns? Mark Urban speaks to President of the Bundestag and Germany's former finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, on the issues facing Europe.

Is the New Italian Government about to Kick Out Migrants en masse?


Top US News & World Headlines — June 6, 2018


Why Is the US Separating Migrant Children from Their Parents? | Inside Story


The UN has urged the Trump administration to immediately stop separating migrant children from their families at its border with Mexico. It said on Tuesday the practice was a serious violation of international law. But the US is the only country in the world that has not ratified the UN convention on the rights of the child. And has recently adopted a zero tolerance policy with undocumented migrants.

Hundreds of children who cross its southern border have been held in custody since October. It followed an executive order issued by the president. The US defends its policy by saying it's a way to stop illegal immigration. So, can the UN convince the US to stop its policy of separating families?

Presenter: Elizabeth Puranam | Guests: Angelo Guisado - Civil Rights Lawyer at the Center for Constitutional Rights; Marsha Catron - Former Spokeswoman for the US Department of Homeland Security under the Obama administration; Jennifer de Haro - Managing Attorney at the Refugee and Immigrant Centre for Education and Legal Services


Iran Nuclear Deal: "Neither Trump Nor Netanyahu Have Any Plan B"


Michel Barnier Is Negotiating Brexit for the 500 Million EU Citizens That Remain


The Complete Skinny on Obesity


Millions have watched Dr. Robert Lustig's YouTube videos on the role sugar plays in obesity. In this compilation of the popular YouTube series "The Skinny on Obesity," Dr. Lustig and his UCSF colleagues dig deeper into the root causes of the obesity epidemic. Discover why what we eat is as important as how much we eat. Understand the effects of stress on obesity rates, and why some predict that the next generation will die younger than the current one due to obesity and the many health problems it causes.

Macron and Netanyahu Discuss Iran Deal at Paris Meeting


Tuesday, June 05, 2018

America Has a Massive Child Marriage Problem


In the US nearly every state allows child marriage. In some there are even loopholes that allow child rapists to avoid prosecution by marrying the person they raped. In others parents can, in effect, force their children to get married.

It’s a global issue - one in five girls around the world is married as a child - but you might be surprised to know that nearly 250,000 children were married in the US in the first ten years of this century.

In this So What we look at child marriage in the US, why it’s legal and what campaigners are doing to tackle what they see as child abuse.


Going “Full Dictator”? Trump Claims He Has Right to End Mueller Investigation or Pardon Himself


As President Trump celebrated his 500th day in office Monday, many legal experts warned that the country could soon face a constitutional crisis as the president continues to attack special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. On Monday, Trump tweeted, “The appointment of the Special Counsel is totally UNCONSTITUTIONAL!” He also tweeted, “As has been stated by numerous legal scholars, I have the absolute right to PARDON myself.” Over the weekend, The New York Times published a 20-page confidential letter written by Trump’s lawyers to special counsel Robert Mueller, in which his lawyers claim Trump is above the law and thus cannot have illegally obstructed the Mueller investigation. Trump’s attorneys also claim the Constitution gives the president power to terminate the Mueller probe. We speak to Philadelphia Daily News columnist Will Bunch in Philadelphia. His latest column is headlined “The week Trump went full dictator and no one tried to stop him.”

In Narrow Ruling, Supreme Court Sides with Baker Who Refused Cake to Same-Sex Couple


The Supreme Court ruled Monday in favor of a Colorado baker who refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple, citing his religious opposition. In a narrow 7-2 decision, the justices faulted the Colorado Civil Rights Commission’s handling of the claims brought against baker Jack Phillips, saying the commission had shown a hostility to religion. Though the case pitted claims of religious freedom against the fight for gay rights, the ruling stopped short of setting a major precedent on whether businesses can deny people services because of their sexual orientation. For more, we speak with Ria Tabacco Mar, senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s LGBT & HIV Project and counsel of record for Charlie Craig and David Mullins in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission.

Top US News & World Headlines — June 5, 2018


Monday, June 04, 2018

'Liberal Élites Have Lost Contact with Ordinary People' – Slavoj Žižek on Right-wing Rise in Europe


An anti-immigration party has come out on top in another European election. Sunday's vote in Slovenia saw the Democratic party, the SDS, win the most seats, although it fell far short of a majority.

King Hussein of Jordan: Survival of a Dynasty | Al Jazeera World


Cities & States Sue Big Pharma, Targeting the Firms Which Profited from Peddling Addictive Opioids


New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announced earlier this year that the city would sue manufacturers and distributors of prescription opioids to account for their part in the city’s ongoing deadly opioid epidemic. Firms named in the suit include Purdue Pharma, Johnson & Johnson and McKesson Corporation. The Guardian reports that more than 60 cities are suing Big Pharma over opioids. An explosive New York Times report has revealed that manufacturers of the drug OxyContin knew it was highly addictive as early as 1996, the first year after the drug hit the market. The Times published a confidential Justice Department report this week showing that Purdue Pharma executives were told OxyContin was being crushed and snorted for its powerful narcotic, but still promoted it as less addictive than other opioid painkillers. Purdue executives have testified before Congress that they were unaware of the drug’s growing abuse until years after it was on the market. Today, drug overdoses are the leading cause of death for Americans under age 50. We speak with Barry Meier, author of “Pain Killer: An Empire of Deceit and the Origin of America’s Opioid Epidemic.”

Top US News & World Headlines — June 4, 2018


Steve Bannon Predicts Government Shutdown over Wall


In an interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria, former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon predicts the government will shut down in the near future over President Trump's proposed border wall.

Netanyahu Heads to Europe Looking to Change Minds on Iran


Sunday, June 03, 2018

Who Will Pay for North Korea's Hotel Bill?


The Washington Post reports North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is asking for another nation to pay for his hotel bill during the historic summit between the US and North Korea in Singapore.