Tuesday, August 14, 2018

#democracynow : Top US News & World Headlines — August 14, 2018


Lemon Reveals 'Secret to Success' in White House


CNN's Don Lemon comes to Sen. John McCain's defense after President Trump thanked multiple members of Congress, failing to mention McCain, while passing the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act.

Lawrence O'Donnell: ‘They Are All Omarosa… Including President Donald Trump’ | The Last Word | MSNBC


Lawrence O'Donnell explains why Omarosa Manigault Newman’s new claims expose the broader problem with Donald Trump campaign claim that he hires the "best people" and predicts that every Trump staffer will eventually have an "Omarosa moment" where they regret their "complicity" in Trump's policies.

President Donald Trump Team Destroying Careers of Comey Witnesses One by One | Rachel Maddow | MSNBC


Rachel Maddow points out that six of the seven people James Comey told about his meetings with Donald Trump are gone or leaving the FBI, with the one who hasn't been made into a political punching bag, David Bowdich, firing Peter Strzok, contrary to FBI personnel office guidance.

Grappling with the Far-right on the UK's Airwaves | The Listening Post


Monday, August 13, 2018

#democracynow : Former Iranian Ambassador: Trump’s Re-imposed Sanctions Against Iran Are an Act of Warfare


Tensions are escalating between the U.S. and Iran after the Trump administration re-imposed economic sanctions against Iran last week. This news followed Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal. Trump has threatened other countries seeking to trade with Iran, tweeting, “Anyone doing business with Iran will NOT be doing business with the United States.” Iranian President Hassan Rouhani condemned the sanctions as “psychological warfare,” saying last week he would not begin negotiations until the sanctions are withdrawn. We speak with Ambassador Seyed Hossein Mousavian, Middle East security and nuclear policy specialist at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. He served as spokesperson for Iran in its nuclear negotiations with the European Union from 2003 to 2005.

Sunday, August 12, 2018

Inside Story – Is the US Looking for War in Space?


US Vice President Mike Pence says the time has come to prepare for the next battlefield… and that battlefield is space. The Americans want to create a space force within two years… to defend US satellites and space-craft from attack.

It will be the first new branch of the military since 1947.

Pence’s boss Donald Trump wants Congress to vote yes to the plan…and agree additional funding of $8bn. But who will the US be competing against? And is it the start of a new space race?

Presenter: Hoda Abdelhamid | Guests Oliver McGee, former adviser to Donald Trump; Einar Tangen, China Political Analyst; Morris Jones, a space analyst and author of '' When Men Walked on the Moon''


Trump Making Asbestos Great Again


ASBESTOS... It’s not like we didn’t have enough to worry about already. Cenk Uygur, and Ana Kasparian, hosts of The Young Turks, break it down.

Irak: Die Wahrheit über Saddam Hussein


Saddam Hussein geht ohne jeden Zweifel als einer der brutalsten Herrscher des 21. Jahrhunderts in die Geschichte ein. Seine Karriere beginnt 1979, als er den Präsidenten Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr stürzt und sich selbst zum neuen Staatsoberhaupt ernennt. Seine erste Amtshandlung besteht in der blutigen Säuberung der Ba'ath-Partei von Gegnern. Es folgen zahllose Verbrechen gegen die Menschlichkeit, darunter die systematische Ermordung nordirakischer Kurden. "Die Wahrheit über Saddam Hussein" wirft einen umfassenden Blick auf das Leben des Diktators und zeigt, wie US-Truppen schließlich seine Festnahme gelingt.

Betsy DeVos Caught Not Paying Taxes


Saturday, August 11, 2018

Documenting Hate – Full Film | FRONTLINE


FRONTLINE and ProPublica investigate the resurgence of white supremacists in America.

Iran: Persian Rug Industry Takes a Hit after US Sanctions | Al Jazeera English


Last year, Tehran sold $126m worth of Persian rugs to the American market, but the new US sanctions on Iran include the hand-woven carpets. But the beautiful rugs are more than just a commodity; they are recognised around the world as a form of art and are part of Iran's cultural identity. Weavers say the sanctions are not just an attempt to block an important revenue stream, but also an attack on Iranian culture. Al Jazeera's Zein Basravi reports from Karaj, Iran.

Jonathan Capehart: Laura Ingraham Is Deplorable | Velshi & Ruhle | MSNBC


Watch Stephanie Ruhle review the week that Fox News host Laura Ingraham has had, full of commentary now drawing criticism. MSNBC Terror Analyst Malcolm Nance and Washington Post Opinion writer Jonathan Capehart join the conversation to discuss the effects of Ingraham’s racist remarks, the NFL protests, and Omarosa’s tapes from the White House.

Saudi Arabia v Canada: A Diplomatic Spat - BBC Newsnight


Saudi Arabia and Canada are locked in a diplomatic row which escalated from comments first made on Twitter as Canada’s foreign ministry expressed concern over arrested civil rights activists in Saudi Arabia.

Evan Davis is joined by Neil Quilliam of Chatham House and Alex Neve, Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada, to discuss the growing diplomatic tensions between the two countries.


'Serious Consequences' to Trump's Re-Imposing Sanctions on Iran and Gutting the Nuclear Deal


Trita Parsi to examines the complexities of Trump's attempt to end the Iran nuclear deal with US and EU. Could we be heading towards war? What's happening in Iran and could the fallout be of increased tensions in the Gulf of Hormuz?

Friday, August 10, 2018

US: 'Chain Migration' Grants Melania Trump's Parents Citizenship | Al Jazeera English


Immigration activists in the US are accusing the president of being a hypocrite. Donald Trump has been critical of the legal practice that gives relatives of citizens preference for moving to the US. Now his wife's parents have been granted citizenship, seemingly as a result of the same immigration policy. Al Jazeera's Kimberly Halkett reports.

Melania Trump Is Everything Trump Claims to Hate about Immigrants


Melania Trump spent her first few weeks in the United States working illegally. Her parents were just sworn in as citizens through chain migration. These are both items that Trump has said have to go, and under the new proposed rules for immigrants that become citizens, Melania would technically be up for having her citizenship revoked. The rules, however, aren’t meant to target people that look like Trump, as Ring of Fire’s Farron Cousins explains.


Anchor baby »

Trump’s Treasury Department Just Made Greedy Banks Even Richer


The Treasury Department has decided that banks don’t actually provide “financial services” as part of their business. While this is obviously laughable, that simple reclassification allows big banks to qualify for even more tax breaks under the Republican tax scam package that went into effect this year. Ring of Fire’s Farron Cousins explains how the new scam works.

Vom Kemalismus zum Erdoganismus: Die Türkei und ihre «starken Männer»


Wie sich die Türkei unter Erdogan vom modernen Staat zum autoritären Regime entwickelt hat.

Why the World Is Worried about Turkey


How Turkey's president gained so much power.

The Kennedys: The Curse of Power


Don Lemon Details Lies, Distortions in Trump Tweet


CNN's Don Lemon breaks down a numbered list of inaccuracies in President Donald Trump's tweet about the Russia investigation.

Thursday, August 09, 2018

Are US Sanctions Realigning Global Alliances? | Inside Story


Earlier this week the United States re-imposed a wide range of sanctions on Iran following the Trump administration's decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear agreement. Washington called on other powers to join it but also issued a threat, telling governments to choose: do business with US or Iran, not both.

The response has been a nearly universal "no". Some of Washington's closest allies have even promised legislation to protect their own companies against possible American reprisals.

We have been here before. In 1996 the Helms-Burton Act sought to force the rest of the world to adhere to Washington's long-standing boycott of Cuba. A 1977 law penalised US companies honouring the Arab boycott of Israel; and as recently as 2014, shortly before the nuclear deal was completed, France's largest bank, BNP Paribas, agreed to pay the US Justice Department an eight-point-nine billion dollar fine for violating US sanctions related to Iran.

Can extra-territorial sanctions really work? If they don't - as seems likely - what will that mean for America's broader role in the world?

Presenter: Hoda Abdel-Hamid | Guests: Steven Rogers - Member of the Donald J Trump for President Advisory Board; Scott Lucas - University of Birmingham (UK); Aniseh Bassiri-Tabrizi - Research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies


The Man Who Witnessed Hundreds of Executions - BBC Newsnight


Capital punishment was re-introduced in Texas in 1976 and, as every death sentence is carried out, it is witnessed. Associated Press reporter Michael Graczyk has been present at more than 400 executions over the last 34 years. Speaking to Evan Davis, he reflects on his experiences.

#democracynow : Top US News & World Headlines — August 9, 2018


US Urges Canada and Saudi Arabia to Resolve Feud


The US State Department has urged Canada and Saudi Arabia to resolve their escalating feud. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman has expelled the Canadian ambassador, suspended flights to the country and terminated student exchange programs. This comes after Canada's foreign minister called on the Saudis to release detained human rights activists. Washington Post foreign affairs writer Ishaan Tharoor joins CBSN to break down the diplomatic spat.

Die Auswanderer: Deutsche in der Schweiz - Dokumentation von NZZ Format | 2009


Autos mit deutschen Kennzeichen werden abgedrängt und weggeblinkt, und wenn die deutsche Fussballmannschaft verliert, jubeln die Schweizer. Die deutschen Zuwanderer sind fleissig und gut ausgebildet, sie sind die Stützen des Schweizer Gesundheitssystems und trotzdem mag man sie nicht besonders. Mit der Zeit verstehen die Deutschen schweizerdeutsch, wenn sie es aber zu sprechen versuchen, ist es auch wieder nicht recht. Sie treten in tausend Fettnäpfchen, weil die Schweiz wider Erwarten ganz anders ist als Deutschland. Viele bleiben trotzdem hier, wegen der guten Arbeitsbedingungen und der hohen Lebensqualität, und in der zweiten Generation sind sie von Schweizern kaum mehr zu unterscheiden.

Was macht eigentlich das Verhältnis zwischen Deutschen und Schweizern so schwierig? Deutsche Zuwanderer reden über ihre Integration in der Schweiz.


Should Boris Johnson Apologise over His Burka Comments? | Julia Hartley-Brewer


After Boris Johnson's ‘Telegraph’ article Theresa May and other Conservative party members have asked him to apologise for his comments. Julia takes an in depth look at whether he should apologise with the help of Nadine Dorries, Ajmal Masoor, Stanley Johnson and more.

"Boris Johnson Is a Disreputable Wretch" | George Galloway


Watch George Galloway's opening monologue from the 'Mother of All Talk Shows'

CEOs Who Condemned Trump Now Dine with Him


CNN's Don Lemon lays out the contradiction of some CEOs who condemned President Trump for his comments on the deadly white-nationalist rally in Charlottesville, but a year later dined with the President privately.

Canada Will Not Apologize for Saudi Critique


The diplomatic row between Canada and Saudi Arabia shows no signs of abating after the kingdom's foreign affairs minister publicly demanded that Canada withdraw its criticism of his country's human rights record — something Prime Minister Justin Trudeau refused to do Wednesday.

Wednesday, August 08, 2018

Neue Heimat Schweiz | Grüezi Schweiz – Die Einwanderer | Doku | SRF DOK


Jedes Jahr beginnen mehr als 100‘000 Menschen ein neues Leben in der Schweiz. Was bringt sie dazu, ihre Heimat zu verlassen? Und werden sie ihr Glück finden? Die fünfteilige Serie «Grüezi Schweiz – die Einwanderer» begleitet Menschen aus Indien, Frankreich, Syrien und Portugal bei ihrem Neuanfang.





Meet the Rising Socialists Challenging the Trump Presidency


In the United States, left-wing Democrats backed by former Presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders have suffered a setback overnight, after voters in the mid-term primary races favoured traditional candidates over their more liberal challengers.

The Democratic establishment says sticking to the centre is the best way to win over Trump supporters. But, as Kiran Moodley reports, others continue to call for a radical agenda, arguing that 'democratic socialism' is the best way to take down the President in 2020.


Boris Johnson Burka Row: The Rise of Political Populism?


Pressure is mounting from senior Tories for the former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson to apologise - or even be kicked out of the party - after his remarks about women who wear burkas. One MP said if Mr Johnson ever became Tory leader - he'd quit the party himself in protest. Critics are accusing Mr Johnson of using the issue to further his own leadership ambitions - and trying to mine a Donald Trump style of political populism. Our political correspondent Michael Crick has been finding out if that resonates with the voters.

4-Star General Warns: President Trump Behavior ‘More Alarming And Illogical’ | The Last Word | MSNBC


Donald Trump’s incendiary rhetoric and increasing rate of falsehoods have former national security leaders alarmed. Retired general Barry McCaffrey and Jason Johnson join Lawrence to discuss the reported “intensifying fury” of the President.

Don Lemon Rips Trump Over Personal Attack


CNN's Don Lemon responds to President Donald Trump's personal attack on himself and NBA star LeBron James, saying "referring to African-Americans as dumb is one of the oldest canards of racism in this country."

Tuesday, August 07, 2018

Why One Company in France Won't Say Bye to Iran | Al Jazeera English


The US sanctions on Iran are forcing many European companies to rethink their investment plans. But some small businesses are choosing to deal with Iranians, rather than Americans. Al Jazeera's David Chater went to Chateauroux in France, where one company is doing big business with Iran.

Why Is Saudi Arabia Angry at Canada? | Inside Story


Saudi Arabia considers Canada's comments on human rights in the Kingdom as an interference in its affairs that require what it calls a "sharp response". So it has expelled the Canadian ambassador and recalled its envoy from Ottawa. Its state-owned airline has suspended direct flights to Toronto; and the government says it will end trade and investment ties.

It all began with a tweet from Canada's Foreign Affairs ministry, stating concerns over Saudi Arabia's arrest of rights activists and demanding their immediate release. One of those activists mentioned in that tweet is Samar Badawi, a relative of Canadian citizens.

Badawi and fellow activist Nassima al-Sadah were arrested last month. Badawi is the recipient of the 2012 International Women of Courage Award, who is known for challenging Saudi Arabia's male guardianship system.

But is international criticism enough to improve human rights in the Kingdom?

Presenter: Mohammed Jamjoom | Guests Rothna Begum - Senior researcher at Human Rights Watch; Sultan Barakat - Director of the Centre for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies at the Doha Institute; Imad Harb - Director of research and analysis at the Arab Centre Washington DC


Portland Protest Shows New Far-Right Trend: Multiethnic Groups with Fascist Heroes Like Pinochet


Trump Voter: The President Is a Monster


CNN brought a group of Trump voters together to discuss their views on family separations and the president's perceived views on race.

California Is Burning Down and Trump Blames It on Environmental Laws


The state of California is suffering from major wildfires at the moment that have caused multiple deaths, but rather than trying to fix the crisis, Trump is out there tweeting that the reason the fires are getting so out of control is because environmental laws aren’t letting them get enough water to spray on them. Not only is this false, but it shows that he has no concept of crisis management. Sadly, as Ring of Fire’s Farron Cousins points out, that wasn’t the worst thing Trump said about the fires.

Boris Johnson's Burka Jibe: Discussion – BBC Newsnight


Former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has been accused of Islamophobia after writing in his Telegraph column that Muslim women wearing burkas "look like letter boxes".

Evan Davis is joined by Mohammed Amin, Chairman of the Conservative Muslim Forum, and Jack Blanchard, Editor of Politico London Playbook to discuss Mr Johnson's controversial comments.


Should the Burka Be Banned? | Julia Hartley-Brewer


After Boris Johnson's comments on the burka ban in Denmark Julia asks whether it should be banned in the UK. Julia is joined by Kulveer Ranger and Omer El-Hamdoon.

Tension Rises between Saudi Arabia and Canada


Saudi Arabia intends to impose trade and diplomatic measures on Canada after Ottawa called for the release of imprisoned activists, namely siblings Raif and Samar Badawi.

Chrystia Freeland: Saudi Arabia's Sanctions Don't Change Canada's Position


Foreign Affairs Minister Chyristia Freeland says Saudi Arabia's new sanctions don't change Canada's position when it comes to human rights concerns in that country. Freeland made the comments a day after Saudi Arabia announced it would cease new trade deals with Canada and expel the Canadian ambassador — retaliation for Canada's comments.

Saudi Arabia Is Pulling Students from Canada in Escalating Dispute over Human Rights | TIME


The feud between Canada and Saudi Arabia reaches a new level.Government Officials in Saudi Arabia announced they will transfer students on scholarships in Canada to other countries.

Monday, August 06, 2018

By Tweeting, President Donald Trump Makes Son's Situation Worse | Morning Joe | MSNBC


’The Morning Joe’ panel continues its discussion on President Trump's Sunday tweet about the 2016 Trump Tower meeting and says it's a 'complete fabrication' he's concerned about the meeting.