Democracy Now! Top US & World Headlines — July 31, 2020

Nancy Wake: Gestapo's Most Wanted (French Resistance Documentary) | Timeline

This is the incredible true story of Nancy Wake, the daring allied spy who became the Gestapo’s most wanted woman in WWII. Codenamed ‘The White Mouse’ for her elusiveness, this international femme fatale was a key inspiration behind Sebastian Faulkes’ celebrated fictional spy Charlotte Gray.

Get 3 months History Hit access for $3 using code 'timeline': here »

Joe: ‘Barack Obama Did Exactly What John Lewis Would Have Wanted Him To’ | Morning Joe | MSNBC

In his powerful eulogy for John Lewis, Obama took on Pres. Trump over voting rights and his response to protesters. Aired on 07/31/2020.

Not Even Tucker Carlson Is with Trump on Delaying Election | The 11th Hour | MSNBC

Trump suggested delaying the 2020 election, and not even Tucker Carlson would back him up on that. NPR White House Correspondent Tamara Keith reacts. Aired on 7/30/2020.

Trump: 'I Don’t Want to Delay, I Want an Election'

Donald Trump has denied he is pushing to delay the US election in November, repeating his claim voting by mail from home would cause extensive problems determining the result. 'Do I want to see a date change? No. But I don’t want to see a crooked election. This election will be the most rigged election in history, if that happens,' he said

Steve Schmidt: Trump Has a 'Fetish for Totalitarianism' for Floating Delay to Election | MSNBC

Steve Schmidt says Trump floating a delay to the election revealed his ‘authoritarian impulses and his fetish for totalitarianism in full.’ Aired on 07/30/2020.

Get rid of Trump asap! – Mark

Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto no.2 op.18 - Anna Fedorova - Complete Live Concert - HD

Andrew Yang Reacts to President Trump's Tweet about Election Delay

Former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang covers President Trumps leadership, delaying the election, and the big tech companies appearing in front of Congress.

How Hitler Gained Absolute Power in Germany | Impossible Peace | Timeline

New leaders come to power around the world, from Roosevelt in the United States to Hitler in Germany, while Japan consolidates its invasion of China's north east and militarism triumphs.

Special Report: The Prince Who Holds Secrets

This Sky News Australia special investigation probes the connection between the British royal family and one of the biggest scandals in the world.

“House of Absolute Horrors”: Mary Trump’s Book Reveals How Trump Family Gave Rise to a “Sociopath”

In a new book, Mary Trump — the president’s niece — describes Donald Trump as a “sociopath” who grew up in a dysfunctional family that fostered his greed and cruelty. Donald Trump’s younger brother, Robert, is seeking to block the sale of the book on the grounds that it violates a confidentiality agreement, but publisher Simon & Schuster says 600,000 copies of the book have already been distributed ahead of its July 14 publishing date. Investigative journalist David Cay Johnston, who has reported on Trump for three decades, says the book is “very, very important” and helps to answer how Trump got to the White House.

Madeleine Albright Reacts to Deployment of Federal Agents in US Cities | All In | MSNBC

Fmr. Sec. of State Madeleine Albright: “For a President and an administration that calls itself ‘law and order,’ they have broken the law, and are creating disorder.” Aired on 7/22/2020.

Hagia Sophia: Erdogan nimmt an Freitagsgebet teil | DW News

Kirche, Moschee, Weltkulturerbe, Museum und jetzt wieder Moschee – die Hagia Sophia in Istanbul hat eine bewegte Geschichte. Und jetzt zum ersten Mal seit 86 Jahren wurde in dem Bau wieder ein muslimisches Freitagsgebet zelebriert. Mit dabei war türkischer Präsident Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Im Vorfeld hatte es international Kritik gegeben. Bundesaußenminister Heiko Maas sagte heute, er könne die Entscheidung nicht nachvollziehen, da der Weltkulturerbe-Status des einzigartigen Gebäudes eine Bedeutung weit über die Türkei hinaus habe.

Prof. Wolff: Is This the Beginning of the End?

Merkley: Trump Has Brought Authoritarian Tactics to the Streets of Our Country | Deadline | MSNBC

Senator from Oregon Jeff Merkley speaks with Nicolle Wallace about the presence of federal law enforcement in Portland and Trump’s announcement that agents will be deployed to more cities. Aired on 07/22/2020.

Mika: ‘We Allow the Shock to Wear Off’ | Morning Joe | MSNBC

When asked about alleged sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, President Trump used the stage to ‘wish her well.’ Morning Joe discusses the normalization of the president's problematic statements. Aired on 7/22/2020.

Mary Trump: Donald Trump 'Incapable of Succeeding' on Coronavirus | Rachel Maddow | MSNBC

Mary L. Trump, Donald Trump's niece and author of "Too Much and Never Enough" explains why Donald Trump's personality makes him incapable of responding successfully to the coronavirus pandemic. Aired on 7/17/2020.

Saudi’s Missing Pilgrims Cause Firms to Go Bust

Firms and farms globally are suffering as Saudi Arabia imposes Hajj limitations
As Saudi Arabia restricts the annual Hajj pilgrimage to only 1,000 people – down from 2 million – we look at the companies who are now without income, as their usual source of earning is wiped out this year due to coronavirus-related limits in the Kingdom. Many tour operators in Pakistan now have zero income, whilst farms in Kenya are overrun with excess cattle due to a lack of Saudi orders to feed its annual influx of devout Muslims. We speak with economists and financiers in the Kingdom to find out how they are going to plug the multibillion dollar hole in their budget this year. The BBC’s Faarea Masud reports.

Listen to the podcast here

Don Lemon Is Still In Disbelief at This Trump Quote

CNN's Don Lemon wonders how anyone believes Donald Trump, saying that the President's own words about downplaying the Covid-19 pandemic should tell people everything they need to know.

Book by Donald Trump's Niece Sells Nearly 1m Copies on Its First Day

THE GUARDIAN: Mary Trump’s Too Much and Never Enough sold 950,000 copies / Legal attempts to prevent book’s publication failed

The bombshell family tell-all book by Mary Trump, the US president’s niece, sold almost a million copies by the end of its first day on sale and remains firmly at the top of Amazon’s bestseller list.

Trump’s book Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man, referring to Donald Trump, was published on Tuesday and had sold 950,000 copies by the end of the first day, including pre-sales, ebooks and audio books.

That was after a court order by a family member, Donald Trump’s brother Robert, seeking to block it was lifted, publisher Simon & Schuster said on Thursday.

It was a new record for Simon & Schuster, the New York-based company said. » | Guardian staff | Thursday, July 16, 2020

Steve Schmidt: Trump Must Be Defeated or US 'Will Be in an Irreversible Decline' | MSNBC

On the 2020 presidential election, Steve Schmidt says, “This man must be defeated if there’s to be any chance to come out of this. Otherwise, the country will be in an irreversible decline … We won’t be the preeminent country anymore. That will be the singular result of Donald Trump being the 45th President of the United States.” Aired on 07/16/2020.

abc News Exclusive: Mary Trump – Full Interview with Stephanopoulos

Cooper: Trump Poses with Can of Beans While Covid-19 Surges

CNN's Anderson Cooper called out a recent Instagram endorsement by President Donald Trump amid surges in the coronavirus pandemic across the US and ongoing tension between the White House and Dr. Anthony Fauci, saying it's "grotesque."

In Rare Surge of Online Unity, Iranians Call for Halt to Executions

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Actors, scholars, star athletes and millions of others called for three young protesters’ lives to be spared. “I’m next, you’re next, we’re next,” one meme read.

Iranians from all walks of life — teachers, doctors, designers, cooks, actors, directors, artists, homemakers, bloggers — have taken to social media with a message for the government: Stop the executions.

The online campaign, which took place on Tuesday and which analysts said was remarkable for its scope and the breadth of its support, was in response to the judiciary’s announcement earlier in the day that it had upheld the death sentences of three young men who joined antigovernment protests in November.

Iran put 251 people to death last year, more than any country but China, according to Amnesty International. In recent weeks, many Iranians have been rattled by a series of executions based on murky charges, from drinking alcohol to political activism to allegedly spying for the C.I.A.

“I’m next, you’re next, we’re next,” read a meme that was widely shared online. » | Farnaz Fassihi | Wednesday, July 15, 2020

Ghislaine Maxwell Pleads Not Guilty to Sex Trafficking Charges in Epstein Case

One-On-One with Mary Trump

Hear Message Mary Trump Has for Her Uncle, President Trump

Mary Trump, President Donald Trump's niece, speaks for the first time after the publication of her new book in an exclusive interview with ABC News.

Mehdi Hasan Reacts to Ivanka Trump Telling Jobless Americans to ‘Find Something New’ | All In | MSNBC

Mehdi Hasan: “She works in the White House today because her dad hired her for a job she is manifestly unqualified for. This is a woman whose husband and father’s catastrophic mishandling of this virus is the reason the economy is so bad right now.” Aired on 7/14/2020.

The Trump Supporters Who Changed Their Minds: 'I'd Rather Vote for a Tuna Fish Sandwich'

THE GUARDIAN: Frustrated, some Republicans have become anti-Trumpers: ‘This guy couldn’t lead his way out of a wet frickin’ paper bag’

The anti-Trumpers are at it again – only this time, they’re Republicans.

Kevin, a lifelong Republican voter and pastor from Arizona, says he voted for Trump in 2016 “with high hopes for the future”. He knew that Trump didn’t have the same political experience as the other contenders, but he was optimistic he could grow into his new role.

Now he says: “I’ve seen how he has tried to divide our country and that is not something I want, nor what our country should have … This man is an absolute danger to our country.” » | Poppy Noor | Tuesday, July 14, 2020

Shahid Buttar Mounts a Serious Congressional Race against Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi

Democratic Socialist Buttar is challenging Pelosi as a progressive-sounding centrist who pushes a conservative agenda that enables Trump.

Affaire Epstein : Ghislaine Maxwell plaide non coupable de trafic de mineures

LE POINT: L'ancienne collaboratrice du milliardaire demande aussi sa remise en liberté sous caution. La procureure dénonce un risque de fuite "extrême".

C'est un nouvel acte de l'affaire Epstein qui se joue mardi 14 juillet à Manhattan. L'ancienne collaboratrice et amante du financier Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, a plaidé non coupable de trafic de mineures et d'incitation à la prostitution lors d'une audience du tribunal fédéral. Personnalité de la jet-set, Ghislaine Maxwell est accusée d'avoir recrutée des jeunes filles, dont certaines mineures, pour Jeffrey Epstein, mort en prison en août 2019. L'audience de mardi doit être aussi l'occasion pour la fille de l'ancien magnat britannique des médias Robert Maxwell de demander sa remise en liberté sous caution. Elle a proposé pour cela des garanties à hauteur de cinq millions de dollars. » | Source AFP | mardi 14 juillet 2020

Ambassador Rice: I Will Do Everything I Can to See Biden Succeed | Morning Joe | MSNBC

Ambassador Susan Rice, National Security Adviser to President Obama, calls attempts to discredit Dr. Fauci irresponsible. Amb. Rice also says she will do everything she can to help Joe Biden succeed in becoming president. Aired on 07/14/2020.

Chris Hayes: Tucker Carlson's Racist Writer Is No Surprise | All In | MSNBC

Chris Hayes on Tucker Carlson: “You have a guy who had a racist writing his scripts for years, who founded a publication that employed multiple people with ties to white nationalism, who has been praised again and again by the most outspoken racists in the country.” Aired on 7/13/2020.

Trump’s Fox Fave Tucker Carlson Goes Fishing after Lead Writer Resigns over Racist Online Comments

The lead writer for President Trump’s favorite Fox News TV show, “Tucker Carlson Tonight” — the most popular cable show in history — has resigned for posting disturbing racist and misogynist messages to an online forum under a pseudonym. Now Tucker Carlson says he’s going on vacation, and his advertisement blocks “are a wasteland,” says Matt Gertz, senior fellow at Media Matters, where he documents the relationship between Fox News and the Trump administration.

Arrogance of Ignorance? Featuring Richard Dawkins, Evolutionary Biologist (2017)

Despite the unprecedented pace of scientific breakthroughs, humanity still seems to be as far away from the age of reason as ever. With religious extremism and political infantilism spreading across the globe, often aiding one another, has governance based on critical thinking already become a delusion? To discuss this, Oksana is joined by Richard Dawkins, evolutionary biologist.

How Incompetent Is Donald Trump? Interview with John Bolton | Conflict Zone

John Bolton dicusses his time as national security adviser and his impressions of US President Donald Trump with DW Conflict Zone.

Four months before the next US presidential election, Donald Trump’s poll numbers are in a slump. Disaffected conservatives call him incompetent and are campaigning against the Republican president, citing the upward curve of new coronavirus cases in the US, the millions of unemployed Americans, and the protests and racial tension in the wake of George Floyd’s killing. They echo Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, who says Trump’s leadership is inadequate.

One of his three former national security advisors, John Bolton, joined DW’s Tim Sebastian to discuss his impressions of President Trump on Conflict Zone. He has just releases his book on the issue 'The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir'

Super-rich Call for Higher Taxes on Wealthy to Pay for Covid-19 Recovery

THE GUARDIAN: Exclusive: Group of 83 wealthy individuals demands ‘immediate, substantial and permanent’ higher taxes ‘on people like us’

A group of 83 of the world’s richest people have called on governments to permanently increase taxes on them and other members of the wealthy elite to help pay for the economic recovery from the Covid-19 crisis.

The super-rich members, including Ben and Jerry’s ice cream co-founder Jerry Greenfield and Disney heir Abigail Disney, called on “our governments to raise taxes on people like us. Immediately. Substantially. Permanently”.

“As Covid-19 strikes the world, millionaires like us have a critical role to play in healing our world,” the millionaires said in a letter shared with the Guardian. “No, we are not the ones caring for the sick in intensive care wards. We are not driving the ambulances that will bring the ill to hospitals. We are not restocking grocery store shelves or delivering food door to door.

“But we do have money, lots of it. Money that is desperately needed now and will continue to be needed in the years ahead, as our world recovers from this crisis.” » | Rupert Neate, Wealth correspondent | Monday, July 13, 2020

'His Hatred Is Infectious': Tucker Carlson, Trump's Heir Apparent and 2024 Candidate?

THE OBSERVER: For years, Carlson has stoked racial anxieties and courted white supremacists on his Fox News show – and now, some are speculating he could pick up the pieces if Trump loses

The conservative television star Tucker Carlson, whose Fox News program last month became the highest-rated show in the history of cable television, is known to most Americans simply as “Tucker”.

But not everyone calls him that. On the strength of his regular, sneering rants about the danger of immigrants and refugees, the New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has dubbed Carlson a “white supremacist sympathizer”. Her colleague Ilhan Omar prefers “racist fool”. The Nazi website Stormfront has called Carlson “literally our greatest ally”.

And in recent weeks, as his ratings have topped previous records, new labels have been mooted for Carlson: heir apparent to Donald Trump, leader of the Republican party and future president. » | Tom McCarthy in New York | Sunday, July 12, 2020

Trump and McConnell Are the Twin Tribunes of America's Ruin – Vote Them Out

THE GUARDIAN: Under leaders as callous as these, the ravages of Covid-19, economic disaster and systemic racism can only get worse

Fate has been unkind to the United States. The nation is grappling simultaneously with a pandemic that has claimed the lives of more than 130,000; the most severe economic downturn since the Great Depression; and mind-numbing police brutality, which has generated the largest outpouring of grief and anger against systemic racism in memory.

Perhaps America’s greatest misfortune is that these crises have emerged at a time when its leadership is too incompetent to respond to them, if not maliciously dedicated to worsening them.

Donald Trump has not only refused to contain Covid-19 but is actively pushing Americans into harm’s way, demanding the nation “reopen” while cases and deaths continue to rise. Meanwhile, he’s siphoning federal money intended to dampen the economic crisis into the pockets of his cronies and family. And he is deliberately stoking racial tensions to energize his “base” for the upcoming election. As if this weren’t enough, Trump continues to attack the rule of law, on which a democracy depends in order to deal with these and all other challenges.

But he could not accomplish these abhorrent feats alone. Senate Republicans are either cheering him on or maintaining a shameful silence. Trump’s biggest enabler is the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell. » | Robert Reich | Sunday, July 12, 2020

Epstein Accomplice Can't Hide behind Protection of Plea Deal

Via America's Lawyer: After years of recruiting underage girls for sex trafficking, Jeffrey Epstein’s elusive partner Ghislaine Maxwell is arrested and may finally divulge the names of Epstein’s high-profile clientele. Mike Papantonio & Farron Cousins discuss.

Coronavirus in the USA: Trump's Downfall? | To the Point

A superpower laid low by the coronavirus: Infections in the USA continue to rise and the economy is on life support. Will the pandemic cost President Trump the election?

Guests: Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson (KCRW Radio Berlin), Matthew Karnitschnig (Politico), Daniel Hamilton (Johns Hopkins University)

Daniel Hamilton is a professor for Poltical Science at Johns Hopkins University. Currently he is a Robert Bosch-Fellow in Berlin. He says: "Pandemic, recession, systemic racism -- all made worse by Donald Trump. It's a combustible brew."

Matthew Karnitschnig is chief Europe correspondent for „Politico“. His view: „The pandemic is Trump’s Waterloo. The main question now is not if he will lose, but rather by how much.” Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson is program director at KCRW, a Radio station based here in Berlin and affiliated with the US broadcaster NPR. And she says: „Donald Trump’s performance regarding COVID-19 may not matter, because recessions lead to reelection losers.“

Hagia Sophia: Jewel of the Byzantines

A documentary on the grandest Byzantine church of them all: the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey.

Erdogan per Dekret: Hagia Sophia wird wieder Moschee | DW Nachrichten

Seit Tagen hatte der türkische Präsident Erdogan angekündigt, die weltberühmte Hagia Sophia in Istanbul wieder in eine Moschee umzuwandeln. Nun hat das Oberste Verwaltungs-Gericht seinen Wunsch bestätigt. Damit annulierte es eine Entscheidung von 1934. Damals war das Gebäude in ein Museum umgewandelt worden. Als neutrale kulturelle Stätte brachte es den Besuchern seitdem die wechselhafte Geschichte zwischen Christentum und Islam nahe. Wenige Minuten nach der Entscheidung unterzeichnete Erdogan das passende Dekret.

Trump Commutes Roger Stone's Sentence. Here's Why He Did It

President Donald Trump on Friday commuted the prison sentence of his longtime friend Roger Stone, who was convicted of crimes that included lying to Congress in part, prosecutors said, to protect the President. The announcement came just days before Stone was set to report to a federal prison in Georgia.

Stone was convicted in November of seven charges -- including lying to Congress, witness tampering and obstructing a congressional committee proceeding -- as part of former special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation. Among the things he misled Congress about were his communications with Trump campaign officials -- communications that prosecutors said Stone hid out of his desire to protect Trump.

Trump's decision to pardon his friend and political adviser is the crescendo of a months-long effort to rewrite the history of the Mueller investigation. This has included selective declassification of intelligence materials, a ramped-up counter-investigation into the origins of the Russia probe and attempts to drop the case against Michael Flynn.

"Roger Stone is a victim of the Russia Hoax that the Left and its allies in the media perpetuated for years in an attempt to undermine the Trump Presidency," said Kayleigh McEnany, the White House press secretary. "There was never any collusion between the Trump Campaign, or the Trump Administration, with Russia."

What Are the Questions for Ghislaine Maxwell? - BBC News

The arrest of Jeffrey Epstein's former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell has reignited interest in her and her alleged role in Epstein's abuse of minors. She’s facing charges relating to the events of 1994-97, when she was among Epstein’s closest associates. Ros Atkins has taken a look at the many remaining questions for Ghislaine Maxwell, in the latest of his weekly reports for the BBC News YouTube channel.

Turkish Court Rules Istanbul's Hagia Sophia Can Revert to a Mosque | DW News

Turkey's highest administrative court has issued a ruling that paves the way for the government to convert Istanbul's Hagia Sophia from a museum back into a mosque. The ruling annulled a 1934 government decree that turned the UNESCO Word Heritage Site, and Istanbul's most iconic landmark, into a museum. But Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pushed to restore its status as a mosque. He said that international pressure to keep it a museum was a violation of Turkey's national sovereignty. The Russian Orthodox Church has called the move unacceptable.

Arabs in Spain – Award Winning Documentary

Fascinating and beautifully shot documentary which examines the spread of Islam and how its crusaders finally took most of Spain, arriving from Morocco in 711. In one summer the "Arabs had taken half of the peninsular and in five years controlled almost all of the country".