President Trump, who never served in the military, has ordered the Pentagon to plan a large-scale military parade similar to one he saw in France on Bastille Day. The press says he was "awestruck" by it. Opposition to the parade, which would cost between $20 million and $25 million, has been swift.
The United Nations is warning that Gaza will run out of fuel in only 10 days, already causing hospitals to close. Meanwhile, an Israeli paper reported that Saudi Arabia granted overflight clearance to Air India's new flight from Delhi to Tel Aviv, though Saudi Arabia is now denying it. And the Israeli government is preparing to expel as many as 40,000 African refugees. Ali Abunimah, the co-founder of The Electronic Intifada and author of the book "The Battle for Justice in Palestine," joins the show.
Democratic and Republican senators came to an agreement on a two-year budget plan today, heading off what would have been another government shutdown, but increasing federal spending by some $200 billion. The measure now goes to the House, where it may face stiff opposition from budget hawks. Brian and John speak with Jim Kavanagh, the editor of ThePolemicist.net.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, recently gave a $156 million contract to a company in Georgia with one employee to provide 30 million meals to Puerto Ricans displaced by Hurricane Maria. The company took the money and delivered 50,000 meals. The FEMA contracting officer is calling the episode "a logistical nightmare." Juliana Musheyev, a Community Engaged Researcher at Sarasota County Openly Plans for Excellence (SCOPE) joins the show.
Four Democratic senators have asked Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt to recuse himself from rulemaking around the Clean Power Plan. Pruitt sued the EPA 14 times as Attorney General of Oklahoma, four times concerning the Clean Power Plan, and he has been working to repeal the Clean Power Plan since becoming head of the agency. Fred Magdoff, professor emeritus of plant and soil science at the University of Vermont and the co-author of "What Every Environmentalist Needs to Know About Capitalism" and "Creating an Ecological Society: Toward a Revolutionary Transformation," joins Brian and John.
Hundreds of thousands of Greeks demonstrated in Athens and Thessaloniki over the weekend to demand that the government not agree to accept any name for the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia that includes the word "Macedonia." FYROM, as it's known internationally, cannot join NATO or the European Union until a name for the country is agreed upon. Dean Sirigos, an independent journalist and a former reporter for The National Herald, the largest Greek-American newspaper in the United States, joins the show.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel reached a deal with her previous governing partners, including the Social Democrats, bringing her within striking distance of forming a new government after five months of political limbo. Brian and John speak with Diani Baretto, an activist and the director of the Berlin Bureau of ExposeFacts.org.
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