The Winter Olympics opened yesterday in PyeongChang, South Korea in the shadow of difficult international politics. The sister of DPRK leader Kim Jong-un shook hands with South Korean President Moon Jae-In. She became the only member of the Kim family ever to visit South Korea. Meanwhile, Vice President Pence, representing the United States, sat three feet away and never acknowledged the North Koreans. The hosts discuss US policy in the face of improving relations between North and South Korea.
In cities nationwide, longtime working-class city residents face higher rents and increased pressure from landlords and developers. The nation's capitol is no exception, and two groups are taking the fight to a developer's own house this weekend, with a march up a main DC street in upper Northwest. The hosts talk about the details of the march and the broader picture of gentrification in DC. Yasmina Mrabet, a housing organizer with ONE DC, a leading organization in the group that put together Saturday's march, and Will Merrifield, an attorney with the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless who is representing the tenants of Congress Heights, join the show.
The federal government shut down briefly last night. You probably didn't notice it. In the middle of the night, Congress passed a two-year funding measure that adds another $300 billion in spending, more than half of that for the Pentagon, and it keeps the rest of the government open until March 23. Brian and John speak with Ted Rall, an award-winning editorial cartoonist and columnist.
With passage of the budget deal, Congress will now take up the issue of immigration reform. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has called for debate to begin on immigration on Monday, with the Senate using the House's Hurd-Aguilar proposal as a starting point. Angie Kim, an immigrant rights advocate and community organizer with the MinKwon Center for Community Action, joins the show.
Years of war and violence have left 750,000 children in Mosul without basic health care, which UNICEF recently announced while appealing for $17 million to aid the area. Less than 10% of health facilities in the surrounding province are operating at full capacity. Despite this great need, there is little to no mention of it in the corporate media. Catherine Shakdam, a political commentator and analyst focusing on the Middle East, and the author of "A Tale Of Grand Resistance: Yemen, The Wahhabi And The House Of Saud," joins Brian and John.
According to multiple reports, Israeli police authorities are recommending to the country's minister of justice that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu be indicted on a myriad of corruption and bribery charges. The recommendation was made unanimously by a panel of police chiefs. Miko Peled, the author of "The General's Son — A Journey of an Israeli in Palestine" and the upcoming title "Injustice: The Story of the Holy Land Foundation Five," joins the show.
Again this week the hosts look at the worst and most misleading headlines. Brian and John speak with Steve Patt, an independent journalist whose searing critiques of the mainstream media have been a feature of his blog Left I on the News, which you can find at lefti.blogspot.com.
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