The so-called BRICS countries-that is, Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa-are completing their 10th summit today in Johannesburg. All of the countries are represented by their heads of state and they met to discuss international peace and security, global governance, and trade.
On today's regular Friday segment covering the upcoming midterm elections, the hosts talk about Ocasio-Cortez, DeLeon over Feinstein, and the House Democrats' ridiculous new slogan. Jacqueline Luqman, the co-editor-in-chief of Luqman Nation, and the co-host of the Facebook livestream "Coffee, Current Events & Politics" Thursdays at 9 p.m., joins the show.
Today marks the 65th anniversary of the armistice agreement in the Korean War, but the peninsula technically remains in a state of war to this day. To mark the occasion and push forward towards a permanent peace treaty, North Korea today repatriated the remains of 55 US servicemen killed during the Korean war, the result of a promise North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made to President Trump when they met in Singapore last month. More than 7,000 Americans are still listed as missing in action in North Korea. Brian and John speak with Simone Chun, a fellow at the Korea Policy Institute and a member of the Korean Peace Network.
President Trump called today's news that Gross Domestic Product had grown at a very robust 4.1 percent for the second quarter of 2018 "amazing." He didn't comment, however, on the fact that much of the growth was due to consumers making major purchases before the effect of tariffs begins. He also promised that GDP "would go a lot higher than this." Dave Lindorff, an investigative reporter and founder of This Can't Be Happening!, as well as a columnist for CounterPunch, joins the show.
National Public Radio, a government funded operation, cited the online news site The Daily Beast which reported unequivocally today that "the Russian intelligence agency behind the 2016 election cyber attacks targeted Senator Claire McCaskill as she began her 2018 reelection campaign." The Daily Beast cites as proof its own "forensic analysis" and specifically blames the GRU, Russia's military intelligence service. Joe Lauria, the editor-in-chief of Consortium News, founded by the late Robert Parry, and author of the book "How I Lost, By Hillary Clinton," and Ted Rall, an award-winning editorial cartoonist and columnist whose work is at www.rall.com, join Brian and John.
Donald Trump thought he had a deal with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan to release a US pastor being held in Turkey on trumped up espionage charges in exchange for Israel releasing a Turkish woman being held on espionage charges there. But that deal fell apart, leading to angry and threatening tweets between the two leaders. The result has been a quick and significant downturn in US/Turkish relations. Gönül Tol, the founding director of The Middle East Institute's Center for Turkish Studies, joins the show.
The hosts continue the regular segment of the worst and most misleading headlines. Brian and John speak with Steve Patt, an independent journalist whose critiques of the mainstream media have been a feature of his blog Left I on the News, where you can find more ridiculous headlines from the week, and Loud & Clear producer Nicole Roussell.
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