It’s Friday, so that means it's panel time.
The forecast for Hurricane Dorian keeps becoming more ominous and serious, particularly in Florida, even as the specifics as to exactly where it will strike remain uncertain. Dorian steadily strengthened Thursday night and Friday morning, growing into an “extremely dangerous” Category 3 storm with winds of 115 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center’s 2 p.m. EDT bulletin. This intensification trend is forecast to continue. By the time Dorian bears down on Florida on Labor Day, it is forecast to be a Category 4 hurricane with 140 mph winds.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani declared Tuesday that the US should lift sanctions against Tehran if it wants to negotiate, saying, "We will not witness any positive development unless the United States abandons its sanctions and corrects the wrong path it has chosen." This was just a day after Rouhani seemingly signaled a willingness to meet with US President Donald Trump, telling Iranian citizens that diplomacy could solve the country's problems. We'll discuss this in the context of Trump’s fabricated China phone call while at the recent G7 meeting in France.
Video doorbell company Ring is working with more than 400 police departments to make it easier for law enforcement to access homeowners videos. The Amazon-owned company made the announcement this week, saying the partnerships will allow local law enforcement agencies to post important safety information and view and comment on public posts to a portal operated by Ring. Is this really more "Big Brother" and law enforcement invading privacy?
It was reported on Monday that Bank of England Governor Mark Carney took aim at the US dollar's "destabilizing" role in the world economy last Friday and said central banks might need to join together to create their own replacement reserve currency. How big of a signal is this sending, and what is it a signal of?
Queen Elizabeth II approved a request by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson Friday to shut down Parliament for several weeks ahead of Britain’s upcoming departure from the European Union, a startling maneuver that will rob his opponents of time to thwart a no-deal Brexit. British lawmakers return to Parliament next week following their summer recess. Parliament then normally shuts down in late September when the political parties hold their annual conferences. The suspension will extend that period of inactivity. What does this say about the current state of Brexit?
Former FBI Director James Comey violated FBI policies in his handling of memos documenting private conversations with US President Donald Trump, the Justice Department’s inspector general said. The report found that none of the information shared by him or his attorneys with anyone in the media was classified, and the Justice Department has declined to prosecute him. Comey said he considered his memos to be personal rather than government documents, and that it never would’ve occurred to him to give them back to the FBI after he was fired. The inspector general’s office disagreed, citing a policy that FBI employees must give up all documents with FBI information once they leave the bureau. Is there a double standard here? You and I would go to jail for this sort of thing, but not Comey because we have different rules for ordinary people and the VIPs. "We have previously faulted Comey for acting unilaterally and inconsistent with Department policy. Comey’s unauthorized disclosure of sensitive law enforcement information about the [Michael] Flynn investigation merits similar criticism," the inspector general noted.
GUESTS:
Caleb Maupin — Journalist and political analyst who focuses his coverage on US foreign policy and the global system of monopoly capitalism and imperialism.
Dr. Jack Rasmus — Professor of economics at Saint Mary's College of California and author of "Central Bankers at the End of Their Ropes: Monetary Policy and the Coming Depression."
Daniel Lazare — Journalist and author of three books: "The Frozen Republic," "The Velvet Coup" and "America's Undeclared War."
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