Vice President Pence said yesterday that coronavirus testing and treatment will be covered by Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance companies. But what about those Americans who don’t have insurance coverage? Will they elect to not get tested at all?
After spending some $700 million of his own money and winning only a handful of delegates, former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg dropped out of the race and endorsed Joe Biden. And now Bloomberg is putting even more money where his mouth is. He is transferring all of his prepaid assets--campaign offices, staff, and even advertising--to Biden. Meanwhile, Elizabeth Warren announced that she was dropping out of the race. Dave Lindorff, an investigative reporter, a columnist for CounterPunch, and a contributor to The Nation, Extra! and Salon.com, and whose writings are at ThisCantBeHappening.net, joins the show.
Russian President Putin and Turkish President Erdogan met in Moscow today to try to hammer out a deal that avoids further violence in Syria. Faced with increasing military losses in Idlib Province and a wave of refugees, Erdogan is eager for a ceasefire, and western European leaders are eager for Putin to step up pressure on the Turks to stem the flow of refugees. Brian and John speak with Mark Sleboda, a foreign affairs and security analyst.
The International Criminal Court greenlit an investigation of war crimes committed in Afghanistan since 2003 by Afghan forces, US forces, and the Taliban. The decision is the first involving US forces in the court’s history. The ICC’s chief prosecutors said she has evidence that US forces “committed acts of torture, cruel treatment, outrages upon personal dignity, rape, and sexual violence” in Afghanistan and in clandestine CIA facilities. Jeremy Kuzmarov, a professor of American history whose latest book is “The Russians Are Coming, Again: The First Cold War as Tragedy, the Second as Farce,” joins the show.
Psychologists working for Immigration and Customs Enforcement are using confidential therapy notes from their conversations with detained immigrants against them in court in order to hasten their deportation. The Trump administration argues that the policy is legal. And while it may be, professional therapy organizations say it is unethical and immoral. Juan José Gutiérrez, the executive director of the Full Rights for Immigrants Coalition, joins Brian and John.
Thursday’s weekly series “Criminal Injustice” is about the most egregious conduct of our courts and prosecutors and how justice is denied to so many people in the US. Kevin Gosztola, a writer for Shadowproof.com and co-host of the podcast Unauthorized Disclosure, joins the show.
A regular Thursday segment deals with the ongoing militarization of space. As the US continues to withdraw from international arms treaties, will the weaponization and militarization of space bring the world closer to catastrophe? Brian and John speak with Prof. Karl Grossman, a full professor of journalism at the State University of New York, College at Old Westbury and the host of a nationally aired television program focused on environmental, energy, and space issues, and with Bruce Gagnon, coordinator of the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space and a contributor to Foreign Policy In Focus.
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