US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley announced last night that the US would withdraw from the United Nations Human Rights Council, calling it a "cesspool of political bias." The action was taken in a fit of pique after 120 countries voted to condemn Israel for its killing of Palestinians along the Gaza border. Meanwhile, an exchange of rocket fire and Israeli airstrikes in Gaza threatens to spiral into all-out war.
Images of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents separating children from their parents at the border are in the front of our collective minds right now. But believe it or not, the policy of breaking up families has a long and ugly history in the United States. For decades the government sent native children to boarding schools, where they were stripped of their culture and abused physically, emotionally, and sexually. Denise Lajimodiere, professor of educational leadership at North Dakota State University and president of the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition, and Andrea Carmen, executive director of the International Indian Treaty Council, join the show.
Beyond Nuclear with Kevin Kamps is Loud & Clear's regular Wednesday segment. The hosts and Kevin look at nuclear issues, including weapons, energy, waste, and the future of nuclear technology in the United States. Today they focus on the proposed nuclear and coal bailout, as well as localities pushing back against poorly designed nuclear waste disposal. Brian and John speak with Kevin Kamps, the Radioactive Waste Watchdog at the organization Beyond Nuclear, and Loud & Clear producer Nicole Roussell.
Republicans on Capitol Hill are scrambling to put together a bill that would reunite migrant children with their parents, as eight governors announce that they will not allow their state National Guard units to deploy to the border, professional organizations warn of the long term effects of separation on the children, and the policy galvanized Democrats. Brent Wilkes, a leading immigrant rights advocate, joins the show.
Military officers of the United Arab Emirates are running a system of at least 18 secret prisons in Yemen. Former detainees from those prisons say the Emiratis raped and tortured them in a pattern of sexual violence and abuse that was carried out all across the country. Kathy Kelly, co-coordinator of Voices for Creative Non-Violence, joins Brian and John.
National PUBLIC Radio seems to have a problem with government-related media outlets. This morning the station ran yet another ridiculous hit piece going after RT and Sputnik. Ted Rall, an award-winning editorial cartoonist and columnist whose work is at www.rall.com, joins the show.
Former CIA director John Brennan told MSNBC yesterday that he was alarmed by reports that the Trump Administration has carried out five times the number of drone attacks around the world than the Obama Administration carried out. Brennan claimed that the Obama drone program killed almost no civilians at all and that Trump must be killing civilians due to the sheer volume of the bombings. Brian and John speak with Dr. Nazia Kazi, an activist and professor of anthropology at Stockton University, and Dr. Margaret Flowers, the co-coordinator of Popular Resistance whose work is at PopularResistance.org.
Violence continued across Nicaragua today, a day after the collapse of talks between President Daniel Ortega and the opposition. More than 180 people have been killed in violence started when the IMF demanded that the government cut pensions and impose economic austerity. Nils McCune, a political analyst and journalist, joins the show.
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