The way yesterday’s first day of impeachment hearings went depends on your political viewpoint. CNN and MSNBC say that the testimony included bombshells about President Trump and his quid pro quo from two career diplomats that have upended the entire story. Fox says the hearings were boring and pointless and didn’t tell us anything important or that we didn’t already know. There were no hearings scheduled for today, but former Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovich, whom President Trump recalled as ambassador months ago, will testify tomorrow.
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 this country. Paul Wright, the founder and executive director of the Human Rights Defense Center and editor of Prison Legal News (PLN), and Kevin Gosztola, a writer for Shadowproof.com and co-host of the podcast Unauthorized Disclosure, join the show.
Former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick said yesterday that he would enter the Democratic presidential race. This is just days after former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg did the same. And a new poll from Iowa has shocked the race by showing South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg in first place there. Meanwhile, former Vice President Joe Biden released his infrastructure plan and attacked Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, calling her “angry” and thus unfit to be President. Brian and John speak with Jacqueline Luqman, the editor-in-chief of Luqman Nation, whose livestream is on every week on Facebook and Youtube.
The situation in Bolivia continues its sharp move to the right, as self-proclaimed president Jeanine Anez, along with military and police leaders, continue to crack down on indigenous people and leftists. With thousands of protestors in the streets, exiled President Evo Morales urged Anez not to “stain herself with the blood of Bolivians.” And despite talk that Morales may seek to return to Bolivia, countries around the world are beginning to recognize the Anez government. Gerry Condon, a Vietnam-era veteran and war resister who has been a peace and solidarity activist for almost 50 years, currently as national president of Veterans for Peace, joins the show.
Police in Washington yesterday tried unsuccessfully yesterday to arrest our friend Medea Benjamin, the co-founder of the peace group Code Pink. They failed because they had no arrest warrant. But they made the ridiculous allegation that Medea had assaulted Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz at a press conference Wasserman Schultz attended in support of Venezuelan presidential pretender Juan Guaido. This action by the Washington DC police fits a new pattern, whereby truthtellers are being falsely arrested and charged with crimes after a massive show of police force just to silence them and to frighten others. Medea Benjamin, a well-known peace activist and the co-founder of the peace group Code Pink, joins Brian and John.
Violence in Hong Kong continues to worsen, with protestors making and practicing throwing petrol bombs in a dry swimming pool on a university campus. The level of unrest and destruction in the almost six-month-long protest has reached new heights in recent days, with the Chinese state media warning protestors that they are “at the edge of doom.” KJ Noh, a peace activist and scholar on the geopolitics of Asia, and a frequent contributor to Counterpunch and Dissident Voice, 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.
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