Pandora Papers Revelations; Dominion Energy Whitewashing; Facebook Whistleblower Speaks

Dan Lazare, journalist and writer, joins us to talk about the revelations from the Pandora Papers, totaling between 12 million records from offshore companies, giving a glimpse into the ways the wealthy and powerful move, manage and hide their money. We talk about how this group includes over 330 politicians, 130 Forbes billionaires, members of royal families, and religious leaders, among others, and the implications for figures and governments who claim to be against corruption, but now find themselves enmeshed in this scandal. We also talk about whether these revelations will have a meaningful impact, considering the precedent of the Panama Papers, and whether the Biden administration’s proposed changes to tax regulation will actually curtail offshore tax havens used by companies.

Wyatt Reed, Sputnik Radio correspondent, joins us to discuss the revelations from a new report highlighting the lengths Virginia-based Dominion Energy went to make sure their dirty name appeared clean in the press, including how Dominion spent nearly $19 million in lobbying, advertising, market research, political payouts, and membership fees over the last four years, including direct payments to newspaper columnists and academic professors. We also talk about the similarities of this case to others at the national level, and how this is representative of a larger issue of institutionalized corruption.

Ted Rall, award-winning political cartoonist, columnist, and author whose latest book is “The Stringer,” joins hosts Michelle Witte and Bob Schlehuber to discuss the fallout of the “60 Minutes” interview with Frances Haugen, a Facebook whistleblower who has revealed that Facebook has been putting profits over the well being of its users for a long time, how its algorithms promote misinformation, and even violence, and how higher-ups in the company turned a blind eye to these issues. We also talk about the bombing in Afghanistan that left many civilians dead in Kabul on Sunday, and the Western media coverage of the incident.