The US and Finland are working on a new deal to govern the military relationship between the two nations. Finland recently became the thirty-first member of NATO, doubling the alliance's border with Russia. Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations security analyst, joins us to discuss this new level of escalation between Russia and NATO and why this is happening. He also explains what this will mean for the border and how Russia will likely respond.
An Atlanta-area prosecutor investigating whether former president Donald Trump and his associates broke the law when they sought to overturn Trump's 2020 election loss in Georgia is expected to begin presenting the case before a grand jury early this week. John Burris, civil rights attorney, gives his assessment, saying that an effort was made to disqualify the Black vote in Fulton County by the Trump campaign, and he is concerned that if the indictment is too large and too broad, the jurors may become confused.
The deposed president of Niger, Mohamed Bazoum, may face treason charges, the military leadership that unseated him last month announced. This move marks a new escalation in tensions with Niger's neighboring countries considering military action against the military takeover leaders. Dr. Gerald Horne, Professor of History at the University of Houston, TX, author, historian, and researcher, posits that both the US and France, which are encouraging an intervention by Nigeria, and the economic community of African states that it leads may have overreached and why.
Dr. Shantella Sherman, historian, joins us to talk about recent reports of tens and thousands of ethnic minority body parts including over 250 brains collected by The Smithsonian's Natural History Museum over a hundred years ago, mostly without the consent of the families, to "demonstrate the superiority of white brains." Dr. Sherman discusses the practice, how it was able to happen, and the reach that this practice had throughout many institutions.
Pakistan has formally told Iran it cannot withstand US pressure and has requested Iran suspend its contractual obligation on the completion of the multi-billion dollar Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project, citing external factors beyond Islamabad's control. James Carey, Host of "The Lefts is Dead" podcast, joins us to discuss the US's role in exerting a pressure campaign again on Iran and tells us the reasons behind the US's involvement.
Orinoco Tribune reports that last week Venezuelan authorities announced that Portuguese courts have ruled in favor of Venezuela and ordered Novo Banco to return $1.5 billion illegally seized from accounts belonging to the Venezuelan government after the failed 2019 US-led regime change operation that attempted to oust President Nicolas Maduro. Dan Kovalik, writer, author, and lawyer, shares his insight on the ruling, whether Venezuela will get its money, and what this might mean for other countries holding Venezuelan assets. Dan also discusses the Julian Assange case and Ambassador Caroline Kennedy being quoted in a recent article that the US is open to a Julian Assange plea deal.
An article in Consortium News reports that France and the US have been blindsided by popular support for Niger's coup, as the trend towards multipolarity emboldens Africans to confront neo-colonial exploitation. Jon Jeter, journalist, and author, joins us to discuss the article, saying we are seeing a seismic shift in the geopolitical order, that there doesn't appear to be an option for the West to reclaim their power in Niger, and what this means moving forward.
Caleb Maupin, journalist and political analyst, joins us to discuss the military takeover in Niger, saying that while it's good that Africa is asserting its independence, what would be best for the world right now would be de-escalation on all sides. Caleb posits that a big war would not be good since the region has been the site of many deaths over the past 100 years due to its possession of oil-rich land.
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