Politics has been called a rigged game, with elites using money and organizational resources to pull the puppet strings of most candidates for high office. However, the entrance into the race for US president of candidates Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump who both reject funding from Wall Street threatens to challenge that truism. This week’s Global Research News Hour attempts to cut through the propaganda and jargon and assess what real options are out there for making substantive and humane political change. William Blum is a long-time critic of US foreign policy. He has authored five books including his most recent, America’s Deadliest Export: Democracy – The Truth About US Foreign Policy and Everything Else. He also publishes the “Anti-Empire Report” on his site www dot williamblum dot org. In this interview, Blum outlines his reservations about Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, the problematic media coverage of the campaign, and the astonishing view that Trump may actually be the less objectionable in certain respects than both Sanders and Clinton. Mark Robinowitz is publisher of oilempire dot us, a political map to connect the dots.  He has been a writer, political activist, ecological campaigner and permaculture practitioner for over three decades.  He is also author of the forthcoming Peak Choice: cooperation or collapse, an uncensored guide to Earth, energy and money. In this interview, Robinowitz equates the choice between the Democrats and the Republicans to one between death by lethal injection and death by the electric chair. He outlines the mechanisms employed to stop any threat to the establishment from ever becoming elected president. He also explains how the energy and economic decline is becoming reflected in the politics of the Trump campaign.

Politics has been called a rigged game, with elites using money and organizational resources to pull the puppet strings of most candidates for high office. However, the entrance into the race for US president of candidates Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump who both reject funding from Wall Street threatens to challenge that truism. This week’s Global Research News Hour attempts to cut through the propaganda and jargon and assess what real options are out there for making substantive and humane political change. William Blum is a long-time critic of US foreign policy. He has authored five books including his most recent, <a href="http://williamblum.org/books/americas-deadliest-export" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">America’s Deadliest Export: Democracy</a> – The Truth About US Foreign Policy and Everything Else. He also publishes the “Anti-Empire Report” on his site <a href="http://www.williamblum.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www dot williamblum dot org</a>. In this interview, Blum outlines his reservations about Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, the problematic media coverage of the campaign, and the astonishing view that Trump may actually be the less objectionable in certain respects than both Sanders and Clinton. Mark Robinowitz is publisher of <a href="http://oilempire.us" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">oilempire dot us</a>, a political map to connect the dots.  He has been a writer, political activist, ecological campaigner and permaculture practitioner for over three decades.  He is also author of the forthcoming Peak Choice: cooperation or collapse, an uncensored guide to Earth, energy and money. In this interview, Robinowitz equates the choice between the Democrats and the Republicans to one between death by lethal injection and death by the electric chair. He outlines the mechanisms employed to stop any threat to the establishment from ever becoming elected president. He also explains how the energy and economic decline is becoming reflected in the politics of the Trump campaign.

Global Research News Hour - U.S. Campaign 2016: Searching for Democracy in a Broken System - 03.21.16

The first interview is with Linda Pentz Gunter, international specialist for the environmental advocacy group ‘Beyond Nuclear.’ In this conversation, Gunter addresses the question of whether nuclear is being seriously explored as an alternative to the climate-ravaging fossil fuel industry. She also outlines aspects of the Fukushima cover-up, and why international bodies and media are failing to hold nuclear and government agencies to account. In the final half hour, Portland-based Mimi German, Earth activist and founder of Radcast.org, speaks more about the cover-up, the nuclear situation in the U.S. and the consequences for society and all life on earth.

The first interview is with Linda Pentz Gunter, international specialist for the environmental advocacy group ‘<a href="http://www.beyondnuclear.org" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Beyond Nuclear</a>.’ In this conversation, Gunter addresses the question of whether nuclear is being seriously explored as an alternative to the climate-ravaging fossil fuel industry. She also outlines aspects of the Fukushima cover-up, and why international bodies and media are failing to hold nuclear and government agencies to account. In the final half hour, Portland-based Mimi German, Earth activist and founder of <a href="http://Radcast.org" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Radcast.org</a>, speaks more about the cover-up, the nuclear situation in the U.S. and the consequences for society and all life on earth.

Global Research News Hour - Fukushima At Five: Reflections on the Crime, the Cover-up and the Future of Nuclear Energy - 03.14.16

On this week's Global Research News Hour, on the occasion of the March 3, 2016 meeting of Canadian federal and provincial leaders in Vancouver on to work out an agreement on a national climate change plan, we explore the implications of proposed climate solutions for the future of Canada's nuclear industry, environment and energy security. We'll be joined by anti-nuclear activist Candyce Paul of the Committee for Future Generations, and by political economist, professor and author Gordon Laxer.

On this week's Global Research News Hour, on the occasion of the March 3, 2016 meeting of Canadian federal and provincial leaders in Vancouver on to work out an agreement on a national climate change plan, we explore the implications of proposed climate solutions for the future of Canada's nuclear industry, environment and energy security. We'll be joined by anti-nuclear activist Candyce Paul of the Committee for Future Generations, and by political economist, professor and author Gordon Laxer.

Global Research News Hour - Nuclear Alternatives and ‘North American Security’ – False Canadian Solutions to the Climate Crisis - 03.07.16

Dissecting Operation Inherent Resolve: Conversations with Lawrence Wilkerson and Mahdi Nazemroaya This Repeat broadcast of the Global Research News Hour (October 17, 2014) Global Research News Hour centres on the current military mobilization against the entity known as ISIL/ISIS. Can boots on the ground be avoided? Is there an ulterior motive to the bombing campaign related to regional control? What does ISIL/ISIS's successful campaign for control of the Kurdish village of Kobani say about the sincerity of this latest War on Terrorism? This hour attempts to address these and other questions.

Dissecting Operation Inherent Resolve: Conversations with Lawrence Wilkerson and Mahdi Nazemroaya This Repeat broadcast of the Global Research News Hour (October 17, 2014) Global Research News Hour centres on the current military mobilization against the entity known as ISIL/ISIS. Can boots on the ground be avoided? Is there an ulterior motive to the bombing campaign related to regional control? What does ISIL/ISIS's successful campaign for control of the Kurdish village of Kobani say about the sincerity of this latest War on Terrorism? This hour attempts to address these and other questions.

Global Research News Hour - 07.13.15

REPEAT - Greece: From Austerity to Prosperity? Conversations with Ellen Brown and Binoy KampmarkIn this installment of the Global Research News Hour, we examine the dynamics of the Greek economy and why the Greek people voted the anti-austerity Syriza Party to power.  Ellen Brown of the Public Banking Institute explains the role of Goldman Sachs in setting up Greece for a fall, and how the Mediterranean country could survive the end of the bail-outs.  In the second half hour, scholar, RMIT University lecturer and Counterpunch contributing editor Binoy Kampmark talks about the background of Syriza, the political culture on the ground, and what the future may hold for a financially emancipated Greece as well as other European countries.

REPEAT - Greece: From Austerity to Prosperity? Conversations with Ellen Brown and Binoy KampmarkIn this installment of the Global Research News Hour, we examine the dynamics of the Greek economy and why the Greek people voted the anti-austerity Syriza Party to power. Ellen Brown of the Public Banking Institute explains the role of Goldman Sachs in setting up Greece for a fall, and how the Mediterranean country could survive the end of the bail-outs. In the second half hour, scholar, RMIT University lecturer and Counterpunch contributing editor Binoy Kampmark talks about the background of Syriza, the political culture on the ground, and what the future may hold for a financially emancipated Greece as well as other European countries.

Global Research News Hour - 07.06.15

Mahdi Nazemroaya

Guy McPherson

This week's Global Research News Hour examines two of the biggest threats to human existence on planet Earth: the elimination of human habitat due to Climate Change and the dangers of an increasingly likely World War 3 scenario evolving out of the tensions growing between US/NATO and Russia/China.   The first interview guest is Guy Mcpherson, Emeritus Professor of Natural Resources and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Arizona, and author of the blog Nature Bats Last (guymcpherson.com) He has put together a workshop on Abrupt Climate change on the site onlyloveremains.org  The second guest is Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya, a Sociologist and a Research associate with the Centre for Research on Globalization, and an award-winning author. His book The Globalization of NATO is available for purchase at the Global Research Website. Nazemroaya lays out the geopolitical dynamics pushing the US/NATO in the direction of a nuclear confrontation with RUSSIA and China.

This week's Global Research News Hour examines two of the biggest threats to human existence on planet Earth: the elimination of human habitat due to Climate Change and the dangers of an increasingly likely World War 3 scenario evolving out of the tensions growing between US/NATO and Russia/China.  The first interview guest is Guy Mcpherson, Emeritus Professor of Natural Resources and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Arizona, and author of the blog Nature Bats Last (<a href="http://guymcpherson.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">guymcpherson.com</a>) He has put together a workshop on Abrupt Climate change on the site <a href="http://onlyloveremains.org" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">onlyloveremains.org</a> The second guest is Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya, a Sociologist and a Research associate with the Centre for Research on Globalization, and an award-winning author. His book The Globalization of NATO is available for purchase at the Global Research Website. Nazemroaya lays out the geopolitical dynamics pushing the US/NATO in the direction of a nuclear confrontation with RUSSIA and China.

Doomsday Scenarios: Conversations with Guy McPherson and Mahdi Nazemroaya - 06.29.15

As Freedom Flotilla III is departing from an undisclosed location in the Mediterranean Sea to Gaza, this week's Global Research News Hour focuses on activists abroad coming to the assistance of that region's destitute population.  We'll speak to Richard Day, a Queen's University Professor and colleague of one of the Freedom Flotilla participants about the parallels between the plight of Palestinians in Israeli occupied territories and the plight of Indigenous peoples in Colonized Canada. We'll hear a pre-recorded commentary from Professor Lovelace. We'll hear from activist and Canadian Boat to Gaza Steering Committee member David Heap about the Flotilla itself, and we'll hear from Dr. Benjamin Thomson, a physician who has worked in Gaza and is behind an exciting initiative to power Gaza hospitals with Solar panels.

As Freedom Flotilla III is departing from an undisclosed location in the Mediterranean Sea to Gaza, this week's Global Research News Hour focuses on activists abroad coming to the assistance of that region's destitute population. We'll speak to Richard Day, a Queen's University Professor and colleague of one of the Freedom Flotilla participants about the parallels between the plight of Palestinians in Israeli occupied territories and the plight of Indigenous peoples in Colonized Canada. We'll hear a pre-recorded commentary from Professor Lovelace. We'll hear from activist and Canadian Boat to Gaza Steering Committee member David Heap about the Flotilla itself, and we'll hear from Dr. Benjamin Thomson, a physician who has worked in Gaza and is behind an exciting initiative to power Gaza hospitals with Solar panels.

Palestine Solidarity: Freedom Flotilla III and Empowering Gaza with Solar Power - 06.22.15

With a major humanitarian crisis hitting the population of Yemen in the wake of the Saudi Arabia-led bombing campaign, the Global Research News Hour takes alook at the damage that has been done to civilians in the country, the roots of the conflict, the involvement of outside powers and the prospects for peace at the June 14 UN peace talks in Geneva, Switzerland. Hisham Al-Omeisy is a Yemen information and political analyst based in Sana'a. He has through social media been relaying what he has been seeing and experiencing during the siege.  Ali Saeed is the General Secretary with the Solidarity Committee for Ethiopian Political Prisoners. He speaks briefly about the polight of refugees and migrants in particular during the conflict. Abayomi Azikiwe is a geopolicital analyst and the editor of Pan-African Newswire. He provides the historical and geo-political context to the unfolding catastrophe.

With a major humanitarian crisis hitting the population of Yemen in the wake of the Saudi Arabia-led bombing campaign, the Global Research News Hour takes alook at the damage that has been done to civilians in the country, the roots of the conflict, the involvement of outside powers and the prospects for peace at the June 14 UN peace talks in Geneva, Switzerland. Hisham Al-Omeisy is a Yemen information and political analyst based in Sana'a. He has through social media been relaying what he has been seeing and experiencing during the siege.  Ali Saeed is the General Secretary with the Solidarity Committee for Ethiopian Political Prisoners. He speaks briefly about the polight of refugees and migrants in particular during the conflict. Abayomi Azikiwe is a geopolicital analyst and the editor of Pan-African Newswire. He provides the historical and geo-political context to the unfolding catastrophe.

Yemen: The Silent Slaughter - 06.15.15

The Global Research News Hour speaks to Sabah Al-Mukhtar, president of the london-based Arab Lawyers Association, and with Inder Comar, the legal representative of an Iraqi Woman suing the US government over the war crimes committed in Iraq. The two lawyers discuss the realistic prospects of former US President Bush and former UK Prome Minister actuall being brought to justice.

Global Research News Hour - Iraq War Crimes: Holding Bush and Blair to Account - 06.08.15

Omar Khadr

In the wake of the recently announced release on bail of Omar Khadr, the Global Research News Hour returns to the case of the young man jailed in the notorious prison camp for nearly a decade.  In the first half hour, Khadr's lawyer Dennis Edney expertly debunks many of the talking points being put forward by critics like the Conservative government and Ezra Levant about Khadr's status as a "Confessed terrorist" and outlines the numerous ways in which the Canadian government violated Khadr's Charter rights.  In the second half hour, Michel Chossudovsky expands on the Khadr tragedy by pointing to a Seymour Hersh article exposing the protection of Al Qaeda militants in theatre and the known incarceration of civilians at Guantanamo. Chossudovsky explains how the facility serves a propaganda function that enables the so-called "War on Terrorism."

In the wake of the recently announced release on bail of Omar Khadr, the Global Research News Hour returns to the case of the young man jailed in the notorious prison camp for nearly a decade. In the first half hour, Khadr's lawyer Dennis Edney expertly debunks many of the talking points being put forward by critics like the Conservative government and Ezra Levant about Khadr's status as a "Confessed terrorist" and outlines the numerous ways in which the Canadian government violated Khadr's Charter rights. In the second half hour, Michel Chossudovsky expands on the Khadr tragedy by pointing to a Seymour Hersh article exposing the protection of Al Qaeda militants in theatre and the known incarceration of civilians at Guantanamo. Chossudovsky explains how the facility serves a propaganda function that enables the so-called "War on Terrorism."

Omar Khadr, Guantanamo, and the "War On Terrorism" - 05.18.15

globalresearch

Most human beings by nature are anti-war. All military conflicts involve death and destruction, to say nothing of unintended consequences. This is why for generations, military planners have made use of war pretext incidents to galvanize war-averse populations behind aggressive military actions against other countries. These rationales are at core psychological operations utilizing justifications for military action generally not reflecting the government’s REAL reasons for going to war. As researcher and anti-war campaigner Richard Sanders chronicles in his magazine Press For Conversion, war pretext incidents were involved in the Mexican-American War (1846), the Spanish-American War (1898), both World Wars, the Vietnam War (1964), the Wars against Iraq in 1991 and 2003, and NATO’s War Against Yugoslavia in 1999, among others. Richard Sanders appears on this week’s Global Research News Hour to discuss this routine propaganda practice, and whether the August chemical attacks in a suburb of Damascus fit the pattern of standard war pre-text incidents. In the final half hour of this week’s program, we hear two perspectives on one war pre-text in particular, that being the ‘Humanitarian Intervention.’ Lloyd Axworthy was the former Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister who authorized Canada’s military intervention in Yugoslavia in 1999 for humanitarian reasons. He recently co-authored a commentary in the Globe and Mail promoting a humanitarian intervention in Syria along the lines of the ‘Kosovo Model.’ The Global Research News Hour allowed Dr. Axworthy, now the President of the University of Winnipeg, room to make his case. Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya, however, strenuously disagrees with Dr. Axworthy’s viewpoint, arguing that the ‘Responsibility to Protect’ doctrine frequently results in worsening a situation from a humanitarian perspective. Nazemroaya is a geo-political analyst specializing in Middle East and Central Asia politics. He is a Research Associate with the Centre for Research on Globalization, and the award-winning author of The Globalization of NATO and The War on Libya and the Re-Colonization of Africa. Nazemroaya was in Libya in 2011, and witnessed NATO’s Humanitarian intervention there first hand.

Most human beings by nature are anti-war. All military conflicts involve death and destruction, to say nothing of unintended consequences. This is why for generations, military planners have made use of war pretext incidents to galvanize war-averse populations behind aggressive military actions against other countries. These rationales are at core psychological operations utilizing justifications for military action generally not reflecting the government’s REAL reasons for going to war. As researcher and anti-war campaigner Richard Sanders chronicles in his magazine <a href="http://coat.ncf.ca/P4C.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Press For Conversion</a>, war pretext incidents were involved in the Mexican-American War (1846), the Spanish-American War (1898), both World Wars, the Vietnam War (1964), the Wars against Iraq in 1991 and 2003, and NATO’s War Against Yugoslavia in 1999, among others. Richard Sanders appears on this week’s Global Research News Hour to discuss this routine propaganda practice, and whether the August chemical attacks in a suburb of Damascus fit the pattern of standard war pre-text incidents. In the final half hour of this week’s program, we hear two perspectives on one war pre-text in particular, that being the ‘Humanitarian Intervention.’ Lloyd Axworthy was the former Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister who authorized Canada’s military intervention in Yugoslavia in 1999 for humanitarian reasons. He recently co-authored a commentary in the Globe and Mail promoting a humanitarian intervention in Syria along the lines of the ‘Kosovo Model.’ The Global Research News Hour allowed Dr. Axworthy, now the President of the University of Winnipeg, room to make his case. Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya, however, strenuously disagrees with Dr. Axworthy’s viewpoint, arguing that the ‘Responsibility to Protect’ doctrine frequently results in worsening a situation from a humanitarian perspective. Nazemroaya is a geo-political analyst specializing in Middle East and Central Asia politics. He is a Research Associate with the Centre for Research on Globalization, and the award-winning author of The Globalization of NATO and The War on Libya and the Re-Colonization of Africa. Nazemroaya was in Libya in 2011, and witnessed NATO’s Humanitarian intervention there first hand.

Global Research News Hour - Justifying War: From Yugoslavia to Syria - 09/30/13

Naomi Wolf

This installment of the Global Research News Hour features coverage of the ongoing efforts by the Canadian government to put in place anti-terrorism legislation which undermines Canadian freedoms at the expense of privacy and other Rights we take for granted.First we hear from the Director of the acclaimed film `The Secret Trial 5, a film about 5 people detained cumulatively for 30 years without conviction in the name of National Security. We hear a speech from Canadian Green Party leader about Bill C51. and we conclude the show with Naomi Wolf, author of the book `THe End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young patriot.`Wolf`s book documents how authoritarian powers have consistently applied ten measures when shutting down democracies around the world.

This installment of the Global Research News Hour features coverage of the ongoing efforts by the Canadian government to put in place anti-terrorism legislation which undermines Canadian freedoms at the expense of privacy and other Rights we take for granted. First we hear from the Director of the acclaimed film `The Secret Trial 5, a film about 5 people detained cumulatively for 30 years without conviction in the name of National Security.  We hear a speech from Canadian Green Party leader about Bill C51. and we conclude the show with Naomi Wolf, author of the book `THe End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young patriot.`Wolf`s book documents how authoritarian powers have consistently applied ten measures when shutting down democracies around the world.

The End of Canada in Ten Steps: A Conversation with Naomi Wolf - 03.23.15

More from the Toronto 9/11 Hearings: This week’s installment of the Global Research New Hour marks the fourth of a five part series highlighting research into the World Trade Center attacks and the need for a renewed investigation.

Global Research News Hour - The Toronto Hearings on 9/11: Academics Examine the Evidence - 09/09/13

More from the Toronto 9/11 Hearings: This week’s installment of the Global Research New Hour marks the fourth of a five part series highlighting research into the World Trade Center attacks and the need for a renewed investigation.

Global Research News Hour - 08/26/13

Chris Hedges

On this, the holiday edition of the Global Research News Hour, we present a talk by Chris Hedges.

Global Research News Hour - Chris Hedges - 12/30/13

If observers in the West naively believed that severing South Sudan from its northern counterpart would resolve the human rights situation there, the events of the last several weeks will have decisively dashed those hopes. The major fighting erupted on December 15 of last year when South Sudan Presisdent Salva Kiir accused his former deputy Riek Machar of launching a coup d’etat against him. Machar denied the charge.[2] A faction of the Sudanese Peoples Liberation Army (SPLA/M) had broken off and engaged in fighting against the main army under Kiir’s control.[3] The fighting has begun to align itself with different tribal factions – the Dinka, which Kiir represents, and the Nuer, which Machar represents.[4] As this program is being aired, peace talks between the two warring factions continue in Addis Ababa in neighbouring Ethiopia. The toll on the people of South Sudan has been devastating. UN Human Rights monitor Ivan Simonovic has disclosed that there are human rights atrocities being committed by both sides in the conflict, which include mass and extra-judicial killings, arbitrary detention, sexual violence and the use of child soldiers.[5] As of January 14, one month into the conflict, the UN Office for the Coordination of  Humanitarian Affairs estimates that 413,000 people have been internally displaced by the fighting with 74,000 having fled to neighbouring countries such as Uganda.[6] The International Crisis Group estimated a death toll of close to 10,000. [7] The Global Research News Hour takes a closer look at the conflict and its historical and geo-political under-pinnings with two Africa watchers. Ann Garrison is an independent journalist and broadcaster who has focused in recent years on war and resource extraction issues on the African Continent. A contributor to KPFA in Berkeley, California, she had a chance to interview Mobiar Garang de Mobiar, a negotiator for the opposition in the South Sudan peace talks in Addis Ababa. Garrison has also written for the San Francisco Bay View, the San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco Focus, Macworld, Macweek, the Op-Ed News, and Pambazuka News among other publications. She is also an occasional contributor to Global Research. Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya is a geo-political analyst and the award-winning author of The Globalization of NATO (Clarity Press). He is Research Associate at the Centre for Research on Globalization.

If observers in the West naively believed that severing South Sudan from its northern counterpart would resolve the human rights situation there, the events of the last several weeks will have decisively dashed those hopes. The major fighting erupted on December 15 of last year when South Sudan Presisdent Salva Kiir accused his former deputy Riek Machar of launching a coup d’etat against him. Machar denied the charge.[2] A faction of the Sudanese Peoples Liberation Army (SPLA/M) had broken off and engaged in fighting against the main army under Kiir’s control.[3] The fighting has begun to align itself with different tribal factions – the Dinka, which Kiir represents, and the Nuer, which Machar represents.[4] As this program is being aired, peace talks between the two warring factions continue in Addis Ababa in neighbouring Ethiopia. The toll on the people of South Sudan has been devastating. UN Human Rights monitor Ivan Simonovic has disclosed that there are human rights atrocities being committed by both sides in the conflict, which include mass and extra-judicial killings, arbitrary detention, sexual violence and the use of child soldiers.[5] As of January 14, one month into the conflict, the UN Office for the Coordination of  Humanitarian Affairs estimates that 413,000 people have been internally displaced by the fighting with 74,000 having fled to neighbouring countries such as Uganda.[6] The International Crisis Group estimated a death toll of close to 10,000. [7] The Global Research News Hour takes a closer look at the conflict and its historical and geo-political under-pinnings with two Africa watchers. <a href="http://www.anngarrison.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ann Garrison</a> is an independent journalist and broadcaster who has focused in recent years on war and resource extraction issues on the African Continent. A contributor to KPFA in Berkeley, California, she had a chance to interview <a href="http://www.anngarrison.com/audio/2014/01/11/487/garang-on-south-sudan-eight-million-suffered-daily-before-this-war-began" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mobiar Garang de Mobiar</a>, a negotiator for the opposition in the South Sudan peace talks in Addis Ababa. Garrison has also written for the San Francisco Bay View, the San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco Focus, Macworld, Macweek, the Op-Ed News, and Pambazuka News among other publications. She is also an occasional contributor to Global Research. <a href="http://www.globalresearch.ca/author/mahdi-darius-nazemroaya" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya</a> is a geo-political analyst and the award-winning author of <a href="https://store.globalresearch.ca/store/the-globalization-of-nato/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Globalization of NATO (Clarity Press)</a>. He is Research Associate at the Centre for Research on Globalization.

Global Research News Hour - South Sudan War: Tribal Discord or Imperialist Agenda? - 01/20/14

Rocco Galati

Free Trade agreements being adopted by Canada are undermining the ability of governments to protect the public good. That is the conclusion of the civil society farm, labour, indigenous, student, cultural, environmental and other organizations that have come together under the banner of the Trade Justice Network. With January marking the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the TJN recently organized the “Intercontinental Day of Action Against the TPP and Corporate Globalization,” a call to resist the TPP (Trans Pacific Partnership) and similar trade deals. These progressive organizations believe that the free trade agenda, embodied by NAFTA and its offspring, represent a “corporate power grab” that threaten “working families, small farmers, indigenous peoples, small business and the environment in all three countries and beyond.” Traditional strategies for resisting these legislative instruments have famously included mass mobilizations, such as were seen in Seattle (1999) and the Quebec Summit of the Americas (2001), not to mention standard protests, petitions, and other efforts at lobbying politicians to change their minds. Less seasoned activists may resort to throwing their weight behind the campaign of an opposition politician who pays lip service to resisting corporate trade deals, but offers little in the way of concrete action once in a position of power and influence. Another less talked about approach however, is utilizing those legal instruments already available to the people, in the form of constitutional court challenges. Enter Rocco Galati. Galati has over the course of his legal career criticised actions by the State at the Summit of the Americas and the G20 in Toronto. He has represented terrorism-related and other cases that many other lawyers won’t touch. He is currently engaged in a number of interesting battles challenging the government, including a challenge against the Finance Minister and the Bank of Canada, and a challenge to Health Canada’s restrictions on the sale of natural health products. Galati argues that the afore-mentioned trade agreements, insofar as they are being implemented without the approval of the Canadian Parliament are unconstitutional. Galati had in fact attempted to challenge the Multi-lateral Agreement on Investment (MAI) on the grounds that it conferred on to trans-national corporations powers that over-ride constitutionally protected jurisdiction. Galati explains this view in the first half hour. In the remainder of the program, Galati provides an update of the case he is championing against the Bank of Canada. Galati also resurrects some older cases he took on. He talks about his defence of one of the Toronto 18 terrorism plotters, Ahmad Mustafa Ghany. He talks about his former client, Delmart Vreeland, the jailed Naval Intelligence officer who attempted to warn Canadian and American law enforcement authorities of the attacks of September 11, 2001. He talks about a death threat he received years ago that caused him to back off of the case ofAbdurahman Khadr. He talks about what he calls the ’500 mile Liberal Syndrome.’ He also talks about fundamental flaws in the system that, as he sees it, prevent ordinary men and women elected to high office from acting in the interests of the public.

Free Trade agreements being adopted by Canada are undermining the ability of governments to protect the public good. That is the conclusion of the civil society farm, labour, indigenous, student, cultural, environmental and other organizations that have come together under the banner of the <a href="http://www.tradejustice.ca/tpp/jan31/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Trade Justice Network</a>. With January marking the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the TJN recently organized the “Intercontinental Day of Action Against the TPP and Corporate Globalization,” a call to resist the TPP (Trans Pacific Partnership) and similar trade deals. These progressive organizations believe that the free trade agenda, embodied by NAFTA and its offspring, represent a “corporate power grab” that threaten “working families, small farmers, indigenous peoples, small business and the environment in all three countries and beyond.” Traditional strategies for resisting these legislative instruments have famously included mass mobilizations, such as were seen in Seattle (1999) and the Quebec Summit of the Americas (2001), not to mention standard protests, petitions, and other efforts at lobbying politicians to change their minds. Less seasoned activists may resort to throwing their weight behind the campaign of an opposition politician who pays lip service to resisting corporate trade deals, but offers little in the way of concrete action once in a position of power and influence. Another less talked about approach however, is utilizing those legal instruments already available to the people, in the form of constitutional court challenges. Enter Rocco Galati. Galati has over the course of his legal career criticised actions by the State at the Summit of the Americas and the G20 in Toronto. He has represented terrorism-related and other cases that many other lawyers won’t touch. He is currently engaged in a number of interesting battles challenging the government, including a challenge against <a href="http://www.globalresearch.ca/canada-starving-the-people-in-order-to-feed-the-banks/5314573" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">the Finance Minister and the Bank of Canada</a>, and a challenge to<a href="http://www.globalresearch.ca/outlawing-natural-health-the-fracking-bubble-the-life-and-death-of-hugo-chavez/5324952" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Health Canada’s restrictions on the sale of natural health products</a>. Galati argues that the afore-mentioned trade agreements, insofar as they are being implemented without the approval of the Canadian Parliament are unconstitutional. Galati had in fact attempted to challenge the Multi-lateral Agreement on Investment (MAI) on the grounds that it conferred on to trans-national corporations powers that over-ride constitutionally protected jurisdiction. Galati explains this view in the first half hour. In the remainder of the program, Galati provides an update of the case he is championing against the Bank of Canada. Galati also resurrects some older cases he took on. He talks about his defence of one of the Toronto 18 terrorism plotters, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/13/world/americas/13canada.html?pagewanted=print&amp;_r=0" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ahmad Mustafa Ghany</a>. He talks about his former client, <a href="http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/1252_rev_12802.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Delmart Vreeland</a>, the jailed Naval Intelligence officer who attempted to warn Canadian and American law enforcement authorities of the attacks of September 11, 2001. He talks about a death threat he received years ago that caused him to back off of the case of<a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/1205-10.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Abdurahman Khadr</a>. He talks about what he calls the ’500 mile Liberal Syndrome.’ He also talks about fundamental flaws in the system that, as he sees it, prevent ordinary men and women elected to high office from acting in the interests of the public.

Global Research News Hour - The People’s Fighter: Rocco Galati on Globalization, Sovereignty and Civil Liberties - 02/03/14

Refusing to Fight: Canadians Supporting US War DesertersCanada: A Refuge from Militarism? January 2014 marks the ten year anniversary since Jeremy Hinzman, US soldier with the 82nd Airborne Division, having deserted his battalion, crossed the border into Canada and sought refuge from a war he could not legally or morally participate in. In so doing, he became the first modern day US War Resister to seek asylum in Canada. Others followed. Brandon Hughey, David Sanders, Joshua Key, Kim Rivera, and ultimately more than two dozen others followed suit. All publicly declared their conscientious opposition to the US war agenda, particularly the conflict in Iraq. This is not including the more than one hundred who may have crossed over unacknowledged. Given the unpopularity of the Iraq War, especially in Canada, one would think there would be significant support for these military personnel who sacrificed their careers, their families and their reputations for an unknown future in a foreign country. However, the experience of today’s war resisters indicates otherwise. The current Conservative government in Canada seems anything but accommodating of US military deserters, regardless of the questionable legality of the conflicts they were ordered to participate in.

Refusing to Fight: Canadians Supporting US War DesertersCanada: A Refuge from Militarism? January 2014 marks the ten year anniversary since <a href="http://www.resisters.ca/resisters_stories.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Jeremy Hinzman</a>, US soldier with the 82nd Airborne Division, having deserted his battalion, crossed the border into Canada and sought refuge from a war he could not legally or morally participate in. In so doing, he became the first modern day US War Resister to seek asylum in Canada. Others followed. Brandon Hughey, David Sanders, Joshua Key, Kim Rivera, and ultimately more than two dozen others followed suit. All publicly declared their conscientious opposition to the US war agenda, particularly the conflict in Iraq. This is not including the more than one hundred who may have crossed over unacknowledged. Given the unpopularity of the Iraq War, especially in Canada, one would think there would be significant support for these military personnel who sacrificed their careers, their families and their reputations for an unknown future in a foreign country. However, the experience of today’s war resisters indicates otherwise. The current Conservative government in Canada seems anything but accommodating of US military deserters, regardless of the questionable legality of the conflicts they were ordered to participate in.

Global Research News Hour - 01/13/14

This installment of the Global Research News Hour focuses on the movement spreading throughout Canada and the world known as IDLE NO MORE.Guests include sociologist, writer and Indigenous activist Robert Animiiki Horton, and Professor of Globalization Studies Anthony Hall. They discuss the challenges facing the movement, advice for non-Indigenous supporters, and some of the historical and legal backdrop to this resurging resistance.

This installment of the Global Research News Hour focuses on the movement spreading throughout Canada and the world known as IDLE NO MORE. Guests include sociologist, writer and Indigenous activist Robert Animiiki Horton, and Professor of Globalization Studies Anthony Hall. They discuss the challenges facing the movement, advice for non-Indigenous supporters, and some of the historical and legal backdrop to this resurging resistance.

Global Research News Hour - 01/14/13

On today's program: Congo, Project Censored, and Doomsday 2012.

On today's program: Congo, Project Censored, and Doomsday 2012.

Global Research News Hour - 12/20/12

This week's Global Research News Hour analyses the results of the recent Israeli elections and evaluates resistance tools such as Boycott, Divestment, Sanction (BDS) especially in the face of opposition from political figures like Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Liberal leader Justin Trudeau. Interview guest James Petras explains how Netanyahu managed to secure the support of a plurality of Israeli voters, and what that portends for the future of Israeli relations in the region and worldwide.Bruce Katz of Palestinian and Jewish Unity is up next with a review of efforts to implement BDS in Canada and the obstacles solidarity activists face.JEff Halper talks about the abuses of Palestinians he has witnessed, about the potential for BDS and about why media can't get the message right.

This week's Global Research News Hour analyses the results of the recent Israeli elections and evaluates resistance tools such as Boycott, Divestment, Sanction (BDS) especially in the face of opposition from political figures like Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Liberal leader Justin Trudeau.  Interview guest James Petras explains how Netanyahu managed to secure the support of a plurality of Israeli voters, and what that portends for the future of Israeli relations in the region and worldwide. Bruce Katz of Palestinian and Jewish Unity is up next with a review of efforts to implement BDS in Canada and the obstacles solidarity activists face. JEff Halper talks about the abuses of Palestinians he has witnessed, about the potential for BDS and about why media can't get the message right.

Global Research News Hour - 03.30.15

In the month of February, fifteen former students of the for- profit Corinthian Colleges System declared they would no longer be paying off their sizable federal student loans. They see the Corinthian system as corrupt, making false promises and part of a predatory leding racket. This action sets the stage for a conversation about the Student debt crisis and the nature of money.Ellen Brown author, former civil litigation attorney and founder of the Public Banking Institute comes on in the first half hour. She explains how student debt is not only crippling the debt holders with unfair debt repyment obligations, it is used by money managers as a commodity not unlike the Subprime mortgages that infamously led to the financial meltdown of 2008. In the second half hour we hear a September 2011 speech given by San Francisco Bay Area-basedIndependent journalist and podcast producer Kellia Ramares-Watson. She goes further than Ellen BRown in suggesting that the money system not only has to be reformed but disbanded altogether. She suggests in the speech that students should default on their debts as a political action.

In the month of February, fifteen former students of the for- profit Corinthian Colleges System declared they would no longer be paying off their sizable federal student loans. They see the Corinthian system as corrupt, making false promises and part of a predatory leding racket. This action sets the stage for a conversation about the Student debt crisis and the nature of money. Ellen Brown author, former civil litigation attorney and founder of the Public Banking Institute comes on in the first half hour. She explains how student debt is not only crippling the debt holders with unfair debt repyment obligations, it is used by money managers as a commodity not unlike the Subprime mortgages that infamously led to the financial meltdown of 2008.  In the second half hour we hear a September 2011 speech given by San Francisco Bay Area-basedIndependent journalist and podcast producer Kellia Ramares-Watson. She goes further than Ellen BRown in suggesting that the money system not only has to be reformed but disbanded altogether. She suggests in the speech that students should default on their debts as a political action.

Student Debt Trap: Breaking the Grip of the Predatory Lenders - 03.16.15

The Global Research News Hour starts the new year off with a retrospective on  important international stories of 2013 ignored by the mainstream media. As noted elsewhere on this site, 2013 has been marked by spreading environmental  degradation, economic uncertainty, and increased military tensions.

The Global Research News Hour starts the new year off with a retrospective on  important international stories of 2013 ignored by the mainstream media. As noted elsewhere on this site, 2013 has been marked by spreading environmental  degradation, economic uncertainty, and increased military tensions.

Global Research News Hour - 01/07/13

On Friday February 27, a prominent Russian political figure, Boris Nemtsov, was murdered. Some effort has been made to try to connect this tragedy with the Russian government. This latest event takes place in the context of significant military casualties by Ukrainian forces in the Donbass, increasing dispatches of Canadian and US troops to the region, and an intensifying demonizayion campaign of Russian President Putin. To help contextualize these events, the global Research News Hour is joined by two editors of the website newcoldwar.org, a site which attempts to expose the truht about the Ukraine situation.

On Friday February 27, a prominent Russian political figure, Boris Nemtsov, was murdered. Some effort has been made to try to connect this tragedy with the Russian government. This latest event takes place in the context of significant military casualties by Ukrainian forces in the Donbass, increasing dispatches of Canadian and US troops to the region, and an intensifying demonizayion campaign of Russian President Putin. To help contextualize these events, the global Research News Hour is joined by two editors of the website <a href="http://newcoldwar.org" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">newcoldwar.org</a>, a site which attempts to expose the truht about the Ukraine situation.

Global Research News Hour - 03.09.15

Webster’s dictionary defines the term ‘Trojan Horse’ as follows: “…someone or something intended to defeat or subvert from within usually by deceptive means.”[3] The term has been applied by critics to any number of so-called free trade deals that Canada, the United States and other countries around the world are embracing. In Canada, the Harper government recently extolled the virtues of opening up new markets for Canadian goods, services and investment in the European Union and Asia as critical to the nation’s prosperity. Hence, determined efforts to secure free trade deals with these regions through the Canadian – European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) respectively are hailed by the government and pundits alike as centrepieces of the Harper government’s agenda going into 2014. Interesting that the details of these agreements are largely hidden from public scrutiny. The TPP in particular, as noted by Global Research author Kevin Zeese, has been drafted with an unprecedented degree of secrecy. The campaign ‘FLUSHTHETPP.org‘ claims that the gift horse that is increased trade and investment, conceals a corporate assault on food safety, the environment, worker rights, access to health care, and basically every facet of our lives as free citizens. A recent release of the Intellectual Property Rights Chapter from Wikileaks confirmed the fears of trade liberalization critics that the reach of patents, copyrights, and trade secrets will be extended at the expense of consumer rights and safeguards.[4] To quote Wikileaks editor in Chief Julian Assange: “If instituted, the TPP’s IP regime would trample over individual rights and free expression, as well as ride roughshod over the intellectual and creative commons. If you read, write, publish, think, listen, dance, sing or invent; if you farm or consume food; if you’re ill now or might one day be ill, the TPP has you in its crosshairs.”[5] The TPP secured third place among Project Censored’s most censored stories of 2012-2013. The Sonoma State University media research program describes the TPP as “an enforceable transfer of sovereignty from nations and their people to foreign corporations.” Dr. Margaret Flowers is a congressional fellow with Physicians for a National Health Program and a pediatrician based in Baltimore, Maryland. She has written extensively on the topic of the TPP, and has championed efforts to stop it in its tracks. Dr. Flowers joins the Global Research News Hour in the fist half of the programme to describe the onerous aspects of this deal, update us on the recent twelve nation talks in Singapore, America’s ‘Fast-Track’ legislation, and the realistic prospects of grassroots people to bring an end to this deal. CETA, likewise is cloaked in secrecy. Critics like Stuart Trew of the Council of Canadians argue the deal extends drug patents and makes community economic development initiatives such as ‘buy local’ policies subject to legal challenges under new procurement rules. Trew will fill out the second half of the programme with a comprehensive look at what we know about the CETA, and how that deal can be stopped.

Webster’s dictionary defines the term ‘Trojan Horse’ as follows: “…someone or something intended to defeat or subvert from within usually by deceptive means.”[3] The term has been applied by critics to any number of so-called free trade deals that Canada, the United States and other countries around the world are embracing. In Canada, the Harper government recently extolled the virtues of opening up new markets for Canadian goods, services and investment in the European Union and Asia as critical to the nation’s prosperity. Hence, determined efforts to secure free trade deals with these regions through the Canadian – European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) respectively are hailed by the government and pundits alike as centrepieces of the <a href="http://speech.gc.ca/eng/full-speech" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Harper government’s agenda going into 2014.</a> Interesting that the details of these agreements are largely hidden from public scrutiny. The TPP in particular, as noted by Global Research author<a href="http://www.globalresearch.ca/protest-against-the-trans-pacific-partnership-tpp-secret-negotiations-behind-closed-doors/5352012" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Kevin Zeese</a>, has been drafted with an unprecedented degree of secrecy. The campaign ‘<a href="http://flushthetpp.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">FLUSHTHETPP.org</a>‘ claims that the gift horse that is increased trade and investment, conceals a corporate assault on food safety, the environment, worker rights, access to health care, and basically every facet of our lives as free citizens. A recent release of the Intellectual Property Rights Chapter from Wikileaks confirmed the fears of trade liberalization critics that the reach of patents, copyrights, and trade secrets will be extended at the expense of consumer rights and safeguards.[4] To quote Wikileaks editor in Chief Julian Assange: “If instituted, the TPP’s IP regime would trample over individual rights and free expression, as well as ride roughshod over the intellectual and creative commons. If you read, write, publish, think, listen, dance, sing or invent; if you farm or consume food; if you’re ill now or might one day be ill, the TPP has you in its crosshairs.”[5] The <a href="http://www.projectcensored.org/3-trans-pacific-partnership-threatens-regime-corporate-global-governance/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">TPP secured third place</a> among Project Censored’s most censored stories of 2012-2013. The Sonoma State University media research program describes the TPP as “an enforceable transfer of sovereignty from nations and their people to foreign corporations.” Dr. Margaret Flowers is a congressional fellow with Physicians for a National Health Program and a pediatrician based in Baltimore, Maryland. She has written extensively on the topic of the TPP, and has championed efforts to stop it in its tracks. Dr. Flowers joins the Global Research News Hour in the fist half of the programme to describe the onerous aspects of this deal, update us on the recent twelve nation talks in Singapore, America’s ‘Fast-Track’ legislation, and the realistic prospects of grassroots people to bring an end to this deal. CETA, likewise is cloaked in secrecy. Critics like Stuart Trew of the <a href="http://canadians.org/trade" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Council of Canadians</a> argue the deal extends drug patents and makes community economic development initiatives such as ‘buy local’ policies subject to legal challenges under new procurement rules. Trew will fill out the second half of the programme with a comprehensive look at what we know about the CETA, and how that deal can be stopped.

Global Research News Hour - NAFTA on Steroids, Three “Secret” Concurrent “Free Trade” Deals: Can the TPP, the TTIP and CETA be Stopped? - 12/23/13

For much of the population, September 11 marks the anniversary of the infamous terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. But for the people of Chile, much of Latin America, and democratic reformers at large, it marks another significant anniversary. On the morning of September 11, 1973, all branches of the Chilean Armed Forces had conspired to wrest control of the country from democratically-elected leader Salvador Allende. Allende, having been tipped about the military’s activities, held his ground in his Presidential palace, La Moneda. After Allende refused to negotiate or surrender, General Augusto Pinochet ordered a siege on the compound accompanied by military helicopter gunships and Air Force bombers. Salvador Allende died during the melee, apparently by his own hand, and a military junta took power headed by General Pinochet. It is well documented that the US government, through the CIA, played a key role in the overthrow of the Allende government. The new order in Chile saw massive economic reforms take effect. An alarming number of people were imprisoned and tortured under his rule. Over three thousand people are estimated to have been killed during Pinochet’s 17 year reign. PInochet himself was eventually arrested in London in 1998, and faced with the unpleasant prospect of having to answer for his crimes. The 40th anniversary of Chile’s 9/11 is an occasion to ask what have been the impacts of the coup, and the dictatorship that followed? These questions are explored in depth by two people knowledgeable about the coup. Michel Chossudovsky was a visiting Professor of Economics in Chile at the time of the coup. In this week’s radio show, Chossudovsky reflects on his memories of the coup, and looks at how it served as a dress-rehearsal for the use of macro-economic reform as a weapon for disarming governments worldwide. Peter Kornbluh then recounts the US role in the affair. He is the author of The Pinochet File: A Declassified Dossier on Atrocity and Accountability, recently updated to mark the 40th anniversary of the coup. Not only does he elaborate on the proof of the US connection with the coup, he explains his conviction that the arrest of Pinochet marks a major turning point in terms of holding past and present state criminals accountable.

For much of the population, September 11 marks the anniversary of the infamous terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. But for the people of Chile, much of Latin America, and democratic reformers at large, it marks another significant anniversary. On the morning of September 11, 1973, all branches of the Chilean Armed Forces had conspired to wrest control of the country from democratically-elected leader Salvador Allende. Allende, having been tipped about the military’s activities, held his ground in his Presidential palace, La Moneda. After Allende refused to negotiate or surrender, General Augusto Pinochet ordered a siege on the compound accompanied by military helicopter gunships and Air Force bombers. Salvador Allende died during the melee, apparently by his own hand, and a military junta took power headed by General Pinochet. It is well documented that the US government, through the CIA, played a key role in the overthrow of the Allende government. The new order in Chile saw massive economic reforms take effect. An alarming number of people were imprisoned and tortured under his rule. Over three thousand people are estimated to have been killed during Pinochet’s 17 year reign. PInochet himself was eventually arrested in London in 1998, and faced with the unpleasant prospect of having to answer for his crimes. The 40th anniversary of Chile’s 9/11 is an occasion to ask what have been the impacts of the coup, and the dictatorship that followed? These questions are explored in depth by two people knowledgeable about the coup. Michel Chossudovsky was a visiting Professor of Economics in Chile at the time of the coup. In this week’s radio show, Chossudovsky reflects on his memories of the coup, and looks at how it served as a dress-rehearsal for the use of macro-economic reform as a weapon for disarming governments worldwide. Peter Kornbluh then recounts the US role in the affair. He is the author of The Pinochet File: A Declassified Dossier on Atrocity and Accountability, recently updated to mark the 40th anniversary of the coup. Not only does he elaborate on the proof of the US connection with the coup, he explains his conviction that the arrest of Pinochet marks a major turning point in terms of holding past and present state criminals accountable.

Global Research News Hour - The 1973 Chilean Military Coup: Remembering the Other September 11 - 09/16/13

The Shut-Down continued throughout the first two weeks of October, as Congress and the White House struggled to come up with the necessary legislative formula before October 17 when, we are told,  a “debt default” would result should no deal be reached. A major sticking point was the refusal of the House of Representatives, controlled by the Republican Party, to approve of government funding up until the middle of December, unless President Obama’s Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as ObamaCare, was delayed a year and then gutted of a key provision, namely the tax on medical devices. The gridlock was finally broken when President Obama “stared down” the Republicans in the House leaving ObamaCare mostly intact. Appropriatations Bill HR 2775 was approved, bringing an end to the government shut down, maintaining government funding until January 15, and lifting the already stratospheric $16.699 trillion debt ceiling until February 7. But as some observers, such as broadcast journalist and author Stephen Lendman points out, default or no, ordinary Americans have had to bear the burden of the real fiscal crisis which has been masked by this legislative game of chicken. Lendman also levels a critique of ObamaCare that you won’t hear from House Republicans, and he explains how the crisis engulfing the city of Detroit mirrors America’s future. Stephen Lendman presents his perspective in the first half hour of the Global Research News Hour. In the second half hour, a York University Professor of Political Science, David McNally, helps expand the discussion by elaborating on the roots of the US fiscal crisis in neo-liberal reforms. He argues that the stand-off and the 2008 economic slump that preceded it, are rooted in the development of policies that have benefited the most privileged, including the banks, at the expense of the working class, who are now being made to pay for the excesses of the ultra-wealthy. McNally also probes the mistakes of the Occupy Movement as he sees it, and articulates how an effective push back may be realized. David McNally provides his analysis in the final half hour.

The Shut-Down continued throughout the first two weeks of October, as Congress and the White House struggled to come up with the necessary legislative formula before October 17 when, we are told,  a “debt default” would result should no deal be reached. <a href="http://www.globalresearch.ca/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/116196.jpg" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a>A major sticking point was the refusal of the House of Representatives, controlled by the Republican Party, to approve of government funding up until the middle of December, unless President Obama’s Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as ObamaCare, was delayed a year and then gutted of a key provision, namely the tax on medical devices. The gridlock was finally broken when President Obama “stared down” the Republicans in the House leaving ObamaCare mostly intact. Appropriatations Bill HR 2775 was approved, bringing an end to the government shut down, maintaining government funding until January 15, and lifting the already stratospheric $16.699 trillion debt ceiling until February 7. But as some observers, such as broadcast journalist and author Stephen Lendman points out, default or no, ordinary Americans have had to bear the burden of the real fiscal crisis which has been masked by this legislative game of chicken. Lendman also levels a critique of ObamaCare that you won’t hear from House Republicans, and he explains how the crisis engulfing the city of Detroit mirrors America’s future. Stephen Lendman presents his perspective in the first half hour of the Global Research News Hour. In the second half hour, a York University Professor of Political Science, David McNally, helps expand the discussion by elaborating on the roots of the US fiscal crisis in neo-liberal reforms. He argues that the stand-off and the 2008 economic slump that preceded it, are rooted in the development of policies that have benefited the most privileged, including the banks, at the expense of the working class, who are now being made to pay for the excesses of the ultra-wealthy. McNally also probes the mistakes of the Occupy Movement as he sees it, and articulates how an effective push back may be realized. David McNally provides his analysis in the final half hour.

Global Research News Hour - After the US Default Showdown: More Bad News - 11/04/13

The United States and its coalition allies have perpetrated serious violations of international law including the breaching of the UN Charter and multiple violations of the Geneva Conventions, the US Army Field manual, and the Hague Conventions. [1] Over 600,000 civilians are estimated to have died as a direct consequence of US President George W. Bush’s war against Iraq and its mythical ‘weapons of mass destruction.’ [2] Depleted Uranium munitions has caused birth defects on a massive scale, and will plague this ancient civilization for millennia to come. Amply documented, torture was employed by US troops under the authorization of US Officials like Vice President Richard Cheney, who comes to Canada in late October. This installment of the Global Research News Hour features a look at US and allied war crimes and more particularly, the need for accountability for those crimes. Denis Halliday is the former UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Iraq ( September 1, 1997 until 1998.) He resigned from a 34 year career at the United nations in protest to what he saw as the ‘genocidal’ economic sanctions carried out against the Iraqi people through the UN Security Council. Halliday is intensely critical of the UN for aiding and abetting the US and UK in their criminal aggression of 2003 and beyond. He is also critical of the World Health Organization for likewise assisting the imperial Western Giants by suppressing its own report on the effects of the use by US forces of Depleted Uranium on the Iraqi civilian population. He outlines in this interview what he thinks the UN could have done, and still can do, to restore some credibility. Denis Halliday has been an occasional contributor to Global Research. This is his first interview for the Global Research News Hour. Some soldiers such as Staff Sergeant Camilo Mejía and Joshua Key did their duty under international law and refused to return to service in the Iraq War. Professor Francis Boyle is a professor of international law at the University of Illinois College of Law and an internationally recognized expert in his field. In 2007, Boyle publicly denounced what he called the “ongoing criminal activities perpetrated by the Bush Jr. administration and its nefarious foreign accomplices in allied governments such as in Britain, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Georgia, etc.” Boyle is the author of Protesting Power: War, Resistance, and Law. He will explain the legal obligations of countries like the US and Canada to respect the right of soldiers to refuse to participate in this war. While the Canadian government is turning away Iraq War resisters, they are welcoming credibly accused Iraq war criminals into the country. Mere weeks before Vice- President Cheney is to give a speech in Toronto, we will hear from Gail Davidson of Lawyers Against The War about the legal obligation of the Canadian government to deny the former Vice President admittance into Canada or place him under arrest upon entry. Be sure to check out the Global Research Iraq War Reader for more in depth coverage of US/NATO War Crimes in Iraq.

The United States and its coalition allies have perpetrated serious violations of international law including the breaching of the UN Charter and multiple violations of the Geneva Conventions, the US Army Field manual, and the Hague Conventions. [1] Over 600,000 civilians are estimated to have died as a direct consequence of US President George W. Bush’s war against Iraq and its mythical ‘weapons of mass destruction.’ [2] Depleted Uranium munitions has caused birth defects on a massive scale, and will plague this ancient civilization for millennia to come. Amply documented, torture was employed by US troops under the authorization of US Officials like Vice President Richard Cheney, who comes to Canada in late October. This installment of the Global Research News Hour features a look at US and allied war crimes and more particularly, the need for accountability for those crimes. Denis Halliday is the former UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Iraq ( September 1, 1997 until 1998.) He resigned from a 34 year career at the United nations in protest to what he saw as the ‘genocidal’ economic sanctions carried out against the Iraqi people through the UN Security Council. Halliday is intensely critical of the UN for aiding and abetting the US and UK in their criminal aggression of 2003 and beyond. He is also critical of the World Health Organization for likewise assisting the imperial Western Giants by suppressing its own report on the effects of the use by US forces of Depleted Uranium on the Iraqi civilian population. He outlines in this interview what he thinks the UN could have done, and still can do, to restore some credibility. Denis Halliday has been an occasional contributor to Global Research. This is his first interview for the Global Research News Hour. Some soldiers such as Staff Sergeant<a href="http://www.citizen-soldier.org/CS07-Camilo.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Camilo Mejía</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/The-Deserters-Tale-Ordinary-Soldier/dp/0887842089" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Joshua Key </a>did their duty under international law and refused to return to service in the Iraq War. Professor Francis Boyle is a professor of international law at the University of Illinois College of Law and an internationally recognized expert in his field. In 2007, Boyle publicly denounced what he called the “ongoing criminal activities perpetrated by the Bush Jr. administration and its nefarious foreign accomplices in allied governments such as in Britain, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Georgia, etc.” Boyle is the author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Protesting-Power-Resistance-Peace-Library/dp/0742538923" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Protesting Power: War, Resistance, and Law.</a> He will explain the legal obligations of countries like the US and Canada to respect the right of soldiers to refuse to participate in this war. While the Canadian government is turning away Iraq War resisters, they are welcoming credibly accused Iraq war criminals into the country. Mere weeks before <a href="http://www.lawyersagainstthewar.org/letters/barcheney300913.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Vice- President Cheney is to give a speech in Toronto</a>, we will hear from Gail Davidson of <a href="http://lawyersagainstthewar.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Lawyers Against The War</a> about the legal obligation of the Canadian government to deny the former Vice President admittance into Canada or place him under arrest upon entry. Be sure to check out the <a href="http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-iraq-war-reader-a-history-of-war-crimes-and-genocide-the-unleashing-of-america-s-new-global-militarism/31067" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Global Research Iraq War Reader</a> for more in depth coverage of US/NATO War Crimes in Iraq.

Global Research - Iraq War Crimes: The United Nations in Violation of UN Charter, Complicit in Abetting US-UK Aggression - 10/15/13

The best podcast episodes on non-current politics. Covering topics such as universal basic income, democracy, poverty & justice and more. For anyone interested in learning more about politics that affect that world, not just now, but in the longer term. Add episodes you're interested into your queue below!

Best Non-Current Politics Podcasts

The best episodes for anyone looking to learn more about topics such as happiness, fulfillment, depression and psychology/mental health in general. With interviews with industry experts, personal stories of individuals, this topic has lessons applicable to everyone. Add episodes you're interested into your queue below!