UK Prime Minister Theresa May is in Brussels to press European Union leaders to agree to an extension of the Brexit negotiating period. But EU officials appear to be taking a hardline, and have just published a set of planned measures that would be taken in the event of a no-deal scenario.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is wrapping up a tour of the Middle East with a trip to Lebanon, focusing on stepping up pressure on Iran as the Trump administration seeks regime change in that country, and allegedly bolstering support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of a tight election next month. Jana Nakhal, an independent researcher and a member of the central committee of the Lebanese Communist Party, joins the show.
Veterans for Peace is Thursday's regular segment about the contemporary issues of war and peace that affect veterans, their families, and the country as a whole. 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.
A new report shows that a group of eight American mercenaries who were arrested in Haiti on February 16 were there at the behest of President Jovenel Moise as part of a harebrained scheme to transfer $80 million from the country's central bank to Moise's personal account. The Americans were promised $30,000 each. Instead, they were put in shackles and, three days later, expelled from Haiti. Walter and John speak with Kim Ives, an editor of the newspaper Haiti Liberte.
Thousands of students, university professors, and healthcare workers continued to rally yesterday in Algiers, calling on President Abdelaziz Boutefliqa to resign. They also warned the military not to interfere in the marches, which have now entered their second month. Boutefliqa, who has been president for 20 years, said last week that he would not seek reelection, but demonstrators want him to resign immediately. The demonstrations are being called The Arab Spring II in the western media. Dr. Gerald Horne, a professor of history at the University of Houston and author of many books, including "Blows Against the Empire: US Imperialism in Crisis," joins the show.
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.
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? Walter 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, and with Bruce Gagnon, coordinator of the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space and a contributor to Foreign Policy In Focus.
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