Putin Announced Existing Contracts on Russian Gas Will Be Frozen if They Aren't Paid in Rubles

Last week, President Putin ordered his Central Bank and government to determine which countries are "unfriendly" to Moscow, so that they could be made to pay for Russian gas in rubles. While the G7 objected to the move, Berlin has since asked how to implement the transaction.

Dr. Linwood Tauheed, associate professor of economics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, joins us to discuss the economy. Last week, President Vladimir Putin ordered his Central Bank and government to determine which countries are "unfriendly" to Moscow, so that they could be made to pay for Russian gas in rubles. While the G7 objected to the move, Berlin has since asked how to implement the transaction. Also, Gita Gopinath, the IMF's first managing director, warned yesterday that "sanctions imposed by Western countries against Russia could lead to the fragmentation of the global financial system and dilute the US dollar's dominance in that system."

Jim Kavanagh, writer at thepolemicist.net and Counter Punch and the author of "The American Farce Unravels: Shreds of January 6th," joins us to discuss Russia Gate. A report in Consortium News maintains that while anti-empire commentary is right to criticize how the Obama administration made it possible for the current conflict in Ukraine (citing its role in the 2014 coup and support for Kyiv's war against Donbas separatists) it was under the Trump administration that started the US policy of giving arms to Ukraine. Reports show that Obama refused the demands of neocons and liberals, fearing provocation of an attack by Russia.

Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations security analyst, joins us to discuss Western media vs. Ukraine reality. He talks about the stark difference between the reports coming from the Ukraine battlefield vs. the information coming from Western media.

Dr. Ken Hammond, professor of East Asian and global history at New Mexico State University, joins us to discuss China. Dr. Hammond analyzes Afghanistan's neighboring countries' political consensus, formed in a recent meeting in China, designed to jointly deal with Afghanistan's situation, with the belief that neighboring countries should "play a unique role in addressing their own legitimate concerns and providing a favorable external environment for Afghanistan's stability and reconstruction." Dr. Hammond explains that it was this pioneering mechanism, showing the diplomatic efforts that China has made as a host, that helped make it possible to end the chaos and resume governance.

Laith Marouf, broadcaster and journalist based in Beirut, Lebanon, joins us to discuss the Middle East. Laith analyzes US Secretary of State Tony Blinken's request to Israeli Premier Naftali Bennett asking for his "alternative" to the Iran Nuclear Deal in order to keep Iran from nuclear weapons capacity. Also, Iran has requested that bordering Afghanistan countries and friendly countries help to "strengthen cooperation in the reconstruction of the conflict-ridden state and boost assistance to the oppressed nation without political and legal considerations."

Dan Lazare, investigative journalist and author of "The Velvet Coup: The Constitution, the Supreme Court and the Decline of American Democracy," joins us to discuss Nazi war crimes in Ukraine. Dan talks about the social media videos circulating that show Ukrainian Neo Nazis taking people and tying them to lamposts, physically attacking them painting their faces in the color of the Ukrainian flag.

Steve Poikonen, national organizer for Action4Assange, joins us to discuss Julian Assange. Consortium News reports that Priti Patel, who will decide whether Assange will be extradited, is linked to a group that has attacked Assange in the media for the past ten years.

Dr. Jemima Pierre, associate professor of Black studies and anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles, member of the Black Alliance for Peace, and an editor of the "Black Agenda Review" segment of the Black Agenda Report, and Dr. Peter James Hudson, historian, co-editor of the Black Agenda Review segment of the Black Agenda Report, and associate professor of African American studies and history at the University of California, Los Angeles, join us to discuss Afro-Asian solidarity. In their recent Black Agenda Report article, the professors report on declassified papers from NATO's archives. These reports detail a "comprehensive counter-revolutionary strategy against decolonization, including the active sabotaging of Afro-Asian solidarity and the "spirit of Bandung."

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