The House Intelligence Committee’s impeachment inquiry seems to be expanding by the day. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is being accused of obstructing justice by insisting that State Department employees not cooperate with the investigation; the State Department Inspector General requested an emergency meeting this morning with Intelligence Committee staff members; and both Pompeo and Attorney General Barr and have either been in Italy or have spoken with Italian authorities, reportedly about Joseph Mifsud, a shadowy Maltese academic who is somehow involved.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to present what he says is his final Brexit proposal to the European Union today. The plan was supposed to include customs checks on the Irish border beginning in January 2021. Irish officials dismissed Johnson’s plan as “completely unacceptable,” and then in his speech at the annual Conservative Party conference, he said there would be no customs checks. British business leaders, meanwhile, reiterated their position that a no-deal Brexit would crash the UK’s economy. Alexander Mercouris, the editor-in-chief of The Duran, joins the show.
The New York Times is reporting that a senior Boeing engineer filed an internal ethics complaint earlier this year, saying that during the internal development of the 737 Max8 jet, the company had rejected a safety system in order to minimize costs. The engineer believes that the system could have reduced risks that contributed to two crashes that resulted in 346 deaths. Brian and John speak with Dr. Alan Diehl, an award-winning aviation psychologist and safety consultant, a major air safety whistleblower, and the author of the book “Air Safety Investigators.”
The United Nations reported yesterday that more than 1,000 migrants and refugees have died in the Mediterranean Sea this year, the sixth consecutive year that what it calls “this bleak milestone” has been reached. The UN refugee agency UNHCR called on European Union member states to reactivate search and rescue operations and to acknowledge the crucial role of aid groups’ vessels in saving lives at sea. What role have US and European intervention played in causing the refugee crisis in the first place? Francis Boyle, a professor of international law at the University of Illinois College of Law and author of the book “Destroying World Order: US Imperialism in the Middle East Before and After September 11,” joins the show.
Under a new agreement between the Kiev government and separatist leaders, local elections will be held in separatist-controlled areas in the country’s east and troops from both sides will withdraw from the area. Experts believe the move could pave the way for peace talks between the government and ethnic Russian separatists. Mark Sleboda, an international affairs and security analyst, joins Brian and John.
Wednesday’s weekly series, In the News, is where the hosts look at the most important ongoing developments of the week and put them into perspective. Sputnik news analysts Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek join the show.
Wednesday’s regular segment, Beyond Nuclear, is about nuclear issues, including weapons, energy, waste, and the future of nuclear technology in the United States. Kevin Kamps, the Radioactive Waste Watchdog at the organization Beyond Nuclear, and Sputnik news analyst and producer Nicole Roussell, join the show.
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