GoingUndergroundTV

We speak to Wang Huiyao, Founder and President of the Centre for China and Globalisation and Counselor on China’s State Council. He discusses the blockage of the Suez Canal by the Ever Given ship, 400 US military bases surrounding China, alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang, why accusations of 2 million Uighurs in re-education camps in Xinjiang are baseless, why the reports of forced labour in Xinjiang are not true, the Communist Party’s efforts of poverty alleviation, social security expansion in China and much more! In response to the allegations made by Wang Huiyao, Rushan Abbas told us: “I worked at Guantanamo as an Uyghur translator. I am happy that I was able to give linguistic support for those 22 Uyghurs, where I assisted these wrongfully accused Uyghurs in obtaining release. Perhaps critics think they should have been left without the ability to communicate, but I certainly could not stand by and allow that to happen. I have been very vocal about my translation work at GTMO and there are documentaries, news reports and interviews available to view regarding my time there. The CCP and genocidal apologists' attacks on me saying that my work at GTMO has been exposed by them is laughable as it is not a secret. The CIA accusations are yet another deflection tactic by a desperate regime that can no longer escape justice for its genocide and crimes against humanity.”

We speak to Prof. Aviva Chomsky, Professor of History at Salem State University and daughter of Noam Chomsky. She discusses the US-Mexico Border Crisis, why the issue is much more complicated than ‘Biden locking up children at the border’, how US immigration and foreign policy are behind thousands leaving their homes in Latin America and heading for the United States, why the $4 billion for El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras in disaster aid won’t end the migration crisis, how structural racism is one of the causes of the border crisis, the economic conditions causing people to flee their home countries, US interventions and regime change operations that have impoverished millions in Latin America, Joe Biden's deportation of Haitian migrants and more!

We speak to Jimmy Dore, host of the Jimmy Dore Show. He discusses Joe Biden’s first press conference as President of the United States. He blasts Joe Biden for failing to deliver on a $15 minimum wage, $2000 stimulus checks and other campaign promises, attacks the US press for not challenging Biden enough, Joe Biden’s ‘incoherence’ over the crisis at the US-Mexican border and maintaining the occupation of Afghanistan and much more!

We speak to Plan B Director Tim Crosland. He discusses the violence at the ‘Kill The Bill’ protests in Bristol, the new law which could see Britons face harsh new anti-protest measures which make protests that cause ‘annoyance’ illegal with prison sentences of up to 10 years, why the bill represents a failure of ‘political imagination’ amid multiple crises such as the climate change crisis and inequality crisis, the link between climate change and pandemics such as COVID-19, Boris Johnson and Priti Patel’s focus on ‘culture wars’ rather than these crises and much more!

We speak to Tara Houska, Tribal attorney and land defender. She discusses the Line 3 Pipeline expansion, which would bring almost a million barrels of tar sands per day from Alberta, Canada to Wisconsin, how the pipeline breaks treaties signed with Native American tribes and further erases indigenous history, the need for the Biden administration to stop the pipeline expansion in the fight against climate change and much more! We contacted Enbridge about the allegations in this show and they said: “Existing Line 3 is one of several Enbridge pipelines that currently cross all of northern Minnesota and have coexisted with its Native communities and the most productive wild rice waters in the nation for over 70 years. The two Native nations crossed by Line 3, the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe both support the replacement project which will restore the pipeline’s original design capacity, not expand it. An extensive Tribal Cultural Resource Survey of the entire route of the pipeline helped inform over 320 changes to the project’s route – which follows existing pipelines, electric lines and utility corridors. The replacement of Line 3 is the most studied pipeline in state history, which after six years has included a 13,500 page Environmental Impact Statement, 70 public input hearings, four separate reviews by independent administrative law judges, multiple reviews and approvals from the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (The only Tribe with “Treatment as a State” water quality authority along the pipeline route). The project is now being built under the supervision of tribal monitors with authority to stop construction, who ensure that important cultural resources are protected. The replacement of existing Line 3 is a safety and maintenance focused project that was ordered and noted in a federal consent decree during the Obama Administration. Work has already been completed in Canada, North Dakota, Wisconsin and is approaching 50% completion in Minnesota. The project is providing significant economic benefits for counties, small businesses, Native American communities, and union members – including creating 5,200 family-sustaining construction jobs, and millions of dollars in local spending and tax revenues. There are no “man camps” on the project. Enbridge has zero tolerance for illegal and exploitive behavior. Two individuals who formerly worked for our contractor were arrested and charged in a prostitution sting in Itasca County. Both individuals were immediately fired upon learning of their arrests. Pursuant to the project’s route permit, Enbridge developed and implemented a Human Trafficking Prevention Plan in cooperation with several Tribal and State entities. All pipeline workers on Line 3 receive human trafficking awareness training prior to beginning work on the project. The training provides insight and education on human trafficking in Minnesota, including stories from survivors, impacts on Native communities, local programs and resources, and information about how to spot and report suspected trafficking situations.”

On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, Iconic Palestinian Leader, Scholar and Activist. She discusses the exclusion of millions of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation from Israel’s Coronavirus vaccine program, the criminalisation of and pressure against the Boycott Divestment & Sanctions (BDS movement), inaction by the international community on Israel’s expanding settlements and entrenching illegal occupation, what the Biden administration will mean for Palestine, the Abraham Accords and why they will ultimately cause instability

On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to the lead singer of System of a Down Serj Tankian. He discusses the new documentary ‘Truth to Power’, which explores his family history of his grandparents surviving the Armenian genocide and his early life growing up in Lebanon, the history of Armenia as a nation and why many countries such as the UK don’t recognise the repression Armenians faced under Turkey as a genocide, the Nagorno-Karabakh War and the dangers Armenians are facing, Turkey’s work to prevent nations from recognising the Armenian genocide and much more! 'The United States congress formally recognised the Armenian genocide in December 2019, both houses of congress, so the US has recognised the Armenian genocide, its Britains turn to recognise the Armenian genocide. Russia’s recognised the Armenian genocide, European Parliaments recognised the genocide, the Vatican, a number of countries around the world, most of Europe, a lot of South America. You tell me why Britain hasn’t recognised the Armenian genocide. I would say that there are too many cozy relationships with BP, Azerbaijan, Turkey, the gas corridor, the southern gas corridor, and its basically playing geopolitics and using genocide as political capitol which is disgusting' #Armenia #Turkey #ArmenianGenocide Mr. Tahir Taghizade, Ambassador of Azerbaijan in the UK replies: Arguing that the UK or any other state should take a certain position about the events, true nature of which is yet to be investigated by historians, is nothing more than an attempt to falsify the history and use it for the purpose of political pressure on countries. Luckily, there are internationally accepted norms and principles to define actions of the states, instead of fictional comments as Serj Tankian’s. On another note, a person so proud of his Armenian ancestries should take extra precaution while pronouncing the word genocide. After all, Armenia is responsible for all kinds of brutal humanitarian and human rights violations against Azerbaijani civilians, including but not limited to war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide during the last 3 decades. On February 26, 2021 we commemorated 29th anniversary of Khojaly genocide committed by Armenian Armed Forces against Azerbaijani civilians on the night of 25-26 February, back in 1992, where they literally butchered 613 people resorting to worst possible cruelties. Reading the front pages of the international media outlets such as The Times, The New York Times, Independent, Newsweek and etc published on that day is enough to imagine the level of atrocity perpetrated by Armenians in Khojaly. Yet, impunity which the Republic of Armenia has been enjoying for these severe wrong-doings during First Karabakh War encouraged them to resort once again to war crimes during Second Karabakh War (lasting between September 27 – November 10, 2021), this time using more lethal weaponry, including cluster munitions to cause higher casualties among the civilians. These deliberate attacks launched by Armenia on the civilian population and infrastructures of densely populated Azerbaijani cities such as Ganja, Barda and Tartar, far removed from the battlefield, left more than 100 civilians, including 12 children dead and 423 wounded. XXXXXXXXXX 'System of a Down actually put out two songs during the war in Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh as a way of bringing attention to the truth of what was actually happening and to fight Azerbaijan disinformation and bots of social media. We’ve also gathered a large amount of money to donate to non-profits in Armenia, for retrofitting soldiers with prosthetics, who had lost prosthetics to drone attacks as well as laser therapy for soldiers suffering from White Phosphorus, banned weaponry burns dropped by the Azeri army' Mr. Tahir Taghizade, Ambassador of Azerbaijan in the UK replies: First of all, these are paradoxically strong words for the lead singer of a group, whose another founding member, Mr. Malakian has been admittedly inspired by a serial killer. Secondly, even Serj Tankian’s reference to Nagorno Karabakh using the term coined by Armenia to legalize puppet regime established in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan shows where his convictions are. What was actually happening back in September 27 – November 10 is that in response to yet another Armenian aggression, Azerbaijan had to launch counter-offensive measures to exert its right to self-defence. FULL STATEMENT ONLINE: https://www.rt.com/shows/going-underground/516727-armenian-genocide-serj-tankian/

We speak to Rolling Stone journalist and author of ‘The Business Secrets of Drug Dealing: An Almost True Account’. He discusses the person behind the book who came to him admitting he had been a drug kingpin for many years and wanted to tell his story, the rules of surviving as a drug dealer and not getting caught, this anonymous drug kingpin’s belief that the entire American system of justice is inherently racist and how he uses it to his advantage, why the police tend not to learn from their errors, drug dealing during Coronavirus and much more!

We speak to award-winning actor and activist Rose McGowan. She discusses the murder of Sarah Everard in the UK and police brutality against women holding a vigil to commemorate her and protesting violence and sexual violence against women, why Metropolitan Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick must resign over the police brutality at the vigil, victim shaming of women survivors of sexual assault and rape continuing despite the MeToo movement and increased publicity, sexual assault allegations against Democratic President Joe Biden abs New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and much more!

We speak to Ian Paisley Jr. MP of the DUP. He discusses why the Northern Ireland Protocol in Boris Johnson’s Brexit Deal does not work, why the DUP is not responsible for the Northern Ireland Protocol, the protocol’s creation of chaos on the island of Ireland and whether the DUP’s support for Brexit is leading to a United Ireland! We contacted the EU, who directed us to this statement by the EU's co-chair of the Joint Committee, Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič: “The Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland is the only way to protect the Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement and to preserve peace and stability, while avoiding a hard border on the island of Ireland and maintaining the integrity of the EU single market. The EU and the UK agreed the Protocol together. We are also bound to implement it together. Unilateral decisions and international law violations by the UK defeat its very purpose and undermine trust between us. The UK must properly implement it if we are to achieve our objectives. That is why we are launching legal action today. I do hope that through the collaborative, pragmatic and constructive spirit that has prevailed in our work so far on implementing the Withdrawal Agreement, we can solve these issues in the Joint Committee without recourse to further legal means.”

We speak to the leader of Sinn Féin, Mary Lou McDonald. She discusses the significance of Bloody Sunday in Irish history, Boris Johnson’s ‘belligerence’ against new inquiries into the atrocities, the arguably failing Coronavirus vaccine drive in the Republic of Ireland compared to the success in Northern Ireland, what Joe Biden becoming President means for Ireland and much more!

Firstly we speak to Lord Skidelsky who discusses why Rishi Sunak’s budget may cause the Bank of England to raise interest rate, why accusations have been levied that the budget hurts small businesses, why the Universal Credit uplift should be permanent, why he is sceptical of Boris Johnson’s government predictions of a quick post-COVID recovery, the prospect of the UK becoming a tax haven and much, and much more! #RishiSunak #Budget2021 #Coronavirus We contacted the Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office about allegations in this show and they said: “Lord Skidelsky's comment on 'oppressive regulations' is wrong. Hong Kong has a proud tradition of the rule of law. Like any other jurisdiction in the world, Hong Kong has the obligation to safeguard national security, as well as to maintain law and order. The National Security Law targets universally unacceptable acts that undermine sovereignty and national security. It also contains specific provisions that uphold Hong Kong residents' rights and freedom under our constitution and relevant provisions of international covenants on human rights. With its implementation, Hong Kong has become a safer and more stable city.”

We speak to Consultant Editor at the Daily Mail Andrew Pierce. He predicts Boris Johnson is gearing up for a general election in 2023, why the success of the Coronavirus vaccine rollout may mean Boris Johnson and the Conservative Party are seeking a general election in 2023, why he is willing to accept hikes on corporation tax in Rishi Sunak’s budget, why Boris Johnson will likely stay on as Prime Minister even despite his alleged financial troubles and desire to go to the private sector and much more!

We speak to John Finucane MP of Sinn Féin, he discusses Ian Paisley Jr’s accusation that Sinn Féin is now working for royalist interests in Northern Ireland, Boris Johnson’s visit to Northern Ireland and issues that Sinn Féin seeks to raise with the government, the need for more cooperation between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland going forward after Coronavirus, why Sinn Féin is calling for Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to resign, the re-opening of the investigation into his father Pat Finucane's murder at the hands of UK-allied loyalist paramilitaries and much more!

We speak to President and Founder of the Saudi-American Public Relation Affairs Committee, Salman Al-Ansari. He argues the Jamal Khashoggi case has been politicised to damage Saudi Arabia, argues that the US and human rights organisations should not be lecturing Saudi Arabia after the US’ numerous wars in the Middle East, denies Saudi Arabia’s alleged links to Al-Qaeda and ISIS, the proposal for Iran-Saudi Arabia peace and much more!

We speak to NHS Intensive Care Unit Nurse & National Organizer of NHS Workers Say NO, Dave Carr. He discusses the government’s meagre 1% pay rise for NHS staff after a year of the NHS battling the Coronavirus pandemic, possible strike action over the dismal pay rise, Rishi Sunak’s lack of support for the NHS, why he thinks the government clapping for the NHS is hypocritical, reports of another coronavirus wave after lockdown lifts and much more!

We speak to Prof. Peter Baldwin, Author of ‘Fighting The First Wave: Why Coronavirus Was Tackled So Differently Across The Globe’. He discusses the degree of populism in countries around the world and how it affected the ability to respond to Coronavirus, why countries such as China, Cuba and Vietnam were able to deal with the Coronavirus pandemic so effectively, the success of certain democracies such as New Zealand and Australia in dealing with the pandemic and why Western Europe did not have similar success, why governments will find it hard to impose new lockdowns as new variants emerge and much more!

We speak to Kelechi Okafor, actress and host of the ‘Say Your Mind’ podcast. She discusses the fallout of Meghan Markle and Harry’s interview to Oprah, why she believes the royal family is institutionally racist, why Meghan Markle’s alleged bullying is nothing compared to the British Empire & the Royal Family’s bullying of other countries historically, why the Royal Family even today represents colonial violence, why the monarchy should be abolished and more!

We speak to legendary rock photographer Mick Rock, known as ‘The Man Who Shot The 70s’ and for his iconic photographs of Lou Reed, David Bowie and Iggy Pop. He discusses his new collaborative images, titled Midaro, his stellar career photographing some of the most iconic rockstars of all time and much more!

On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to George Fu Gao, the Director-General of China’s Centre for Disease Control and the man who released the COVID-19 genome. He discusses the safety of the vaccines and why we should remain cautious as we pursue mass-vaccination drives, why it is urgent to roll out the vaccine as fast as possible, the effectiveness of China’s Coronavirus response compared to the West’s, the West’s criticisms of China’s coronavirus response, the growing number of ‘long COVID’ cases, the West’s mistakes in dealing with the pandemic and much more!

We speak to the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar Tom Andrews. He discusses the background behind the military coup against State Counsellor of Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi, the political history of modern Myanmar and how the status-quo before the coup was not democratic and had much tension between the civilian government and military, how China will be key in solving the Myanmar crisis, arms sales to Myanmar and much more! We contacted H & M about the allegations in this broadcast, they got back to us saying: Thanks for reaching out. We have no comment to add at this time

Going Underground's Social Media Producer Farhaan Ahmed speaks to China's Charge d'Affaires Minister of the Chinese Embassy in London, Yang Xiaoguang. He says China maintains no military alliances to reflect its peaceful posture, slams the Cold War mentality of the US and its allies, saying 'joining forces with other countries against China won't work. A subtle hint at the QUAD alliance between the US, Japan, India and Australia. He also says Russia and China can work as stabilising forces in today's world, as both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping have close ties.

We speak to Prof. Sanjeev Gupta, Planetary Geologist of NASA’s 2020 Mars Rover Mission. He discusses the landing of the Perseverance Mars Rover, how the new Rover mission will work and what NASA seeks to find, why Mars was likely to harbour some life forms in the ancient past, why we likely won’t be living on Mars and much more!

We speak to the DUP’s Sammy Wilson MP. He discusses the legal showdown between the DUP and Boris Johnson’s government over the Northern Ireland protocol, why the protocol changes the status of Northern Ireland within the UK, Sinn Féin’s growing popularity and calls for a border poll to achieve a United Ireland, the slow Coronavirus vaccination rate of the Republic of Ireland compared to Northern Ireland and much more! STATEMENT FROM SINN FÉIN: "A referendum on Irish unity is an integral part of the Good Friday Agreement. "Once again Sammy Wilson and the DUP show a lack of understanding of the Good Friday Agreement which they have continually opposed. "The conversation on Irish unity is growing across the island and we would encourage everyone to play their part so they can help shape a new and better Ireland through a unity referendum." The EU Council directed us to a European affairs minister videoconference: https://europa.eu/!uN74xK

Going Underground's Deputy Editor Charlie speaks to Mogwai's Stuart Braithwaite discusses the band's new album 'As the Love Continues', how Coronavirus has affected the arts and music industry, their optimism for the post-COVID future, the impact of Brexit on the music and arts industry, how the Coronavirus lockdowns may have trampled on the futures of talented young artists and much more!