Martin Bell on Yemen Humanitarian Crisis
We speak to legendary war correspondent Martin Bell. He discusses the horror of the crisis in Yemen, which the UN has called the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, his first-hand experience of seeing the suffering in Yemen, the severe food shortage which has left Yemen on the brink of a catastrophic famine, the record of the Saudi-led coalition’s strikes on civilians and civilian infrastructure, British assistance to the Saudi-led coalition, why British arms sales to the Saudi-led coalition must end and much more!
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The Man Who Brought Foster Care to China🇨🇳 on The West’s Misconceptions About China
We speak to Robert Glover OBE, Author of ‘As Many As The Stars: A Story of Change for the Children of China’. He discusses how he introduced foster care to China following the implementation of the one-child policy, how foster care previously had not existed in China, the misconceptions many in the West have about Chinese people and how his own experience working with them has proven them to be kind and generous, communism providing a ‘safety net’ for China, his work with the Chinese government in reforming the system to produce better outcomes for children and much more!
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From Monopoly Capitalism to Monopsony Capitalism: Is There Any Hope For Workers? (Dr. Ashok Kumar)
We speak to Dr. Ashok Kumar, author of ‘Monopsony Capitalism: Power and Production in the Twilight of the Sweatshop Age'. He discusses what monopsony capitalism is and why we are currently living in it, how suppliers big clothing brands like Nike and Adidas have traditionally dominated markets by having a large amount of suppliers, how markets are evolving to have fewer suppliers which could benefit workers, labour action and strikes in China against poor working conditions and low wages and how strikes and labour organisation in South East Asia is spreading among sweatshop and factory workers, examples of successes for labour in collective bargaining in the changing market such as in Honduras and more!
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Crisis: 1 in 5 To Face Mental Health Problems Due to Coronavirus Pandemic (Sarah Hughes)
We speak to Sarah Hughes, CEO of the Centre for Mental Health. She discusses the mental health vulnerability of the U.K. and the impact the coronavirus pandemic and lockdowns have had on mental health, her letter to health Secretary Matt Hancock urging mental health to be a top priority and the need for more investment into the sector, her figures which estimate 1 in 5 will have mental health issues after the pandemic, the privatisation of the NHS and growing private sector mental health industry and much more!
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Iran’s🇮🇷 Top Nuclear Scientist Assassinated: ‘NO DOUBT’ There Will Be Retaliation!’ (Sam Torabi)
We speak to Sam Medhi Torabi, Director of the Risalat Strategic Studies Institute in Iran. He discusses the assassination of nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, why Iranian retaliation is a certainty, the Coronavirus situation in Iran and how Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was involved in the development of an Iranian Coronavirus vaccine, Iran’s ultimate aim to expel US forces from the Middle East/West Asia, why Coronavirus has proved the West doesn’t see Iranians as equal human beings, the lack of condemnation and action from the European Union over the alleged Israeli, US-backed assassination of Fakhrizadeh, misperceptions of Iran surrounding the Trump and Netanyahu administrations and much more!
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Ex-MI6 Agent: Iran🇮🇷 Doesn’t Need Settlement With Biden’s US, Can Look To Russia🇷🇺 & China🇨🇳!
We speak to former MI6 agent Alastair Crooke CMG. He discusses the reported meeting between Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman ahead of Donald Trump’s departure from the Presidency of the United States, what the objectives of the meeting were, Israel and Saudi Arabia’s objective to get Iran at the top of Joe Biden’s foreign policy agenda, why Joe Biden, Israel and Saudi Arabia are likely to have major differences on policy towards Iran, why Biden is already asking too much from Iran, why Iran doesn’t need a settlement with the US as ties with Russia and China grow deeper and much more!
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COVAX: The Scheme To Help Poor Countries Vaccinate Their People Against COVID-19 (Dr. Jerome Kim)
We speak to Dr. Jerome Kim, Director-General of the International Vaccine Institute (IVI). He discusses the purpose of the IVI and how it seeks to speed up the development and distributions of Coronavirus vaccines, the prospect of Coronavirus deaths doubling if rich countries buy up the first 2 billion doses, the COVAX facility and how it will help to get Coronavirus vaccine doses to poorer countries, Russia and the United States not being a part of COVAX, the need for more global health collaboration, the threat of anti microbial resistance and more!
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Bernie Sanders’ Brother Larry Sanders: ‘Large Chunk of the Democratic Party is a Right Wing Party’!
We speak to the brother of US Senator Bernie Sanders and the Green Party Spokesperson on Health and Social Care (England & Wales), Larry Sanders. He discusses the victory of Joe Biden over President Trump in the 2020 election, his reservations about Joe Biden and his hopes that Biden will make concessions to the left, Donald Trump’s power post-election, a large chunk of the Democratic Party being a right wing party, Boris Johnson’s response to the Coronavirus pandemic and more!
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Is the Prison System in the US🇺🇸 and U.K.🇬🇧 Fundamentally Broken? (Chris Daw QC)
We speak to Chris Daw QC, author of ‘Justice on Trial: Radical Solutions for a System at Breaking Point’. He discusses the UK’s arguably broken and oppressive legal system, the allegedly hellish conditions inside Belmarsh Prison which holds Julian Assange, how Coronavirus is leading to de-facto solitary confinement in prisons, the US’ mass incarceration system and how it has led to the United States having the largest prison population in the world, how corporations fuel the rise of private prisons in the US, the power of the prison lobby over politicians and much more!
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Communist Cuba🇨🇺 Develops Coronavirus Vaccines Despite US Sanctions
We speak to Dr. Helen Yaffe, co-presenter of ‘Cuba & Covid-19: Public Health, Science and Solidarity’. She discusses Cuba’s Coronavirus vaccine candidates which have been developed as the Trump Administration has piled on sanctions on Cuba, the Western media accusation that Cuban doctors are being trafficked, the unique public model of Cuba’s biotech sector which has developed many widely used drugs, US sanctions on Cuba and what’s stopping the U.K. and Europe from doing business with Cuba, the difference between Cuba’s socialist model and the Anglo-American capitalist model and why Cuba has had under 150 Coronavirus deaths and much more!
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Ethiopia🇪🇹 War: ‘TPLF Can’t Dominate Ethiopia, So They Want A Separate Tigray!’ (Neamin Zeleke)
We speak to former Ethiopian Ginbot 7 opposition leader Neamin Zeleke about the current conflict occurring in Ethiopia between government forces and Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). He discusses misinformation in Western media about the conflict, the peace deal made between Eritrea and Ethiopia after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power, the history of the TPLF in Ethiopian politics, whether an independent Tigray could be an outcome of this conflict, support by the Obama-Biden administration for the TPLF and much more!
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A History of Work: From Hunter-Gatherers To Unfulfilling Jobs Under Capitalism (James Suzman)
We speak to James Suzman, author of ‘Work: A History of How We Spend Our Time’. He discusses how work as we know it is really a modern concept that didn’t exist until recently, the capitalist global economy and how it forces people into unfulfilling work, why we may need to look to our hunter-gatherer past to rebuild and reshape our economies post-Coronavirus, why the hunter-gatherer attitude to work may be more beneficial when it comes to sustainability, fulfillment from work and much more!
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What Will Biden’s Foreign Policy Look Like? (Prof. Charles Krupchan, Ex-Special Adviser to Obama)
We speak to Professor Charles Kupchan, author of ‘Isolationism: A History of America’s Efforts To Shield Itself From The World’, former Special Advisor to President Barack Obama (2014-2017) and President Obama’s and President Clinton’s National Security Council Director for European Affairs. He discusses the isolationist tradition in American foreign policy history and how it has risen and fallen over the years, Donald Trump’s return to a form of isolationism with ‘America First’, the struggle for the United States to strike a middle ground between interventionist and isolationist, what Joe Biden’s foreign policy is likely to look like and whether it will be more of the same of Barack Obama’s regime change foreign policy, how Joe Biden’s relationship will be with the U.K. and EU, whether there are any hopes for better relations with Russia, the perspective from the global south that the United States is not fit to lead and more!
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Lord Griffiths on Free School Meals Crisis: Boris Johnson Doesn’t Understand Poverty!
On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to Lord Griffiths of Burry Port about the Free School Meals crisis where the government has not extended free school meals across school holidays, despite the economic crisis caused by Coronavirus, meaning 1 million children could go hungry. He discusses why old Etonians such as Boris Johnson don’t understand poverty, his own experience growing up in poverty and his need for free school meals as a child, the rising popularity of Marcus Rashford who is leading the campaign to get food to hungry children, the growing use of food banks and charity organisations by families to get food, the impacts of austerity over the last 10 years and much more!
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What Makes a Psychopath and How Society Fails Psychopaths (Dr. Mark Freestone)
We speak to Dr. Mark Freestone, Author of ‘Making a Psychopath’. He discusses what makes somebody a psychopath, why psychopaths are failed by society, the negative and damaging stigmas around psychopaths, the estimated amount of psychopaths in the general population, why incarceration and punishment may not be the right approach in dealing with psychopaths and much more!
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The Joe Biden Presidency: Will It Be Neoliberalism & Regime Change or Progressivism? (Matt Taibbi)
We speak to Contributing Editor of the Rolling Stone and host of the ‘Useful Idiots’ podcast Matt Taibbi. He discusses whether Donald Trump will leave the Presidency on his own accord and the media’s concentration over whether Donald Trump will refuse to hand over power, what Joe Biden’s foreign policy will look like with regards to Israel, Syria and the wider Middle East, whether Biden’s foreign policy will resemble Obama’s foreign policy, why criminal justice and prison reform is unlikely to happen under a Biden Presidency, the defeat of Bernie Sanders in the primaries and the impact it has had on the progressive movement, the ICC and why any US President could be brought in front of it for war crimes if the US was not a superpower and much more!
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John Pilger: Julian Assange’s Crimes Are Truth Telling & Making War Criminals Look in The Mirror!
On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to legendary journalist and filmmaker John Pilger. He discusses the extradition trial of Julian Assange being held at the Old Bailey in London, the war crimes Julian Assange uncovered, why the United States and Wear want to persecute him, key statements delivered in court by witnesses that may help the Wikileaks founder, allegations of bias against Judge Baraitser, the gruelling schedule Julian Assange has to go through for court hearings, the likelihood of Julian Assange committing suicide if he is jailed in a supermax prison which John Pilger describes as a ‘clean hell’, the role of the mainstream media outlets such as The Guardian in facilitating the persecution of Julian Assange and more.
#JulianAssange #Wikileaks #JohnPilger
STATEMENT FROM SERCO: We do not recognise the allegations being made.
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George Bush’s 2000 Election Lawyer: Trump’s Court Battles Won’t Change The Election Result!
We speak to George W. Bush’s lawyer for the litigation in Florida during the 2000 election, Barry Richard. He discusses whether Joe Biden really is President-elect, why Attorney General William Barr’s attempts to investigate election fraud to force recounts are pointless, why the 2000 election is different from the 2020 election regarding ballots, why Donald Trump’s calls to stop the vote count are harmful for democracy and much more!
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#USElection- Yesterday’s Man: The Case Against Joe Biden (Branko Marcetic)
We speak to the author of ‘Yesterday’s Man: The Case Against Joe Biden’ and Staff Writer at Jacobin Magazine Branko Marcetic. He discusses the contents of his new book which explores the lesser known parts of Joe Biden’s political career in great detail, including his friendship with racist senators, resistance against racial integration measures, a neoliberal record on economic policy, his relations with the powerful DuPont family in Delaware, his foreign policy record, Conservative ‘law and order’ stances and much more. Marcetic concludes that despite Biden’s perceived negative aspects, he makes a better choice than Donald Trump.
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Enter Shikari’s Rou Reynolds: Government Not Doing Enough To Save Music & The Arts Amid Coronavirus!
We speak to Rou Reynolds, lead singer of Enter Shikari. He discusses the letter he wrote to Chancellor Rishi Sunak, asking for more financial aid to the arts and music sector, the disparity in which sectors within art and music get the most funding, the government’s alleged ‘culture war’ on the rock, indie and alternative cultures, politics becoming more uncivilised and much more!
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Alan Dershowitz: Donald Trump Probably WON’T Win Election Court Battles Against Biden!
We speak to Alan Dershowitz, Donald Trump’s impeachment lawyer and Professor Emeritus at the Harvard Law School. He discusses the outcome of the 2020 Presidential election amid chaos over the counting of ballots and mail-in ballots, saying Joe Biden has likely won the Presidential election and that Donald Trump is likely to lose in litigation battles over the counting of ballots, Donald Trump’s 300+ picks of judges during his term and whether he picked them as a backstop if the 2020 election went to the courts, his view that Twitter is violating its own terms by censoring President Trump’s tweets, the omission by mainstream media of discussion about the allegations against Hunter Biden, why Joe Biden is unlikely to change Donald Trump’s policies to Israel and much more!
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Ex-Senior Advisor to Bernie Sanders: Trump vs Biden a HORRID Choice, But Americans Must Vote Biden!
We speak to former Senior Advisor to Bernie Sanders Phillip Agnew. He discusses the recent protests in Philadelphia after the police killing of another African American, Donald Trump’s ‘bungled’ response to the Coronavirus pandemic, why black and poor people in the US have a poor choice on both sides, why he believes progressives and Americans should vote for Joe Biden despite his record, the shadow of McCarthyism over Joe Biden and the United States, what corporations and private banks can expect from a Biden Presidency and much more!
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Jimmy Dore: Joe Biden is NOT The Antidote to Donald Trump!
We speak to Jimmy Dore, host of The Jimmy Dore Show and leading progressive commentator. He discusses why Joe Biden’s record as Vice President and as a Senator is worse than Donald Trump’s, Joe Biden’s responsibility for the Crime Bill, leading to the US having the world’s biggest prison population, Kamala Harris’ role in upholding the prison-industrial complex, whether Donald Trump is better than Joe Biden, the alleged smearing of Bernie Sanders and Tulsi Gabbard during the primaries, why Joe Biden won’t move to the left if he becomes President and much more!
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Ultraviolence: Is The US Better At Dealing WIth Police Brutality Than The UK? (Ken Fero)
We speak to Ken Fero, director of the film ‘Ultraviolence’ which explores police brutality and killings in the UK. He discusses the shocking statistic that since 1969, there have been over 2000 police deaths in the U.K., why warfare abroad cannot be divorced from policing at home, the issue of race in police brutality in the UK, the UK’s justice system compared to the US’ system regarding prosecuting police who have killed people and much more!
IOPC spokesperson: “Every death in police custody or death following police contact can have a tragic and lifelong impact on the family and friends of those who have died. It can also have a lasting impact on those involved in their detention. All such deaths require a mandatory referral to the IOPC so an independent review of the circumstances can be undertaken. It is critical that we thoroughly examine the circumstances of each case to ensure that those involved are held accountable, and importantly to identify if there are lessons to be learnt to help prevent future deaths. The IOPC is independent of the police, government and interest groups and we make our decisions impartially, based on evidence. By law, our Director General can never have worked for the police. Also none of our executive team, regional directors or our Director for Wales have worked for the police.”
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Sanctions Are Damaging Human Rights in Iran, Venezuela, Syria! (UN Rapporteur Alena Douhan)
We speak to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Negative Impact of the Unilateral Coercive Measure on Human Rights Alena Douhan. She discusses the passing of her predecessor Idriss Jazairy who had previously appeared multiple times on Going Underground, the impact of US sanctions on countries such as Venezuela, Iran and Syria, how sanctions are preventing the purchase of vital medical equipment during Coronavirus in Iran, how unilateral sanctions are attacking fundamental human rights such as the right to health and the right to education, why the fear of sanctions violates human rights as sanctions themselves and much more!
“We contacted the European Commission about the allegations in this segment and the Lead Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy sent us this statement:
On the US sanctions and their impact on humanitarian assistance: The EU was very clear in its reaction to the recently announced unilateral US sanctions against Iran: the potential impact of these US measures on humanitarian trade is a matter of concern for the EU. The US sanctions – like any other sanctions – must not stand in the way nor impede the global fight against COVID-19 or the delivery of humanitarian aid. The EU considers the extraterritorial application of unilateral restrictive measures unlawful and contrary to international law.
On EU actions in humanitarian area: The EU is looking for ways how to advance trade an provide humanitarian assistance even under the circumstances created by imposition of sanctions. As part of the EU’s ongoing efforts, the European Commission for example just launched two online platforms to support European economic operators, in particular Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), to engage in legitimate trade with Iran. The EU was also one of the first to announce humanitarian assistance to Iran in relation to the dramatic spread of coronavirus earlier this year. High Representative for EU Foreign Policy Josep Borrell spoke about it recently in the European Parliament, where he said: “As European Union, we were quick to provide humanitarian support, with a [humanitarian] air bridge, and we keep strongly advocating – together with the UN Secretary General [António Guterres] - that sanctions must not impede humanitarian trade. Together with EU Member States we also keep looking at ways to encourage more legitimate trade between the EU and Iran, including through INSTEX.” (feel free to use the audio and video from his remarks - see the entire speech here).
On EU position regarding trade as a result of the JCPOA: The EU has taken a series of concrete actions to continue enabling legitimate trade with Iran. The EU updated its Blocking Statute in August 2018 to provide legal protection to European companies that are interested in doing legitimate business with Iran. The EU has also supported the setting up of INSTEX (Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges) and helped making it operational. The EU is determined to continue pursuing efforts to enable legitimate trade with Iran, including through supporting the work of the E3 on INSTEX. This ongoing work is to make sure that the effects of the sanctions are minimised for the companies that want to continue to do legitimate business with and in Iran and that they can still have access to the necessary finance.
On Venezuela – we usually do not comment on reports by various NGOs or think tanks. But it is highly inappropriate to attribute deaths of people in Venezuela to EU sanctions. In fact it is very wrong, since the EU sanctions are targeted against the members of Maduro regime and on arms and equipment used for repression against the civilian population. This means, the EU sanctions are actually targeted against those who are responsible for the dramatic situation of the civilian population in Venezuela.
The EU sanctions against Maduro regime were introduced in November 2017. A total of 36 individuals are under sanctions. This includes an embargo on arms and on equipment for internal repression as well as a travel ban and an asset freeze on listed individuals. You can find more on the sanctions regime here: www.sanctionsmap.eu and for specific sanctions against Maduro regime in Venezuela here - https://www.sanctionsmap.eu/#/main/details/44/?search=%7B%22value%22:%22%22,%22searchType%22:%7B%7D%7D
These restrictive measures are intended to foster a peaceful, political and democratic solution, through credible, transparent and internationally monitored presidential elections, leading to the restoration of democracy, rule of law and human rights in Venezuela. The EU sanctions against the Maduro regime are flexible and reversible and designed not to target nor to harm the Venezuelan population.”
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