GoingUndergroundTV

We speak to the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights on Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories Michael Lynk. He discusses Israel’s deepening occupation of Palestine and how international arms sales and agreements only embolden Israel, the designation of Palestinian human rights groups as terrorist organisations by Israel, Britain’s proscribing of Hamas as a terrorist organisation and why the move will only harm efforts to reach a peace agreement and much more.

We speak to Ambassador Wolfgang Petritsch, the former High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992-2002) about the current crisis in Bosnia which could see the potential breakup of the country. He discusses why the Croats and Serbs are threatening to boycott Bosnian elections next year and the background of the ethnic tensions, the controversial legacy of the Dayton Accords in setting the stage for the current crisis both ethnically and economically, the perception in the West that Russia's Vladimir Putin is behind the crisis and much more.

We speak to Nancy Hollander, lawyer for Guantanamo Bay prisoners such as Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri and Mohamedou Ould Slahi. She discusses the case of Majid Khan and the first public testimony of the experience at Guantanamo Bay, shocking torture methods used by the USA at Guantanamo Bay and other black sites around the world, the 26 people at Guantanamo Bay not charged with anything, the US’ bribery campaign in Pakistan, the persecution of Julian Assange and much more.

On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to Oscar-winning actor Peter Capaldi. He discusses the COP26 climate summit and why it was a largely a PR opportunity and a disappointment, launches a scathing attack on Boris Johnson's government on the lack of trust and its record on climate change including plans for more fossil fuel extraction in the UK, why the fight against the climate crisis means so much to him and more.

We speak to Philippe Lazzarini, the Director-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). He discusses the crisis facing the agency as it faces collapse due to a lack of funding, the impact the lack of funding for UNRWA has had on Palestinian refugees which is a lifeline for them, his message for Boris Johnson who cut funding for UNRWA, UNRWA’s work in Gaza and its schools being a safe haven during the Israeli bombardment campaign this summer, the international community’s ‘abandonment’ of refugees and much more.

On this episode of Going Underground, we firstly speak to Sudan’s Ambassador to the United States Nureldin Satti. He discusses the coup in Sudan which overthrew Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok just hours after US envoy Jeffrey Feltman was in Khartoum, Sudan’s economic crisis with the majority of the population impoverished, the legacy of former autocrat Omar Al-Bashir, economic ties with China and much more.

On this special episode, we speak to legendary film Palme d’Or winning film director Mike Leigh, who has made iconic films such as ‘Topsy Turvy’, ‘Peterloo’ and ‘Abigail’s Party’.

We speak to Ubai Al-Aboudi, one of the Palestinian activists targeted by Pegasus Spyware and Executive Director of the Bisan Center for Research and Development, one of the organisations Israel labelled a terrorist organisation. He discusses his reaction to finding out that he had been hacked using Pegasus Spyware and Israel’s draconian control over Palestinian communications, why he believes Israel labelled his group and 5 others terrorist organisations, the Palestinian Authority’s arguably complicit persecution of Palestinian activists alongside Israel and much more.

We speak to Lebanon’s former Foreign Minister Farés Boueiz. He discusses the rising power of Hezbollah within Lebanon and the growing tension between Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, the Gulf and the US, sectarian tensions being so high in Lebanon that a war could break out at any moment, the deepening economic collapse which the World Bank has called the world’s worst since 1850 and much more.

On this episode of Going Underground, we speak to ex-Israeli diplomat Daniel Levy on Trump’s Deal of the Century. He discusses why the peace plan is doomed to fail, why it reflects Israeli propaganda, what the deal would mean for Palestinians, Palestinian claim over Jerusalem, Netanyahu’s influence and more! Next, we speak to Lieutenant Steven Rogers, member of the Trump 2020 Advisory Board on the Iowa Caucus chaos, why the Democrats’ chaos in Iowa helps Trump, why he thinks Bernie Sanders is more of a threat to the Democratic Party than Donald Trump, why the US has had a troubled relationship with Russia and what makes Trump different in the context of US-Russia relations and why he thinks no Democrat has a chance against Trump. Finally, we speak to Ajamu Baraka, the Green Party’s 2016 Vice Presidential candidate on alleged DNC dirty tricks against Bernie Sanders including irregularities at the Iowa Caucus and media attacks, why the Democratic and Republican Party have very little difference in foreign policy, the similarities of Joe Biden’s, Pete Buttigieg’s and Donald Trump’s economic message and more!

We speak to Daniel Levy, Israeli negotiator in the Oslo 2 agreements. He discusses the US’ inaction over the Israeli aerial bombardment of Palestine and how China showed leadership at the UN in trying to begin international action against Israel, whether the Palestinian resistance is moving away towards armed struggle following Hamas’ show of force despite Israeli bombardment, how public opinion among Democrats is shifting towards a pro-Palestinian position after Israeli PM Netanyahu and former President Trump made Israel’s occupation of Palestine a partisan issue, the designation of Israel as an apartheid state and much more!

We speak to the former Israeli Ambassador to the United States Danny Ayalon on the assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani. He discusses Netanyahu’s statements to cabinet calling his assassination a purely American event and urging Israeli ministers to stay out of the conflict, Soleimani reportedly carrying an Iranian answer to the Saudi peace initiative, why Trump notified Netanyahu before the assassination but not other US allies and more!

On this episode, we speak to author, filmmaker and activist Tariq Ali. He discusses the death of Colin Powell and his involvement in the US’ many foreign wars, the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and why it won’t mean the end of US imperialism, US & UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia and Saudi Arabia’s role as a client state of imperial powers, the US’ increasing hostility towards Russia & China as they refuse to follow Washington’s directives, the extradition trial of Julian Assange and more.

We speak to Jonathon Porritt, author of ‘Hope in Hell: A Decade to Confront the Climate Emergency’. He discusses whether people can expect a success or failure in an agreement being reached at COP26 that could turn the tide against climate change, lying by fossil fuel companies on net zero targets, Boris Johnsons’s record on climate change and his recent comments rubbishing plastic recycling, the absence of Russia’s Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping from COP26 and much more!

Going Underground's Social Media Producer Farhaan Ahmed speaks to Jeremy Corbyn MP, Wikileaks Editor-in-Chief Kristinn Hrafnsson and Richard Burgon MP at the Belmarsh Tribunal, which featured some of the biggest names in international politics and journalism speaking in solidarity with Julian Assange, who faces 175 years in a super-max prison in the United States should British courts decide that he should indeed be extradited.

We speak to Raoul Pal, founder and CEO of Global Macro Investor. He discusses his advice for new investors seeking to enter the cryptocurrency world and gives his forecast for Bitcoin and other crypto prices, how cryptocurrency is the fastest-adopted technology in history, the coming war to regulate cryptocurrency in the US, the first Bitcoin ETF and what it means for the crypto world and much more!

We speak to Prof. Branko Milanovic, Visiting Presidential Professor at the Graduate Centre of the City University of York and former Lead Economist at the World Bank’s Research Department. He discusses Boris Johnson’s quoting of the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto who argued poverty could only be eliminated through economic growth, the unaccountability of politicians as inequality continues to become more extreme, why he doesn’t find long-term economic projections useful, why he compared Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution death toll to the neoliberal Coronavirus response death toll in the United States, Coronavirus’ effects on globalisation and why it will likely hit the middle classes of richer nations, why he believes economic growth is the only way to eliminate poverty and the dilemma the world faces in convincing developing countries to decarbonise and much more!

We speak to 2021 Nobel Prize Winner Prof. Klaus Hasselmann. He discusses why the political classes of the world have been unable to formulate a long-term united plan against climate change, he discusses the method and data used to separate long-term climate trends through Earth's history from the carbon-intensive human era since the industrial revolution for his pioneering climate change modelling, the CIA’s early knowledge that climate change would become a civilisation-threatening danger, the 1.5 degrees Paris Agreement target and much more!

We speak to Prof. John Ashton of Liverpool University. He discusses the House of Commons’ Health and Science Committees’ report on Boris Johnson’s government’s coronavirus response, how the report exposes the government as seriously unprepared in multiple areas with disastrous policies in other areas leading to more deaths such as in care homes, the UK’s death rate being one of the highest among developed countries, the UK falling behind in COVID-19 vaccinations compared to Europe, ‘social murder’ committed by the government during the pandemic through ‘arrogance and incompetence’, democracy being under threat by the government’s recklessness, the consultants who have become extremely wealthy through the development of the privatised NHS track and trace service, the possibility of more lockdowns and much more!

We speak to Gonzalo Boye, the lawyer of the former Catalonian President Carles Puigdemont. He discusses the recent arrest and release of Carles Puigdemont in Sardinia after the triggering of an arrest warrant, Spain’s alleged misleading of the European Court of Justice on the Puigdemont case, why Spain is not acting as a democratic state and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’ changing stances on the Catalonia issue, his accusation that Spain is not acting like a democratic state towards its minorities, smear campaigns against himself, Puigdemont and other Catalonian figures and much more!

We speak to Chuck Collins, Director of the Program on Inequality and the Common Good at the Institute for Policy Studies. He discusses the contents of the Pandora Papers which reveal the state of South Dakota to be a $367 billion tax haven, extreme income inequality in the United States and America’s historical tolerance of inequality, the capture of the US’ political system by corporate interests, the trend that most Americans side more with Bernie Sanders on addressing inequality than with corporate Democrats, the massive increase in billionaire wealth over the Coronavirus pandemic, the propensity for violence as inequality worsens and much more!

We speak to Prof. Jim Al-Khalili, the University of Surrey’s Distinguished Chair in Theoretical Physics for World Space Week. He discusses the importance of including science in popular culture and broadening the understanding of ordinary citizens on the way science works, social media’s amplification of anti-scientific conspiracy theories, the overwhelming benefit science has brought to the world despite nefarious uses such as in war, the Islamic world’s pioneering of modern science in contrast to Boris Johnson’s remarks that Islam put the Muslim world ‘century’s behind’, the study of quantum biology and much more!

We speak to Paul Ekins, former co-Director of the UK Energy Research Centre. He discusses the energy crisis wreaking havoc in the UK seeing fuel shortages at petrol pumps due to a lack of HGV drivers as well as electricity and gas prices soaring, the centrality of the need to reduce fossil fuel usage, how the energy crisis can be an opportunity for a stronger shift towards renewable energy, the bogus arguments behind corporate carbon offsetting, China’s efforts to decarbonise, the argument that energy in the UK should be nationalised and much more! We contacted the Oil and Gas Authority about the allegations in this show and they said: “In accordance with the OGA’s conflict of interest policy, Directors must declare any financial interests which may, or may be perceived to, influence their judgment in performing their duties as Directors of the OGA. This is done on appointment and annually. Directors are further asked to declare any conflicts of interest at the start of each board meeting. If a Director declares a conflict of interest with any agenda item, they will not participate in the discussion of that item..” They also pointed us to this web page: https://www.ogauthority.co.uk/media/7685/oga-annual-report-and-accounts-2020-21.pdf We also contacted California Governor Gavin Newsom about allegations made and the Governor’s press office forwarded us a link to this press release: https://www.gov.ca.gov/2021/07/09/governor-newsom-holds-virtual-discussion-with-leading-climate-scientists-on-states-progress-toward-carbon-neutrality/

Going Underground’s Deputy Editor Charlie Cooke speaks to Barney White-Spunner, author of ‘Berlin: The Story of a City’. He discusses the history of the rise of Berlin to the capital of modern Germany, the unique character of Berlin which sets it apart from other German cities, the false notion that Berlin’s history is defined by the bloody 20th Century, Berlin’s history of welcoming immigrants, the division of the city during the Cold War, Berlin’s Holocaust Memorial and what it says about Germany and much more!

Retired US Army Major Danny Sjursen, author of ‘A True History of the United States: Indigenous Genocide, Racialized Slavery, Hyper-Capitalism, Militarist Imperialism and Other Overlooked Aspects of American Exceptionalism’, discusses how America's wars abroad gradually erode freedom at home, with police forces becoming more militarized and governments seizing more and more power in areas such as mass surveillance. You can watch the full interview here: https://youtu.be/42IoTiZ4we4