Sri Lanka owes 81% of its external debt to US and European financial institutions and Western allies Japan and India. China owns just 10%. But Washington blames imaginary “Chinese debt traps” for the nation’s crisis, as it considers a 17th IMF structural adjustment program.

VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=U52tT5hgtSk

SOURCES here: https://multipolarista.com/2022/07/11/debt-trap-sri-lanka-west-china

Real debt trap: Sri Lanka owes vast majority to West, not China

Support Pushback: https://www.patreon.com/aaronmate

A recent article in The Guardian parroted a US state-funded group's evidence-free allegations that The Grayzone’s Aaron Maté -- who has reported extensively on the OPCW’s Syria cover-up scandal -- is "the most prolific spreader of disinformation" about Syria among a "network" of "conspiracy theorists."

Aaron called Guardian reporter Mark Townsend on the phone to ask him to substantiate these defamatory claims, and why he didn’t reach out before printing them. 

Guest: Mark Townsend. Reporter for The Guardian who wrote the story, “Network of Syria conspiracy theorists identified” — now updated with Aaron Maté’s response. 
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/19/russia-backed-network-of-syria-conspiracy-theorists-identified

Note: to reduce repetition, the recording of the phone call between Aaron and Mark Townsend has been shortened. Townsend was contacted for comment prior to publication of this segment, but did not respond.

Grayzone challenges Guardian reporter on US state-funded Syria smears

For bonus content, to support independent media and to help make this program possible, please join us on Patreon at: https://www.patreon.com/thekatiehalpershow

Katie Halper is joined by Joshua Bregman to review news clips.  Then, Katie is joined by Dr. Charisse Burden-Stelly (https://www.charisseburdenstelly.com/).  Dr. Burden-Stelly talks about race, capitalism, imperialism, hegemony, anti Blackness and anti-communism. 

Dr. Charisse Burden-Stelly (https://twitter.com/blackleftaf) is Associate Professor of African American Studies at Wayne State University. She was the 2020-2021 Visiting Scholar in the Race and Capitalism Project at the University of Chicago and an Assistant Professor of Africana Studies and Political Science at Carleton College. A scholar of political theory, political economy, and intellectual history, Dr. Burden-Stelly is the co-author, with Dr. Gerald Horne, of W.E.B. Du Bois: A Life in American History. Her published work appears in journals including Small Axe, Souls, Du Bois Review, Socialism & Democracy, International Journal of Africana Studies, and the CLR James Journal. She is also the guest editor of the forthcoming “Claudia Jones: Foremother of World Revolution” special issue of The Journal of Intersectionality and a regular contributor to Black Perspectives, the award-winning blog of the African American Intellectual History Society. As a visiting scholar, she will complete her book manuscript, tentatively titled Black Scare/Red Scare, in which she examines the rise of the United States to global hegemony between World War I and the early Cold War at the intersection of racial capitalism, imperialism, anticommunism, and the superexploitation and oppression of Blackness.

Dr. Charisse Burden-Stelly On Imperialism, Black August & Anti-Communism

A second congressional delegation went to Taiwan this week, less than two weeks after Pelosi visited. These trips have sparked a sense of outrage among many Chinese people, who demand respect for their sovereignty and for their impressive social and economic achievements. This includes massive poverty reduction and surpassing the United States in key indicators like life expectancy. How is U.S. aggression against China related to their continuous rise?

Brian is joined by Tings Chak, Shanghai-based researcher at the Tricontinental Institute & a member of Dongsheng News collective and the author of the pamphlet “Serve the People: The Eradication of Extreme Poverty in China.”

Please make an urgently-needed contribution to The Socialist Program by joining our Patreon community at patreon.com/thesocialistprogram. We rely on the generous support of our listeners to keep bringing you consistent, high-quality shows. All Patreon donors of $5 a month or more are invited to join the monthly Q&A seminar with Brian.

China’s Rise: Why U.S. Threats & Provocations Will Not Succeed

On today's episode Walter Smolarek and Prof. Richard Wolff discuss the student debt crisis. With an announcement expected imminently on the fate of the national freeze on student debt payments, pressure is mounting on the Biden administration to not only extend the moratorium, but also cancel a substantial amount of the crushing debt burden tens of millions of people in the United States are under. How did we end up in a situation where borrowers have accumulated over $1.7 trillion in debt just because they wanted to get an education?

Professor Richard Wolff is an author & co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work. You can find his work at rdwolff.com.

Please make an urgently-needed contribution to The Socialist Program by joining our Patreon community at patreon.com/thesocialistprogram. We rely on the generous support of our listeners to keep bringing you consistent, high-quality shows. All Patreon donors of $5 a month or more are invited to join the monthly Q&A seminar with Brian.

How U.S. Capitalism Buries Students in Debt

The U.S. government has destroyed cities, countries, and towns around the world, through bombs and air raids, military ground invasions, naval attacks, economic sanctions and strangulation, coups, and more. Some say U.S. force is never ending, others say it’s on a fast decline, almost gone forever. Vijay Prashad and Noam Chomsky argue in their new book, “The Withdrawal: Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, and the Fragility of U.S. Power,” that U.S. military might is somewhere in the middle: it’s fragile.

Brian is joined by Vijay Prashad, the Executive Director of the Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, Chief Editor of LeftWord Books, and author of a new book with Noam Chomsky called “The Withdrawal: Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, and the Fragility of U.S. Power.”

Please make an urgently-needed contribution to The Socialist Program by joining our Patreon community at patreon.com/thesocialistprogram. We rely on the generous support of our listeners to keep bringing you consistent, high-quality shows. All Patreon donors of $5 a month or more are invited to join the monthly Q&A seminar with Brian.

Vijay Prashad and Noam Chomsky on Afghanistan War & the Fragility of US Empire

US imperial court philosopher Francis Fukuyama once declared liberal capitalist democracy was the "end of history." Now he is openly praising the deep state.

Ben Norton is joined by political scientist Aaron Good of the American Exception podcast to analyze his fallacious arguments.

VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=Rr1a4BshPo8

You can support Aaron's show American Exception at https://patreon.com/americanexception

US imperial theorist Fukuyama praises the deep state (with historian Aaron Good)

The assault on our democratic rights within the United States is growing. The right wing of the U.S. ruling class, using the Supreme Court and other undemocratic institutions, has begun eviscerating hard-fought economic, social, and political rights that have been achieved in past decades. This will be an epic struggle. Producer Nicole Roussell and Brian discuss how we got here and what's next.

Please make an urgently-needed contribution to The Socialist Program by joining our Patreon community at patreon.com/thesocialistprogram. We rely on the generous support of our listeners to keep bringing you consistent, high-quality shows. All Patreon donors of $5 a month or more are invited to join the monthly Q&A seminar with Brian.

How the Ultra-Right Intends to Take & Consolidate Political Power

On today's episode Brian Becker and Prof. Richard Wolff discuss how fears of an all-out economic crisis are deepening as FedEx announces that it expects a global recession based on a sharp decline in world shipping activity, and a higher-than expected inflation report deepens the federal reserve’s determination to raise interest rates. The capitalist class remains determined to drive the economy off a cliff to eviscerate workers’ living standards and bargaining power.

Professor Richard Wolff is an author & co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work. You can find his work at rdwolff.com.

Please make an urgently-needed contribution to The Socialist Program by joining our Patreon community at patreon.com/thesocialistprogram. We rely on the generous support of our listeners to keep bringing you consistent, high-quality shows. All Patreon donors of $5 a month or more are invited to join the monthly Q&A seminar with Brian.

Inflation Crisis & the March Towards Recession

The far right is on the move, installing themselves in key places throughout the election infrastructure of the country. States are considering further attacks, like eliminating early voting, after Republicans have spent decades filling the state legislatures. These attacks are racist, undemocratic, and coming to a head this November.

Brian is joined by Esther Iverem, a longtime journalist, producer and host of the show ‘On the Ground: Voices of Resistance From the Nation’s Capital,’ which comes out weekly on Fridays. Check it out at onthegroundshow.org and two dozen Pacifica stations nationwide.

Please make an urgently-needed contribution to The Socialist Program by joining our Patreon community at patreon.com/thesocialistprogram. We rely on the generous support of our listeners to keep bringing you consistent, high-quality shows. All Patreon donors of $5 a month or more are invited to join the monthly Q&A seminar with Brian.

Behind the Scenes: How the Right Wing Is Quietly Planning to Seize Election Infrastructure

Bolivia’s leftist President Luis Arce used his platform at the United Nations General Assembly to propose a revolutionary 14-point program to transform the world.

VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=Kqzrvo_vC68

Translation and more info here: https://multipolarista.com/2022/09/27/luis-arce-un-bolivia-14-point-program

Our report ‘War on drugs has failed’: At UN, Colombia condemns ‘addiction to money and oil’: https://multipolarista.com/2022/09/24/war-drugs-un-colombia-gustavo-petro

At UN, Bolivia presents revolutionary 14-point socialist program to transform world

News and views about the world for those who want to change it, with Brian Becker

How the Ultra-Right Intends to Take & Consolidate Political Power

The Socialist Program with Brian Becker