The Real Story

On today's "In the News" roundtable, Brian Becker, Esther Iverem Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek discuss the new U.S. moves to escalate tension with China, the trial of Derek Chauvin, the latest on the Biden administration's infrastructure plan, and more.

In the News: Biden’s Top Priority: Spending for Military Supremacy over Infrastructure

Brian and Prof. Wolff discuss the Biden administration's next big priority -- passing an infrastructure plan his administration says will create a huge number of jobs. What’s in the proposal, will it pass and what does it mean for the working class?

Richard Wolff is the co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work and the author of many books, the latest being “The Sickness is the System: When Capitalism Fails to Save Us from Pandemics or Itself”. You can check out his work at rdwolff.com

Biden is Funneling Trillions to the Capitalists and Calling it an Infrastructure Program

In this December 2020 patrons-only seminar, Brian and the crew talked about the big picture of US imperialism from World War II to today, including what the Biden administration means for US foreign policy. Check out the preview now and subscribe at patreon.com/thesocialistprogram to hear the rest!

Brian Becker Seminar #1: The Military Industrial Complex, Biden, and the next US war (Preview)

Ramsey Clark, former U.S. Attorney General and renowned international human rights attorney who stood against U.S. military aggression worldwide, died peacefully April 9 at his home in New York City, surrounded by close family. He was 93 years old.

Read the full article: https://www.liberationnews.org/ramsey-clark/

Ramsey Clark dies: An Attorney General who turned against imperialism

On today's "In the News" roundtable, Brian Becker, Esther Iverem Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek discuss the police murder of Daunte Wright outside of Minneapolis as the trial of Derek Chauvin continues, the Pentagon's latest statement on "extremism" in its ranks, the brutalization of Army lieutenant Caron Nazario, the cyberattack on a key Iranian nuclear facility, and more.

In the News: Police Murders are not a "Mistake" -- They are Class War Against Black America

The Biden administration has announced that the United States will be withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan by September 11 of this year, and that this withdrawal will take place regardless of conditions on the battlefield. What's behind this move? Is the U.S. empire's longest war really coming to an end?

Continuing last week's episode about the history of U.S. intervention in Afghanistan, Brian talks with Sohrob Aslamy, a doctoral student at Syracuse University in the Department of Geography and the Environment.

Is the U.S. Actually Leaving Afghanistan? Part 2 of our Afghanistan and U.S. Imperialism series

Brian and Prof. Wolff discuss how the tobacco industry built an extremely profitable business model based on addiction, and what they're doing to try to keep it going.

Richard Wolff is the co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work and the author of many books, the latest being “The Sickness is the System: When Capitalism Fails to Save Us from Pandemics or Itself”. You can check out his work at rdwolff.com

Capitalism in Crisis: Addiction as a Business Model -- Capitalism Kills!

On today's "In the News" roundtable, Brian Becker, Nicole Roussell and Walter Smolarek discuss how the U.S. government is hoarding vaccine doses and prolonging the suffering of people all around the world in defense of big pharma’s profits. They also discuss tensions between Russia and NATO over Ukraine, a new court ruling in Los Angeles on the rights of the homeless, and more.

In the News: Vaccine Imperialism

Brian and Prof. Wolff discuss the latest efforts by the Biden administration to put severe economic pressure on Germany to back out of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, an infrastructure project that would deliver Russian gas to the European market competing with big U.S. oil and gas monopolies.  

Richard Wolff is the co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work and the author of many books, the latest being “The Sickness is the System: When Capitalism Fails to Save Us from Pandemics or Itself”. You can check out his work at rdwolff.com

Capitalism in Crisis: Declining U.S. Capitalism Declares Economic War Against Germany

Brian and Prof. Wolff discuss the deadly consequences of the U.S. government's stubborn refusal so far to waive patents preventing developing countries from producing their own Coronavirus vaccines -- all to protect the profits of the big pharmaceutical corporations. 

Richard Wolff is the co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work and the author of many books, the latest being “The Sickness is the System: When Capitalism Fails to Save Us from Pandemics or Itself”. You can check out his work at rdwolff.com

Capitalism in Crisis: When "Intellectual Property" Kills the Sick and Poor

In the first installment of an ongoing series where The Socialist Program examines the real origins of U.S. society, we discuss the true history of Thanksgiving. Brian and Dr. Gerald Horne talk about the history of settler colonialism in the United States, how it gave rise to slavery and white supremacist ideology, and the enduring features of U.S. society that can be traced to these phenomena.

Dr. Gerald Horne holds the Moores Professorship of History and African American Studies at the University of Houston and the author of many books, including “The Dawning of the Apocalypse: The Roots of Slavery, White Supremacy, Settler Colonialism, and Capitalism in the Long Sixteenth Century.” He is also the author of “The Bittersweet Science: Racism, Racketeering, and the Political Economy of Boxing.”

Creation Myths Part 1: The Real Story of Thanksgiving

A top Iranian nuclear scientist was assassinated on November 27 in a brazen murder. Was it the Israeli Mossad, the CIA, or both? Brian discusses the killing and takes an in-depth look at U.S.-Iran relations as Joe Biden prepares to ascend to the White House with Mohammad Marandi. He is an expert on American studies and postcolonial literature who teaches at the University of Tehran.

The Real Story: The Criminal Assassination of Iran’s Top Scientist: What Comes Next?

The Korean War began 70 years ago and has still not ended even though North and South Korea want it to end. The key obstacle is not in Pyongyang or Seoul but in Washington DC. Brian takes an in-depth look at US-Korean relations as the Biden Administration prepares to take the helm. Hyun Lee and Gregory Elich are the featured expert guests in this fascinating analysis.

The Real Story: Why Not Have Peace with North Korea?

Militarism is everywhere you look in U.S. society. No country on earth spends sums anywhere near as vast as the U.S. government. We are fed propaganda from childhood glamorizing war and the armed forces, and the endless bombing and occupation of multiple countries around the world is normalized and forgotten.

Brian is joined by Lee Camp -- a writer, comedian, activist, journalist, and host of the television show "Redacted Tonight," which you can see on RT America. His latest book is called "Bullet Points & Punch Lines: The Most Important Commentary Ever Written on the Epic American Tragicomedy."

The Real Story: Why U.S. Capitalism is Addicted to War

Donald Trump forfeited all support from establishment forces when he incited a fascist assault against the sitting U.S. Congress. Was there police and military collusion that allowed fascist forces to quickly seize control of the Capitol building?

The Real Story: Fascist Takeover in DC Isolates Trump

Thomas Isidore Noël Sankara was born December 21, 1949 in Upper Volta (today Burkina Faso), which, at the time, was a West African French colony. Sankara, a fierce enemy of the global system of neocolonial, imperialist capitalism (as well as all forms of bigotry and oppression), was assassinated on October 15, 1987, just four years after the people lifted him up as the president of their new revolutionary nation-state.

Like other influential socialists of the twentieth century Sankara’s life and anti-colonial and decolonial legacy continue to inspire anti-imperialist and Pan-African youth movements across Africa and beyond. A charismatic yet notably humble figure, Sankara is often referred to as the Ché Guevara of Africa [1]. Sankara is considered to have been one of the world’s most notable pan-African socialist revolutionaries.

However, unlike most of his peers Sankara wrote no major works for revolutionaries to study and learn from. What is available is a handful of speeches laying out the basic contours of his radical analysis and non-dogmatic revolutionary vision crafted for a popular audience. Sankara’s major contributions today are not only the historical example he set and the part he payed in the liberation of his own country and others, but also to the way he primarily expressed his political practice pedagogically.

Read the full article:
https://liberationschool.org/thomas-sankara-71-years-later/

Thomas Sankara: Leadership and action that inspires 71 years later

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

Is the U.S. Actually Leaving Afghanistan? Part 2 of our Afghanistan and U.S. Imperialism series

The Socialist Program with Brian Becker

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