Links to today’s show transcripts:

Rashid Khalidi: From Iran to Palestine, Nikki Haley Put a Nice Face on Trump’s “Horrific” U.S. Policies
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley has announced she is resigning her post at the end of the year. The former South Carolina governor—one of the few women in Trump’s Cabinet—gave no reason for her departure. During Nikki Haley’s time as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, the United States withdrew from the Paris climate accord; the U.N. Human Rights Council; the Iran nuclear deal; UNRWA, the U.N. agency that provides humanitarian aid to Palestinians; and UNESCO, the U.N. educational and cultural agency. Rashid Khalidi is an Edward Said professor of Arab studies at Columbia University, and speaks about the significance of Haley’s departure and the role of the United States at the United Nations. Khalidi is the author of “Brokers of Deceit: How the U.S. Has Undermined Peace in the Middle East.” His next book, titled “The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine,” will be out in May.

Rashid Khalidi on the U.S. Backing of Brutal Saudi Regime & the Disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi
It’s been more than a week since Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi disappeared after entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul last Tuesday, sparking international concern. Now, a Turkish official has told The New York Times that Khashoggi was assassinated inside the consulate by a team of 15 Saudi operatives who used a bone saw to dismember his body before smuggling body parts out of the building. Rashid Khalidi who is an Edward Said professor of Arab studies at Columbia University is interviewed. He is the author of several books, including “Brokers of Deceit: How the U.S. Has Undermined Peace in the Middle East.”

Valve Turners on Trial: Judge Acquits Three Climate Activists Who Shut Down Tar Sands Pipelines
A month before the 2016 election, anti-pipeline activists staged an unprecedented coordinated action to shut down the flow of oil from Canada to the United States. On October 11, 2016, activists in North Dakota, Washington, Montana and Minnesota turned the manual safety valves on four pipelines, temporarily halting the flow of nearly 70 percent of the crude oil imported to the United States from Canada. They came to be known as the “valve turners.” What followed was a lengthy legal battle that ended with some of the activists in jail. But on Tuesday, three valve turners who broke into an oil pipeline facility in Minnesota on that day in 2016 were acquitted. The valve turners themselves, Annette Klapstein and Emily Johnston, speak about their acquittal. Johnston is a poet and co-founder of 350Seattle.org, and Klapstein is a retired attorney for the Puyallup Tribe and member of the Raging Grannies. Their attorney, Kelsey Skaggs, is also interviewed.

Ex-NASA Scientist Dr. James Hansen: We Need to Act Now to Preserve Our Planet for Future Generations
As Hurricane Michael barreled down on Florida, famed climate scientist Dr. James Hansen traveled to Minnesota earlier this week to testify on the imminent danger of climate change. He was supposed to be an expert witness at the trial for the “valve turners,” the anti-pipeline activists who staged an unprecedented coordinated action to shut down the flow of oil from the United States to Canada in 2016. But the judge ruled she would not allow witnesses like Dr. Hansen to testify on the clear and present danger posed by climate change. On Tuesday, valve turner activists Annette Klapstein and Emily Johnston were acquitted. Hansen in Minneapolis speaks about the valve turners, the recent IPCC report about the imminent threat of climate change and what must be done to save the planet from destruction. Hansen is the former top climate scientist at NASA. He is now the director of Climate Science, Awareness and Solutions at Columbia University’s Earth Institute.

Order Eric’s Autumn Reading, which will cover Venus retrograde and beyond, and comprises all 12 signs. This will give you crucial insight into your Sun and rising signs, plus those of your closest partners, friends, family members and prospective lovers. Each sign will be 30 to 40 minutes each, and the set will come with a video introduction. You may order here, or call us at (845) 481-5616.

Links to today’s show transcripts:

Brazil’s Eroding Democracy: Rise of Far-Right Demagogue Follows Ouster of Dilma & Jailing of Lula
In a stunning upset that may radically alter the political landscape of Latin America, far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro won 46 percent of the vote in Sunday’s presidential election in Brazil in a far more decisive victory than expected. The former Army officer has a long history of making racist, homophobic and misogynistic comments and has openly praised Brazil’s military dictatorship. He will now face Fernando Haddad of the leftist Workers’ Party in a runoff on October 28. Haddad won 29 percent of the vote Sunday. Many are warning that the future of democracy in Brazil hangs in the balance. Maria Luísa Mendonça is the director of the Network for Social Justice and Human Rights in Brazil, who says Bolsonaro is a “fascist” and that his election would create “a very dangerous situation in Brazil.”

Climate Scientist: As U.N. Warns of Global Catastrophe, We Need a “Marshall Plan” for Climate Change
A new report from the United Nations’ climate panel warns humanity has only a dozen years to mitigate global warming and limit the scope of global catastrophe. Otherwise, millions will be imperiled by increasing droughts, floods, fires and poverty. The sweeping report by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change urges immediate and unprecedented changes to global policy in order to keep global warming at a maximum of 1.5ºC. Kevin Anderson is a Zennström professor in climate change leadership at the Centre for Environment and Development Studies at Uppsala University and chair of energy and climate change at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of Manchester in Britain. He says that the IPCC report fails to hold the world’s highest emitters accountable, and argues a “Marshall Plan” for climate change is necessary to save the planet from destruction. “About 70 percent of global emissions of carbon dioxide come from about 20 percent of the world population. … When we try to address climate change and reduce our emissions by focusing on all 7.5 billion people, I think it misunderstands where the actual responsibility of emissions resides,” Anderson says. “We’re not developing policies that need to be tailored to that particular 20 percent.”

2017 Nobel Peace Laureate: Amid Talks with North Korea, It’s Time for U.S. to Abandon Nukes, Too
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang over the weekend in talks meant to further steps toward nuclear disarmament. Pompeo hailed the meeting as a success, saying both sides were “pretty close” to agreeing to details for a second summit between Kim and President Donald Trump. He also told reporters Kim has agreed to let international inspectors into a North Korean missile engine test facility and nuclear testing site where the country conducted its six nuclear tests. However, Pompeo did not say whether North Korea would allow inspectors to visit a site where the country produces fuel for nuclear weapons. Beatrice Fihn is the executive director of the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, and speaks about the ongoing negotiations on the Korean Peninsula, the U.S. nuclear stockpile and the path to an international ban on nuclear weapons. She is in New York to deliver The Nation Institute’s third annual Jonathan Schell Memorial Lecture on the Fate of the Earth tonight at The New School.

Order Eric’s Autumn Reading, which will cover Venus retrograde and beyond, and comprises all 12 signs. This will give you crucial insight into your Sun and rising signs, plus those of your closest partners, friends, family members and prospective lovers. Each sign will be 30 to 40 minutes each, and the set will come with a video introduction. You may order here, or call us at (845) 481-5616.

Links to today’s show transcripts:

“They Did Not Care”: How the GOP Dismissed Assault Accusations & Confirmed Kavanaugh
Brett Kavanaugh was sworn in Saturday as an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court, just hours after the Senate voted to confirm him amid massive protests outside the Capitol. He will begin hearing cases Tuesday and could vote as early as Tuesday or Wednesday on a case that tests how much power courts would wield over the executive branch. His nomination came under intense public scrutiny after accusations of attempted rape and sexual assault surfaced. Coverage begins with Jodi Jacobson, president and editor-in-chief of Rewire, who wrote a piece this weekend headlined “A ‘Titanic Fraud’: Susan Collins, the ‘Moderate’ Who Never Was.” Senator Collins “went on the floor of the Senate to literally gaslight the entire nation about both the process and the nominee himself,” Jacobson says, responding to Collins’s vote to confirm Kavanaugh.

Where Does #MeToo Go from Here? Women Are “On Fire” with Rage as Kavanaugh Joins Supreme Court
Thousands of women protested outside the U.S. Capitol and across the country on Saturday as Brett Kavanaugh was sworn in as an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court, just hours after the Senate voted to confirm him. “I hope that it is deep enough that it is forming a strong, cohesive movement among people that will resonate through this country and change the culture,” says Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CodePink, who joined the protests. Longtime feminist activist and writer Soraya Chemaly, author of the new book, “Rage Becomes Her: The Power of Women’s Anger” is interviewed. She says conservatives’ biggest fear since the “Me Too” movement is that women are telling the truth. “And if women are telling the truth,” Chemaly notes, “then it’s not just an indictment of a few bad apples, but an indictment of the entire system.”

Alleged Saudi Murder of Washington Post Columnist Prompts Calls to Halt U.S. Relations with Regime
Fears are growing over the fate of missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who Turkish officials say they believe was murdered in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul last week. Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post who had been living in self-imposed exile in the United States, entered the Saudi Consulate in Turkey seeking a document he needed to get married and has not been seen since. The Washington Post reports a Turkish investigation has revealed that a group of about 15 Saudi men traveled to Istanbul to kill Khashoggi as he visited the consulate. Saudi officials have denied the report and say they don’t know the journalist’s whereabouts. Khashoggi is a critic of the Saudi regime. “This is a horrific escalation in the crown prince’s campaign to silence dissent, to silence any criticism, even the mildest of criticism, from Saudis at home or abroad,” says columnist for The Intercept Mehdi Hasan, who is also host of “UpFront” at Al Jazeera English, where he interviewed Khashoggi earlier this year. Medea Benjamin is a co-founder of CodePink, who knew Khashoggi and is the author of “Kingdom of the Unjust: Behind the U.S.-Saudi Connection.”

Order Eric’s Autumn Reading, which will cover Venus retrograde and beyond, and comprises all 12 signs. This will give you crucial insight into your Sun and rising signs, plus those of your closest partners, friends, family members and prospective lovers. Each sign will be 30 to 40 minutes each, and the set will come with a video introduction. You may order here, or call us at (845) 481-5616.