ON CONTACT

Chris Hedges interviews knowledgeable guests in the following interesting interviews:

The CIA & torture with John Kiriakou
(On Contact with Chris Hedges)

"John Kiriakou, the CIA whistleblower, discusses the atrocities of the CIA and its torture program."

The power of persuasion with Stuart Ewen
(On Contact with Chris Hedges)

"Stuart Ewen is Professor and Chair of the Department of Film & Media at Hunter College and author of “Captains of Consciousness: Advertising and the Social Roots of the Consumer Culture.” Professor Ewen joins Chris Hedges for a conversation on the power of mass propaganda. RT Correspondent Anya Parampil looks at the influence of the public relations industry."

THE PENTAGON CAN'T ACCOUNT FOR $21T

(OR, WHY THE U.S. DOESN'T WAGE PEACE)

The Pentagon Can't Account for $21 Trillion
(That's Not a Typo)

(Truthdig.com)

"Twenty-one trillion.

But let’s get back to the beginning. A couple of years ago, Mark Skidmore, an economics professor, heard Catherine Austin Fitts, former assistant secretary in the Department of Housing and Urban Development, say that the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General had found $6.5 trillion worth of unaccounted-for spending in 2015. Skidmore, being an economics professor, thought something like, “She means $6.5 billion. Not trillion. Because trillion would mean the Pentagon couldn’t account for more money than the gross domestic product of the whole United Kingdom. But still, $6.5 billion of unaccounted-for money is a crazy amount.”

So he went and looked at the inspector general’s report, and he found something interesting: It was trillion! It was fucking $6.5 trillion in 2015 of unaccounted-for spending! And I’m sorry for the cursing, but the word “trillion” is legally obligated to be prefaced with “fucking.” It is indeed way more than the U.K.’s GDP.

Skidmore did a little more digging. As Forbes reported in December 2017, “[He] and Catherine Austin Fitts … conducted a search of government websites and found similar reports dating back to 1998. While the documents are incomplete, original government sources indicate $21 trillion in unsupported adjustments have been reported for the Department of Defense and the Department of Housing and Urban Development for the years 1998-2015.”

See Lee's Rant on Redacted Tonight:

New proof about $21 trillion missing, big oil hiring fake activists, & more

(Redacted Tonight with Lee Camp)

LIVING GHOSTS IN THE MACHINE

Koch Brothers' Money went to George Mason University to Influence US Government

(The Real News.com)

"Recently released documents show that the Charles Koch Foundation's millions of dollars in donations to GMU were tied to control over hiring and firing of professors. The ultimate target of their conservative agenda, though, is to influence DC politics, says Bill Black."

FRANCIS MOORE LAPPE ON DEMOCRACY

The struggle to wrest back control of our democracy with Frances Moore Lappe

(On Contact with Chris Hedges)

"Frances Moore Lappe, author of ‘Daring Democracy,’ discusses the struggle for democracy in the United States."

Central banking rules all, DNC unveils conspiracy lawsuit & more

(Redacted Tonight with Lee Camp)

"Lee Camp explains why Iran dropping the dollar probably means an increased push for war with them. Natalie McGill shows how ankle bracelets are bringing the profit-driven prison industry to a living room near you. John F O’Donnell files a report on the not-so-sexy side of the gig economy."

RALPH RADAR

Nader continues to detect and articulately describe the key issues endangering the citizens of the world, yet continues to be an undervalued resource.

BONUS INTERCEPTED PODCAST: RALPH NADER ON GINA HASPEL, JOHN BOLTON, SYRIA, AND THE “DECREPIT” DEMOCRATIC PARTY

(Intercepted Podcast)

"RALPH NADER IS the best known public advocate in modern U.S. history and has run four times for president. On this special episode of Intercepted, we are going to dig deep into several issues facing the country and the world right now. In case you are not familiar with Nader, he rose to prominence in the 1960s after blowing the lid on extreme safety issues with General Motors and other car manufacturers’ products. His book “Unsafe at Any Speed” was an influential investigation and exposé. Throughout his life, Nader has waged countless campaigns aimed at food safety, worker and environmental protections, ending pollution, cronyism in government, financial crimes, and more. Nader simply calls himself a public citizen.

Many Democrats and liberals continue to blame Nader for George W. Bush’s victory in the 2000 election, even though the claim is demonstrably false. But Nader perseveres and, at the age of 84, he continues to wage the very same battles he has from the start of his public life. His latest book, “Breaking Through Power,” chronicles his various battles against the U.S. government, big corporations, and concentrated political power. The latest Intercepted featured an excerpt of our interview with Nader. What follows is the entire conversation in both audio and transcript form."

Trump’s Corporate Presidency/The Truth About Airlines

(Ralph Nader Radio Hour)

"Ralph welcomes back president of Public Citizen, Robert Weissman, for an update on the Trump agenda and what they are doing to fight it.  Also, aviation expert William McGee tells us what’s really going on in the airplanes you fly with his book, “Attention All Passengers: The Airlines Dangerous Descent and What You Can Do To Reclaim Our Skies.”

SOMEHOW, NOAM SEEMS TO BE SADDER

"A Complete Disaster": Noam Chomsky on Trump and the Future of US Politics

(Truth-Out.org)

"Trumpism is one of many manifestations of the effects of the neoliberal policies of the past generation. These have led to extreme concentration of wealth along with stagnation for the majority. There have been repeated crashes of the deregulated financial institutions, each worse than the last. Bursting bubbles have been followed by huge public bailouts for the perpetrators while the victims have been abandoned. Globalization has been designed to set working people throughout the world in competition with one another while private capital is lavished with benefits. Democratic institutions have eroded. As already mentioned, all of this has led to anger, bitterness, often desperation -- one remarkable effect is the increasing mortality among middle-age whites discovered by Anne Case and Angus Deaton, analyzed as "deaths of despair," a phenomenon unknown in functioning societies."