Podcast (attitude): Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
Part One:
We focus on an interesting recent development in the tragic history of Afghanistan, whose people have been victimized by wars and political chaos for decades. The U.S. has begun negotiations with the Taliban – a group which is no longer in power. But the Afghan government – in theory, at least, the legitimate government in the country – has not been invited to participate in the talks. We try to understand how such negotiations can possibly result in any relief for the Afghan people, much less an enduring peace.
Part Two:
We check in again with Steffen Schmidt, Professor at Iowa State University, about the latest developments in politics, including yesterday’s historic Congressional testimony by Michael Cohen, Pres. Trump’s former lawyer. Cohen made several new allegations about Trump’s violations of law, including some while Trump was serving as President. The committee chair, Cong. Elijah Cummings, eloquently reminded all of us in the U.S. that “we’re better than this.”
We also discussed the dangerous possibility that the Trump administration will again have the U.S. intervene in another country’s government. This time, it’s Venezuela. Many countries in Latin America and the world would like to see Maduro removed as president of Venezuela, but most do not want such changes to be imposed by the U.S. military.
Finally, we discussed what appears to be a sense of entitlement among rich billionaires. As in New York City, Jeff Bezos and Amazon have broken a deal they’d made with Seattle to open an office in the city with 3,000 employees. Again, even though the city government gave in to Amazon’s demands, the city did not agree quickly enough and Amazon pulled out of the deal.
