Discussion on The Critical Hour about new Iran Sanctions (6/25/19)

Border Commissioner Resigns As Congress Battles Over Forgotten Migrant Children

The acting Customs and Border Protection commissioner is resigning amid a surge of immigrants at the southern border. John Sanders' resignation is set for July 5, and he didn't provide a reason for stepping down. The resignation comes as CBP deals with accusations of poor living conditions at US border facilities. House Democrats are battling over a $4.5 billion emergency aid bill for the southern border. Liberals are outraged over the treatment of migrant children and are pushing for more protections in the bill. They want tougher standards for facilities that house migrant families. In the meantime, the White House is threatening a presidential veto, as it seeks more funding for ICE detention. House leaders want to get the bill passed before next week's July 4 recess. 


In an open letter, 18 individuals from 11 wealthy families detailed the sweeping benefits of imposing a wealth tax on the richest Americans. What signal is this sending to the broader American electorate? “We are writing to call on all candidates for president, whether they are Republicans or Democrats, support a moderate wealth tax on the fortunes of the richest 1/10 of the richest 1% of Americans — on us. The next dollar of new tax revenue should come from the most financially fortunate, not from middle-income and lower-income Americans.” How much revenue could realistically be generated from a tax of this nature?

US President Donald Trump said in a Tuesday tweet, “Any attack by Iran on anything American will be met with great and overwhelming force. In some areas, overwhelming will mean obliteration.” He called Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s comments “ignorant and insulting.” Rouhani said earlier Tuesday that the White House was "afflicted by mental retardation" and vowed that Tehran would not be intimidated by American sanctions. “Imposing useless sanctions on Iran’s Supreme Leader [Ayatollah Ali Khamenei] and the commander of Iran’s diplomacy [Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif] is the permanent closure of the path of diplomacy,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said on Twitter. What does this mean going forward?
[My related article: Eve of Destruction: Iran Strikes Back]

A recent New York Times piece, "Guantánamo Case to Test Whether Torture Can Be Put on the Docket," details abuse Majid Khan suffered while in CIA prisons. "Mr. Khan, a confessed Qaeda courier, was held in almost total darkness for a year, fearing he would be drowned in an icy tub and isolated in a cell with bugs that bit him until he bled. In 2004, his second year of CIA detention, the agency 'infused' a purée of pasta, sauce, nuts, raisins and hummus up Mr. Khan’s rectum when he went on a hunger strike, according to a Senate Intelligence Committee report. Now Mr. Khan and his legal team are pursuing a strategy in an effort to force the United States government to acknowledge what was done to him in a way it never has for any of the detainees who were subjected to torture — and to give him a measure of compensation for it." The government is fighting the case, so what will happen next?

GUESTS:

Maru Mora-Villalpando — Nationally known immigrant rights activist, co-founder of the Latinx organization Mijente and community organizer with Northwest Detention Center Resistance. 

Dr. Jack Rasmus — Professor of economics at Saint Mary's College of California and author of "Central Bankers at the End of Their Ropes: Monetary Policy and the Coming Depression."

Jefferson Morley — Journalist and editor who has worked in Washington journalism for over 30 years, 15 of which were spent as an editor and reporter at The Washington Post. The author of "The Ghost: The Secret Life of CIA Spymaster James Jesus Angleton" and "Our Man in Mexico: Winston Scott and the Hidden History of the CIA," Morley has written about intelligence, the military and politics for Salon, The Atlantic and The Intercept, among others.

Jim Kavanagh — Political analyst and commentator and editor of The Polemicist.

Dr. Ajamu Baraka — American political activist and former Green Party nominee for vice president of the United States in the 2016 election.

[My segment starts at 35:15]
Listen to "Border Commissioner Resigns As Congress Battles Over Forgotten Migrant Children" on Spreaker.

The Critical Hour is a daily 60-minute news analysis and talk radio program on Radio Sputnik hosted by Dr. Wilmer Leon. Introduction above is theirs, with related articles of mine referenced in brackets.