Black Agenda Radio - 07.16.18

Welcome to the radio magazine that brings you news, commentary and analysis from a Black Left perspective. I’m Glen Ford, along with my co-host Nellie Bailey. Coming up: We’ll have a radical analysis of the importance of the the summit meeting between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, from Dr. Tony Monteiro, who says the U.S. can no longer demand obedience to Washington’s version of how the world should be run; and, rebellion continues to simmer behind the prison walls in South Carolina.

The massive popular rebellion that rocked the streets of most of Haiti’s cities has brought down the prime minister and cabinet of the US-backed regime. The disorder was ignited by the government’s massive hike in the price of kerosene, gasoline and diesel fuel, under orders from the International Monetary Fund. In Brooklyn, New York, we spoke with Dahoud Andre, of the Committee to Mobilize Against Dictatorship in Haiti. Andre is also host of a popular Haitian radio program. He says the people of Haiti want the country’s president to step down, as well.

The summit meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, in Helsinki, Finland, occurs at a time of clear decline of the United States, economically and in terms of influence in the world. For three years, Russia has militarily prevented Washington and its Islamic jihadist proxies from overthrowing the government in Syria, Russia’s longtime ally. And, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, with Russia and China in the lead, is creating an alternative economic and political center on the planet, further diluting the influence of the U.S. and Europe. We spoke with Dubosian scholar and political analyst Dr. Anthony Monteiro. He says the world is quite different than the picture painted by the New York Times and the Washington Post.

South Carolina experienced the world prison violence in many years back in April. There’s very little news from the corporate media and current conditions behind the bars, but activists say the rebellion is still simmering. Efia Nwangaza is a veteran of the struggle against the criminal IN-JUSTICE system. Nwangaza is director of the Malcolm X Center for Self-Determination, and also directs WMXP Radio, in Greenville, South Carolina. She says the revolt against oppression in the state’s prisons has not been quelled.