Published by Truthdig.com on February 11, 2016

A December 2015 aerial image of what Russian officials say was an airstrike on a truck column transporting oil products in Aleppo province, Syria. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service / AP)

Nearly five years after Syria’s Arab Spring revolt escalated into a civil war, the conflict has morphed into a wider regional war with no …

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GUEST: Jasmine Tucker, senior research analyst at the National Priorities Project, formerly with the National Academy of Social Insurance, where she was the lead author of the groundbreaking study, Strengthening Social Security: What Do Americans Want?

The grey hairs that have sprouted on President Barack Obama’s head over 7 years could well be attributed to his long-drawn out and caustic battles with Republicans in Congress over his …

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GUEST: Gerald Friedman, Professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Now that Bernie Sanders has begun to look like a front-runner to the commercial media, his polices are finally being discussed seriously. After all, with so many Americans from across demographic lines supporting him, there’s got to be something to his rhetoric. According to one economist, featured recently on CNN, “Under Sanders, Income and …

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GUEST: Jay Riestenberg, research analyst and principal author of the report, Our Voices, Our Democracy, by Common Cause.

As primary election season gets into full swing with the New Hampshire election yesterday, one issue that comes up again and again, and that can be seen undermining so many other issues, is money in politics. Since the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizen’s United decision, the disposable dollars of billionaires …

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GUEST: Todd Stenhouse, spokesperson for AFSCME Local 3299.

Much has been made during the primary election about Hillary Clinton’s speaking fees from major Wall Street firms. But her husband, Bill, is also about to be in the spotlight for a speaking event. Workers at the University of California in Berkeley are calling on former President Clinton to respect a speaker’s boycott of their university. Bill and his …

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GUEST: Gerald Markowitz, Distinguished Professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice at the City University of New York. He is the co-author with David Rosner, of ‘Lead Wars: The Politics of Science and the Fate of America’s Children’.

Just two days before the New Hampshire primary race, Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton visited the town of Flint, Michigan, where a tragic and entirely preventable man-made …

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GUEST: Joe Lauria, is an international affairs correspondent, who has written for the Consortium News, Middle East Eye and Wall Street Journal, among others, joining us live from Iraq.

The war in Syria rages on, despite world attention and a refugee exodus. United Nations sponsored peace talks, which were set to kick start another round of diplomatic discussions earlier this month, stalled within days. The talks are …

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GUEST: Mimi Kennedy, actor who rose to fame with her role as Abby O’Neil on ABC’s Dharma & Greg. She is also a long-time progressive activist and is currently the advisory board Chair of Progressive Democrats of America.

Hillary Clinton’s campaign is getting desperate. Or so it appears, at least according to recent statements by some of her highest profile supporters. In response to the growing popularity …

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GUEST: Ahlam Muhtaseb, a member of California Scholars for Academic Freedom, Associate Professor, Graduate Coordinator at the California State University San Bernardino.

An African American professor at Wheaton College has decided to leave her teaching position there after coming under fire for saying that Christians and Muslims worship the same god. Larycia Hawkins is a tenured professor of political science at the Christian college. As a protest …

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GUEST: Esther Calhoun is a resident of Uniontown, Alabama, and president of Black Belt Citizens for Health & Justice.

The US Commission on Civil Rights held a hearing on Friday to look into the impacts of coal ash disposal in low income communities, and communities of color in the US. Coal ash is a waste by-product of coal-fired power plants and, according to a report by Earthjustice, …

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