Day: July 16, 2025

Israel Bombs Damascus as the Syrian Government Slaughters the Druze Minority, Exposing the Different Interests of Israel and the U.S. When it Comes to the Jihadi in a Suit Leading the New Syria 

We begin with the bombing of Damascus by Israel as the Druze in the south are being slaughtered by the Syrian army in a country led by a former jihadi who wants total control of Syria and not a federalist system that the endangered minorities want. We discuss the differing interests of the Americans and Israelis who don’t believe the leopard has changed his spots in terms of Syria’s new leader and Trump who likes the guy and admires his toughness. Joining us is Joshua Landis, the Sandra Mackey Chair and Director of the Center for Middle East Studies and the Farzaneh Family Center for Iranian and Persian Gulf Studies at the University of Oklahoma. The past president of the Syria Studies Association, he is a fellow at the Quincy Institute and writes “Syria Comment,” a daily newsletter and blog on Syrian politics.

Geo Group and Core Civic Feast on Taxpayer Money as ICE Detains Whoever They Can Snatch

Then, with The Guardian reporting on an Irish tourist who overstayed his visa by three day spending a month in horrific ICE detention, we examine what happens to those scooped up by ICE and sent into detention which is funded by the US taxpayer, enriching giant private contractors Core Civic and Geo Group who can expect even greater rewards with $45 billion more in the pipeline to hold people, justified or not, as they make more money out of inmates’ misery every day they are held. Joining us is Bill Hing, Associate Dean for Faculty Scholarship, Professor, and the Founding Director of the Immigration and Deportation Defense Clinic and Dean’s Circle Scholar at The University of San Francisco. He is the author of a number of books including Humanizing Immigration: How to Transform Our Racist and Unjust System, Defining America: Through Immigration Policy and American Presidents, Deportations, and Human Rights Violations.

Apparently the Rich Are Not Rich Enough in America

Then finally we speak with Sylvia Allegretto, a labor economist and Senior Economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research. She has co-authored several editions of The State of Working America, and her research interests include long-term unemployment, family budgets, teacher pay, public employee compensation, low-wage labor markets, inequality, and minimum wages. We discuss her article at The Center for Economic and Policy Research, “The Rich Are Not Rich Enough in America.”