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David Gibbs: NATO Expansion Key to Understanding Threat of War on Russia-Ukraine Border; Kevin Gosztola: Jeopardizing Press Freedom, UK Court OKs WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange Extradition to US; Dr. Kinari Webb: Project Connects Human Health & Environment to Protect Indonesia’s Rainforest; Bob Nixon: This Week’s Under-reported News Summary.

It’s important to powerful people to restrict what ideas people can access. It’s the land of the free and home of the brave, except if you want to know what’s happened and happens here, or to tell people about it. It all shows us the power of ideas. ... So if you are someone who wants to know about the world—and if you aren’t in a position to buy books online to read—you might, as many of us did and do, go to the library. That’s the place where you don’t have to pay to sit down, you don’t have to buy a book or a coffee in order to read. ... So it matters a lot that this critical, loved public institution is under threat of usurpation by the same folks who think that there should be nothing, nothing, that private-sector, profit-oriented rich people don’t own and control. Do you care about libraries, that let anyone in and support anyone’s interest in learning? Well, then get ready to fight, because that space, that idea, is on the ropes.

On the day of the court ruling against Assange, December 10, 2021, Chris Hedges invited Joe Lauria on the show he is hosting: "On Contact" on RT America. Accused of "espionage," Assange faces 175 years in prison, and journalists everywhere fear the loss of free speech and freedom of the press. ... On December 10, 2021, Britain’s Court of Appeal ruled that Assange can be extradited to the US to face the charges. On this program, Hedges discusses these latest developments with Lauria.

Seattle's Capitalists' Bundles Of Cash & Red-Baiting have been Unable To Defeat Socialist, Seattle socialist, city council member Kshama Sawant. Seattle socialist city councilwoman Kshama Sawant has been subject to repeated corporate-backed attempts to remove her from office and she just defeated yet another. Despite attacks from some of the world's most powerful capitalists, Sawant is not going away! Today we hear about some of her ongoing activities.

Today we examine Christian Zionist influence on the development of US policies concerning Israel/Palestine. Christian Zionists form a dominant portion of the so-called Christian Right. They are a major player in the Evangelical Movement, and a power player in the well-organized pro Israeli Lobby in the United States. 40% of the current Republican Party identify as Evangelicals…40%. So when we think about the base of the pro Israeli movement in the US we cannot think it is just Jews, it also includes the massive Christian religious right. Christian Zionists' clout in Congress is a major factor in the refusal of our elected Representatives to take a stand against the human rights abuses of the Israeli Government. An excellent forum on this issue was held at the Harvard Divinity School last October, and is the focus of our program this morning.

Liberals' horserace discourse: "Come election season, some of us who live in solidly “blue” states like California or New York take our activist selves on the road to so-called “swing states,” where our door-knocking will make the most impact. One possible destination next Fall for energetic canvassers is North Carolina, one of the nation’s most “purple“ states. This week on Sea Change Radio, we take a deep dive into North Carolina politics with Rob Schofield, the Director of NC Policy Watch. We recap the last few elections in the state, learn about battles over the fundamental right to cast a ballot, and take a look at some of the candidates and races slated for upcoming election cycles."

We’re all going to die. Our guest, Helen Caldicott, is founder and president emeritus of Physicians for Social Responsibility, founder of Women’s Action for Nuclear Disarmament, Co-Leader of the 1980 Nuclear Freeze Voter Initiative Campaign, founder of the Nuclear Policy Research Institute (now called Beyond Nuclear), founder of the Helen Caldicott Foundation, and initiator of the movement against French atmospheric tests in Australia and New Zealand. Her website is at http://HelenCaldicott.com She is also a member of the Advisory Board of World BEYOND War and will be hosting an online book club with her book Sleepwalking to Armageddon that you can sign up for at http://worldbeyondwar.org/bookclubs .

On the video, Mauldin talks and explains for about 5 minutes, then sings. Online viewers report that they laughed until they cried, and for some, their dogs began howling.