Mark Riley: The Intersection of Politics Culture

This week's podcast is more like a quiz. Question: How does the US fund Putin's war? Answer: Geometry. Picture the financial triangle between China, Russia and the US.The US buys goods from China (yes, you Amazon hounds...that's you).

China uses the dollars to buy energy from Russia to build the infrastructure for their total world takeover (scheduled 2049).

Russia takes the money (that China got from the US), sells the energy to China and gives sanctions the finger. Triangle...Get it?

Russia vs the rest of the free world...

Spotlight on Black HIstory Month in the US and interviews with living legends of the Black Drum Corps circuit.

NEW PODCAST EPISODE: Firearm Rights and gun worship are two different things. While places like Canada are able to separate responsible gun ownership from the hands of maniacs – America sadly doesn't differentiate. Back in 2012, 20 children and six staff from my own elementary school in Newtown, CT, were gunned down by a blood-thirsty citizen. US Gun laws and reform have barely changed since the Sandy Hook massacre. Ukraine or Russia…folks, this is not just a board game of #TwilightStruggle. Everybody's got an opinion, but how do you decipher real news from propaganda and which media are you going to trust?

I'm all for celebrating Black History Month, but let's also never forget that the bombing of the 16th St. Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL and the assassination of Medgar Evers were both terrorist responses against the Black vote. The latest attempt by a Trump-appointed judge to dismantle Section 2 of The Voting Rights Act is one to watch!

COVID ad infinitum… the residuals of this virus are impacting more than just health as inflation and supply chain costs in the US and worldwide are spiralling out of control.

Threats against members of Congress are surging over the past five years. If you count the throwdown in 1804 between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, it's just history repeating itself, but last year alone 9,600 documented threats were reported.

Speaking of threats, Putin is in a category all of his own…130,000 Russian troops supposedly just hanging out on the Ukraine border. According to Putin this should not be seen as menacing at all.

All is not so well in peace-loving Canada, where the protests of antivaxxer truck drivers caused a crippling disruption of supply chains. Auto plants cut back on shifts and the Ambassador Bridge found itself not moving $300 million dollars in goods per day. Yet concerns remain that of just a "small fringe minority" says non-confrontational PM Trudeau.

"Liberal states are maliciously withholding COVID vaccines from white people, and Nancy Pelosi is responsible for the January 6th Insurrection." Call it Diary of a Madman or Trump Trivia, but my left-side brain can't connect the lumpy Trumpy dots. White Antivaxxers are now worried about being left out of vaccine distribution? The Trump army would follow Pelosi's instructions to raid her own office? There's no appropriate emoji. There's one black NFL head coach out of 32 professional teams while 60% of the players are black. The League's definition of Diversity & Inclusion doesn't seem to count for much. Coach Brian Flores has put his career on the line taking up lawsuits against the NFL, the Dolphins, the NY Giants and Denver Broncos. He joins Curt Flood, Tommie Smith, John Carlos, Muhammad Ali, Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid in the march on balanced representation.

Did somebody in the Biden Administration really say journalists who question Defense Department accounts of bombings are siding with Russia and ISIS? You're kidding, right? America, don't shoot the messenger.

America, tell me who are you afraid of winning the most… as all roads lead to the appointment of one of three uber-qualified Black women to the Supreme Court? For my friends who like a wager, is your money on Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson (Harvard), California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger (Yale), or Judge J. Michelle Childs (USC)…my bet says with any one of these choices y'all need to listen out for the sound of a very large glass ceiling being shattered.

Spotify, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and Anti-Vaxxer Joe Rogan, battle it out over…well… money. It's a twisted plot involving Spotify paying Rogan $100m for his podcast, while artists have to get 315 downloads to make one dollar from their music.

There's a chess game going at the Russia/Ukraine border with 100k Russian troops sprouted seemingly overnight. Putin (chess piece, King), maintains "What me? Invade? Surely you jest…" The US (chess piece, Queen), has countered by sending troops and rallying the UK and other Bishops, Knights and Castles to join their team and defend the greater cause. Meanwhile, after 10 years of check- and stalemates, the Pawns (Ukraine citizens) see it as same sh*t, different day.

New Podcast Episode: I'm not a big fan of reality TV, but the "TrumpWorld family" would make a great storyline. In just this month the keywords are: Supreme Court, White House records, lower court rulings, Capitol insurrection, executive privilege, witch hunt, seizure of voting machines, Ivanka... and of course, what story would be without a good protagonist… Attorney General of New York, Letitia James! My forecast is it's all worth a good 3-season, 13-episode run on Amazon Prime or Netflix.

Shout out to Howard University's Knight Chair in Race and Journalism and Pulitzer Prize Winner, Nikole Hannah-Jones. Her delivery of a speech at the Union League Club of Chicago commemorating MLK was nothing short of brilliant. A masterful literary quilt woven from quoted excerpts of his actual speeches – but not the usual 'I have a Dream' and 'Let's all join hands in harmony' lines selected over time to appease white palates. Hannah-Jones substituted the word 'Negro' for 'Black' and did not reveal the original author until the end. She cast a chilling reminder on abusive words like 'traitor, charlatan and demagogue' hurled at him at the time. Uncomfortable audience - yes. Hypocrisy points made…you betcha! If China is a sworn enemy of this country, then why do we trade to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars? Listen to the podcast for more…

Giuffre vs The Duke of York: With the key

miscreant dead from suicide and the other about to rot in jail without bail, this story might only be left to the tabloids and screenwriters… but what we do know as fact is that Prince Andrew consorted with sex traffickers. Meanwhile, the Democrats score another loss from self-sabotage as Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) throws her President under the bus on voter suppression. Is it asking too much to expect a unified position from Dems on key topics? Her battle cry in this case is 'Let's use the Bipartisan approach.' I beg to differ…before we lose Congress again (and more black elected officials), I say let's take a page out of the Republican book of a unified front!

College, Uni, Undergraduates…whatever you want to call it… enrollment numbers are dropping dramatically. Have today's young people simply had enough of the Sallie Mae bait and switch game…pay me $100k for your education then spend the rest of your lives in repayment and bad credit?

NEW PODCAST EPISODE: Could the US be heading for another Civil War? The anniversary of the insurrection on the Capitol and a recent poll from Time Magazine points to, yes! I say one way to divert the imminent course is to attach the Republican enablers to the rebel outliers. The public needs to connect the links to those Trump-loving elected officials to the dangerous outer fringe of his supporters.

Ahmaud Arbery. A name further defining America in the pages of our nation's history. How will you explain these two words to your kids…justice but not closure? Gregory and Travis McMichael, and the third racist killer, William "Roddie" Bryan, will spend the rest of their lives upholding their American right to make a Citizen's Arrest…and they almost got away with it.

Anti-vaxxer Novak Djokovic dodges the bullet in Australia – should sports celebrities be allowed to maneuver where the average unvaccinated person cannot?

NEW PODCAST EPISODE: Omicron - what more or little do we know this week? It boils down to health vs the economy and an action-thriller guessing game. Should we turn up the heat on restrictions at risk of the collapse of entire industries, like hospitality or Performance Arts?

Ukraine vs Russia. How much do we really know about this complex tussle, and who says the Ukraine belongs to Russia just because Russia says it does? While the Parent/Teen relationship between these countries continues to fester, their ever-meddling Uncle [Sam] seems to think sanctions will make a difference. It's a 'Wrap' from Team Intersection...Wishing you and yours the very Best of Health as we welcome a New Year full of Hope.