Sojourner Truth Radio

South Africa is in mourning today following the death of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. She was still referred to as "The Mother of the Nation." Congresswoman Maxine Waters joins us to discuss her legacy.

South Africa is in mourning today following the death of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. She was still referred to as "The Mother of the Nation." Congresswoman Maxine Waters joins us to discuss her legacy.

Then, economist Max Wolff joins us to discuss the brewing trade war that grew out of Trump slapping tariffs on aluminum and steel as well as $60 billion in annual imports from China. China has retaliated with tariffs of their own on U.S. products and has promised to match Trump's tariffs dollar for dollar. The stock market fell in response in response to the trade tiff – as well as in response to Trump's latest attack on the technology sector (in particular, his reported hatred of Amazon CEO and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos).

The rebellion of teachers in red states steps it up a notch with walkouts continuing in Oklahoma and Kentucky. This follows the successful wildcat strike of teachers in conservative West Virginia. Teachers in Arizona are also threatening action. Our guest is Tammy Berlin, a longtime high school teacher based in Jefferson County, Kentucky.

Plus, our weekly Earth Minute returns.

Today, on the domestic front: a lawsuit that claims Trump may be in violation of a little-known Emoluments Clause in the Constitution. What is this clause, and what do these suits tell us about the balance of power between the White House and the judiciary?

Plus, John Bolton is back at a time when there is ramping up of conflict in the Middle East: with Trump promising to break the nuclear deal with Iran, Bolton pushing for a military hit on Iran, and the Israeli government emboldened today killing at least nine Palestinians, who according to news reports, were involved in peaceful protest.

Meanwhile, the Mueller investigation heats up, even as a soap opera-worthy stories continue to unfold "with a stripper, a payoff, and a media savvy lawyer giving Trump a run for his money.

And, the Cambridge Analytica scandal has revealed how Facebook users were fed fake news to the benefit the Trump campaign and to sway elections in several parts of the Global South, including Kenya.

On the Global Front, history is in action as the secretive leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un, traveled to China to meet with the Chinese President. Plans are in place for him to travel South for a North/South Korea Summit in April. Meanwhile, there is an agreed-to meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un later this spring. But what does all this mean? Is this a win for Trump, or simply a coming together of the two Koreas and a strengthening of their relationship with China?

Plus, China is not taking lightly Trumps moves to penalize the country through tariffs and is threatening retaliation.

And, the cold war with Russia has gotten hotter, with Russia retaliating against the expulsion of its diplomats. They have now expelled 60 U.S. diplomats from Russia and announced the closing of the all-important US Embassy in St. Petersburg Russia.

Our guests are Laura Carlsen, Jackie Goldberg and Dr. Gerald Horne.

The Trump administration has announced that Trump will make his first visit to Latin America as President. He will visit Peru to attend the Summit of the Americas and Columbia to meet with Columbian President Juan Manuel Santos. Also, the US and Mexico have signed an agreement to go after drug smugglers in the high seas. This breaks new ground, as Mexico has been hesitant to do joint operations with the US since the Mexican-American war 170 years ago. And, In Brazil, Black activist Marielle Franco was killed and massive protests followed. Meanwhile, in Honduras, another arrest was made recently in the murder of indigenous environmental activist Berta Caceres. To discuss this and more news south of the border, we welcome Laura Carlsen.

UK-based company Cambridge Analytica has collected data on millions of Facebook users to influence elections in the US, Kenya, India and other parts of the world, using fake news, targeted ads, and other measures. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, while refusing to address the UK parliament, has said he will appear before the US Congress to answer questions on the scandal. How did Cambrige Analytica collect the data of millions of us? How did the data benefit the likes of John Bolton Trumps new National Security Advisor and the Trump campaign? Is influencing election outcomes new, or is this simply the latest twist? Our guest is journalist Yasha Levine, investigative journalist and author of "Surveillance Valley: The Secret Military History of the Internet."

For our weekly Earth Watch, Mila De Mier joins us to discuss the planned release of genetically modified mosquitos.

UK-based company Cambridge Analytica has collected data on millions of Facebook users to influence elections in the US, Kenya, India and other parts of the world, using fake news, targeted ads, and other measures. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, while refusing to address the UK parliament, has said he will appear before the US Congress to answer questions on the scandal. How did Cambrige Analytica collect the data of millions of us? How did the data benefit the likes of John Bolton Trumps new National Security Advisor and the Trump campaign? Is influencing election outcomes new, or is this simply the latest twist? Our guest is journalist Yasha Levine, investigative journalist and author of "Surveillance Valley: The Secret Military History of the Internet."

The Trump administration has announced that Trump will make his first visit to Latin America as President. He will visit Peru to attend the Summit of the Americas and Columbia to meet with Columbian President Juan Manuel Santos. Also, the US and Mexico have signed an agreement to go after drug smugglers in the high seas. This breaks new ground, as Mexico has been hesitant to do joint operations with the US since the Mexican-American war 170 years ago. And, In Brazil, Black activist Marielle Franco was killed and massive protests followed. Meanwhile, in Honduras, another arrest was made recently in the murder of indigenous environmental activist Berta Caceres. To discuss this and more news south of the border, we welcome Laura Carlsen.

For our weekly Earth Watch, Mila De Mier joins us to discuss the planned release of genetically modified mosquitos.

Protests continue in Sacramento, California following the police killing of unarmed Black man 22-year-old Stephon Clark. Clark was killed in his grandmother's backyard. Police fired 20 shots at Mr. Clark, who was holding a cell phone, not a gun. Meanwhile, in another high-profile police killing in Baton Rouge, Louisiana of Alton Sterling, the Louisiana Attorney General announced yesterday that the two white police officers who killed Mr. Sterling, a Black man, will not be charged. Our guest is Sonia Lewis of Black Lives Matter Sacramento.

Protests continue in Sacramento, California following the police killing of unarmed Black man 22-year-old Stephon Clark. Clark was killed in his grandmother's backyard. Police fired 20 shots at Mr. Clark, who was holding a cell phone, not a gun. Meanwhile, in another high-profile police killing in Baton Rouge, Louisiana of Alton Sterling, the Louisiana Attorney General announced yesterday that the two white police officers who killed Mr. Sterling, a Black man, will not be charged. Our guest is Sonia Lewis of Black Lives Matter Sacramento.

As fears of the Trump administration's moves to undermine voting rights and continued pressure on immigrants continues to mount, Trump's Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced that a question on citizenship status will be asked of all respondents in the 2020 U.S. Census. Ross said the information will help to count the percentage of the population eligible to vote. Others supporting the measure says it will not only give a count of immigrants in the U.S. but also the numbers of undocumented people living in the U.S. Opponents say it will spread fear among the immigrant population and other vulnerable populations and lead to a Census undercount which will in turn impact the numbers of Congressional representatives for each state and also in state legislators and local government bodies, as well as determine the amount of money allocated for schools and hospitals. California has filed a suit against the move and it is reported that other states will also sue. Our guest is Megan Ybarra, a member of the Northwest Detention Center resistance and assistant professor of geography at the University of Washington.

The hated Haitian army dismantled by Haiti's first democratically elected President Jean Bertrand Aristide has been reconstituted by Jovenal Moise, the controversial current President of Haiti. He is in office after an election that several human rights observers said was fraudulent. Moise has now appointed six people to key positions in the new army who had their assets frozen by the U.S. under the Clinton administration for their support for the first coup against President Aristide in 1991. At least one of them was implicated in the 1994 slaughter of thousands of Aristide supporters. This in the midst of growing concerns about repression in Haiti, and the return of Tonton Macoute-type violence against the impoverished population that existed during the Duvalier dictatorship. Our guest is Jeb Sprague, who teaches at the University of California, Santa Barbara and is the author of "Globalizing the Caribbean and Paramilitarism, and The Assault on Democracy in Haiti."

The hated Haitian army – dismantled by Haiti's first democratically elected President Jean Bertrand Aristide – has been reconstituted by Jovenal Moise, the controversial current President of Haiti. He is in office after an election that several human rights observers said was fraudulent. Moise has now appointed six people to key positions in the new army who had their assets frozen by the U.S. under the Clinton administration for their support for the first coup against President Aristide in 1991. At least one of them was implicated in the 1994 slaughter of thousands of Aristide supporters. This in the midst of growing concerns about repression in Haiti, and the return of Tonton Macoute-type violence against the impoverished population that existed during the Duvalier dictatorship. Our guest is Jeb Sprague, who teaches at the University of California, Santa Barbara and is the author of "Globalizing the Caribbean and Paramilitarism, and The Assault on Democracy in Haiti."