Sojourner Truth Radio

The New York Times is reporting that in Venezuela, the opposition to the government of Nicolas Maduro has been weakened, and the Guardian is reporting that the opposition has indeed splintered. These reports come after two major victories at the polls for the Maduro government: first, the success in electing the newly formed Constituent Assembly, despite fierce opposition by the Trump administration and other Western nations; second, the success of regional elections "albeit, with some claims of election fraud by the opposition. So, what's going on in Venezuela? Is Chavismo back on the rise? What about the economic crisis in the country? What is the reality on the ground? What, if any, regional support does the Maduro government have? Our guest is Carlos Ron, Chargé d'Affaires of Venezuela in Washington, D.C.

A new FBI counterterrorism program targets Black Lives Matter and other anti-racist activists as a priority. This is the era of the rise in white supremacy. What’s going on? Our guest is Malkia Cyril, founder and executive director of the Center for Media Justice and a member of the Movement for Black Lives.

Confusion is brewing in Kenya following a general election essentially featuring only one candidate. What are the implications, and what is next for the country? Our guest is Tanzania-based Ezra Mbogori, founding director of the Akiba Uhaki Foundation and founding chairperson of the Kenya NGO Council.

November 2, 2017 marks the anniversary of the Balfour Declaration. We focus on that history and its relationship to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with our guest, journalist, author and Palestine Chronicle editor Dr. Ramzy Baroud.

A new FBI counterterrorism program targets Black Lives Matter and other anti-racist activists as a national security priority. This is the era of the rise in white supremacy. Whats going on? Our guest is Malkia Cyril, founder and executive director of the Center for Media Justice and a member of the Movement for Black Lives.

The New York Times is reporting that in Venezuela, the opposition to the government of Nicolas Maduro has been weakened, and the Guardian is reporting that the opposition has indeed splintered. These reports come after two major victories at the polls for the Maduro government: first, the success in electing the newly formed Constituent Assembly, despite fierce opposition by the Trump administration and other Western nations; second, the success of regional elections "albeit, with some claims of election fraud by the opposition. So, what's going on in Venezuela? Is Chavismo back on the rise? What about the economic crisis in the country? What is the reality on the ground? What, if any, regional support does the Maduro government have? Our guest is Carlos Ron, Charge d'Affaires of Venezuela in Washington, D.C.

On October 4, four U.S. soldiers were killed in an ambush in Niger. The incident sparked a lot of questions, including, for many people: what exactly is the U.S. military doing in Africa? Our guest, Emira Woods of the Institute for Policy Studies, breaks down AFRICOM and the U.S. military's history on the continent.

[ This is a special fundraising program for "Sojourner Truth with Margaret Prescod's," home station, KPFK in Los Angeles. Please visit our website, sotrueradio.org, for news updates during our pledge drive. You can also visit kpfk.org to donate.]

An opinion piece in the Guardian had this to say of Trump’s visit to Puerto Rico on Tuesday, October 3rd: “Trump came to Puerto Rico like an emperor: with pomp and little sympathy.” Trump inexplicably left the U.S. territory one hour early, after spending his time extracting praise for his administration’s handling of what is a growing humanitarian disaster.

Trump’s visit came more than two weeks after Hurricane Maria devastated the island. More than half of the island still has no running water, and only five percent of the electrical grid has thus far been repaired.

During his visit, Trump shockingly threw paper towels to residents of Puerto Rico. Trump chose a relatively wealthy and white enclave to visit to survey the impact of the hurricane. One has to wonder: if he and is team went to areas more truly representative of the people of Puerto Rico, would he have been met with righteous fury instead of praise?

Today, we focus on the humanitarian disaster in Puerto Rico and what can be done. Our guests are Ana Maria Archila, co-executive director of the Center for Popular Democracy, and Bonafide Rojas, Puerto Rican poet and community campaigner.

[ This is a special fundraising program for "Sojourner Truth with Margaret Prescod's," home station, KPFK in Los Angeles. Please visit our website, sotrueradio.org, for news updates during our pledge drive. You can also visit kpfk.org to donate.]

Thousands are barely surviving in the Caribbean region following Hurricanes Irma and Maria. While we have gotten some news (though not enough) about the devastation in Puerto Rico, where the Trump administration has become beyond negligent in providing resources, we have gotten little to no information on mainstream media about the catastrophic devastation in the non-U.S. territories of the Caribbean: territories with no hope of FEMA or any substantive aid from the United States; territories where tens of thousands of people live. These are people whose homes and livelihoods have been destroyed. The islands include Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts and Nevis, Anguilla, St. Barthelemy, Sint Maarten, Cuba, Turks and Caicos, Guadalupe, Dominica, Tortola and more. Today, we focus on what we all can do to support these island nations. Our guests include Don Rojas, who hails from the Caribbean, and Dr. Luz Longsworth, who hails from Jamaica and is based in Barbados.

On our weekly roundtable: natural disasters have quickly become humanitarian disasters, although there is no denying that the ferocity of the hurricanes we are seeing are due to climate change. How has the Trump administration responded to these disasters? Whose lives are valued over others? What is their bottom line?

What are the implications and impact of the NFL protests, begun last year by Colin Kaepernick? Are people realizing that when it comes to race, racism and white supremacy, there is nowhere to hide? Not even at football games?

What can we glean from the election of an openly racist and bigoted Roy Moore in Alabama. Moore will face off against Doug Jones, the Democratic candidate for Jeff Sessions' old Senate seat. Meanwhile, we see the rise of the extreme racist right in Germany, who for the first time in over half a decade are in the Bundestag, becoming the 3rd largest party in German parliament.

Finally, we turn to Trumps tax plan. It he lying yet again by calling it a plan that would benefit the middle class and not the wealthy?

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

For this week's "Earth Watch," we speak with documentary producer Lyn Goldfarb, currently working on a project about the poisoned waters in the remote Peruvian Amazon and on Indigenous communities taking on Big Oil in a federal court in California.

In the United States, we are getting little to no information from mainstream media – or even U.S.-based alternative media – on the devastating impact of Hurricanes Maria and Irma on the Caribbean. This includes Saint Croix, Saint John, and Saint Thomas, all three part of the US Virgin Islands, as well as non-U.S. territories like the island nation of Dominica, where at least 27 people were killed. Today, we get an update on the region from Dorbrene O'Marde, who is from Antigua and Barbuda. Barbuda has been completely destroyed, and all residents evacuated to its sister island of Antigua. O'Marde is a writer and a member of the Antigua & Barbuda Reparations Support Commission.

On Wednesday, the Trump/GOP tax plan was unveiled. Analysts have already estimated the cuts will cost at least 2.2 trillion dollars over a decade. The plan is short on details, and as of yet, we have no idea where the money will come from or what social programs may be slashed to pay for the tax plan. Who will benefit and who will gain? Josh Bivens, Director of Research at the Economic Policy Institute, breaks it down for us.

For this week's "Earth Watch," we speak with documentary film maker Lyn Goldfarb, currently working on a project about the poisoned waters in the remote Peruvian Amazon and on Indigenous communities taking on Big Oil in a federal court in California.

Following Hurricane Maria, there are growing complaints about the Trump administration's underwhelming response to the devastation in Puerto Rico. Our guest is Rosa Clemente, an Afro-Latinx political commentator and community organizer.

Although Angela Merkel came out ahead in the recent German elections, there was a surprising surge by the AfD, Germanys far right party. We discuss the election with Jeurgen Nogai, who is based in the city of Bremen, Germany.

But first, in this week's edition of "Campaigners for Black Lives," we discuss the impact of Trump's rescinding of DACA on Black immigrants. Our guests are Michael Williams and Pastor Cue of Black Lives Matter Los Angeles.