Episodes
Tuesday Nov 29, 2016
Tuesday Nov 29, 2016
The saga of the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation continues, and Leid Stories reports the latest developments.
Several foreign governments that generously had donated hundreds of millions of dollars to the foundation to fund many of its “charitable” programs around the world want their money back and are taking legal action to get it. Their action could be a fatal blow to the foundation.
Documents and reports recently submitted to the IRS by the foundation—after two extensions—still are not complete, and again omit detailed accounting for all money received and how it was spent.
Although President-Elect Donald Trump appears to have flip-flopped on his pre-election demand for a federal criminal investigation of the Clintons and their foundation, Leid Stories has learned that one is ongoing anyway, and key players in the outgoing Obama administration are working feverishly to intercede in the Clintons’ behalf before Trump takes office.
Charles Ortel, the recognized expert on the Clinton Foundation and credited with exposing it as “the largest unprosecuted charity fraud in history,” explains the significance of these and related developments.
Monday Nov 28, 2016
Leid Stories—After Fidel, the Future of Anti-Imperialist Struggle—11.28.16
Monday Nov 28, 2016
Monday Nov 28, 2016
The death Nov. 25 of Fidel Castro, the revolutionary former president of Cuba, has further winnowed the already sparse ranks of leaders who were the vanguard of resistance to global imperialism and colonialism. Many of the “new” generation of leaders thought it futile to stand up to world powers or eagerly traded wholesale pillaging of their people and their nations’ resources for private, personal gain.
Castro, in for the long haul, was both inspiration and help to other struggling nations trying to throw off the yoke of foreign domination and oppression, and a reviled thorn in the side of countries (particularly the United States) that were determined to bring Cuba to heel through blockades, sanctions, military threats (including of nuclear war), and attempted invasions and assassinations. Castro and Cuba survived. President Obama’s announcement in 2014 that the U.S. will seek normalization of relations with Cuba after 50 years was a sign that the superpower was no match for Cuba’s determination about its sovereignty.
Castro’s death, therefore, marks a milestone—not only in Cuba’s evolution as a nation. But also in global movements against hegemony.
Historian and political scientist Dr. Gerald Horne discusses the vital role that Castro, Cuba and the revolution have played and might continue to play in global struggles against colonialism/imperialism.
Horne, the John J. and Rebecca Moores Chair of History and African American Studies at the University of Houston and prolific author of more than 30 books and 100 scholarly papers on struggles against imperialism, colonialism, fascism and racism, regularly decodes complex social, political and economic issues on Leid Stories.
Friday Nov 25, 2016
Leid Stories—Give Thanks! No Turkeys on ‘Free Your Mind Friday!’--11.25.16
Friday Nov 25, 2016
Friday Nov 25, 2016
So here we are, the day after Thanksgiving, with a different kind of feast. Bring your own dish, even delicious leftovers, that everyone can share. But please, no turkey.
Take your seat at the table. Enjoy generous helping of information, opinions and ideas, and the company of really nice people.
The event, sponsored by Leid Stories’ “Free Your Mind Friday,” is free, but you must make reservations at 888-874-4888.
Wednesday Nov 23, 2016
Leid Stories—We’ve Been Here, and Been Warned, Before—11.23.16
Wednesday Nov 23, 2016
Wednesday Nov 23, 2016
At a Congressional Black Caucus-sponsored town hall meeting on Sept. 22, 2005, Harry Belafonte, human rights activist and a member of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s inner circle, excoriated the political establishment, and especially the Democratic Party, for creating a political, social, economic and moral crisis in America and in many parts of the world. The people, he said, must play a central role in setting things right through political action. Blacks supporting the party, he said, was like “integrating into a burning house.”
This speech is particularly noteworthy, as Belafonte was flanked by two high-profile Democrats who were U.S. senators at the time and had their eyes set on the White House—Barack Obama was on Belafonte’s right; Hillary Clinton on his left.
Leid Stories’ listeners deconstruct Belafonte’s speech and its relevance to our current situation.
Tuesday Nov 22, 2016
Tuesday Nov 22, 2016
With more calls than time to accommodate them, Leid Stories extends yesterday’s discussion so listeners can express their views.
Monday Nov 21, 2016
Monday Nov 21, 2016
Trump World is here, and it’s not pretty. The president-elect is shaping up his Cabinet, selecting as nominees careerists mostly of a military/national security/law-enforcement/ultraconservative/super Christian/racist bent, most of them stodgy white men who, like their patron, yearn to implement policies that will “make America great again.” That was/is dog-whistle talk from Donald Trump signaling his base of support that their objects of rage and derision would also be his; his will be a term of settling scores.
As Trump’s withering promises and threats come closer to reality, there appears to be little or no political defense for the masses of people who voted against him and his policies—whether through the Democratic or independent “third” parties. Is this confirmation that Trump’s triumph is indeed total?
Friday Nov 18, 2016
Friday Nov 18, 2016
You’re cordially invited to join us for our weekly open forum, where discussion and debate about the issues of the day aren’t just features of the show, but the show.
Present your ideas and opinions to an audience eagerly waiting to hear them and respond. Fear ye not, we’re a friendly, well-mannered, even-tempered bunch.
Call 888-874-4888 and join us for an hour of the best talk in “talk radio.”
Friday Nov 18, 2016
Friday Nov 18, 2016
On May 18, as the contentious party primaries were winding down and first-time presidential candidate Bernie Sanders emerged as a real threat to the party-establishment-preferred Hillary Clinton, Sanders’ supporters boldly confronted the staid leadership of the Democratic Party for sabotaging his campaign.
In July, Sanders stunned his troops and the political world with a declaration at Democratic National Convention that he was ending his campaign and would be supporting Clinton.
Yesterday, the same day U.S. Sen. Charles “Chuck” Schumer was elected Senate minority leader by fellow Democrats, Schumer announced that Sanders has been named “chair of outreach.”
Has Bernie driven the stake in the heart of a very promising political movement?
Americans continue to grapple with the stunning election of Donald Trump as president. Opinions abound as to what his win means, both short term and long term, for the country. But one thing is certain: The world is watching, too.
British Pakistani writer, journalist, political scientist and filmmaker Tariq Ali, leftist in his political leanings, puts Trump’s triumph in global context.
Wednesday Nov 16, 2016
Wednesday Nov 16, 2016
Midnight last night was the final, extended deadline for The Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation (Clinton Foundation) to file financial reports with the IRS on its operations, including the operations of its affiliated entities, for 2015.
The foundation met the deadline, but its financial filings—like those since 1998, for the foundation’s first year of operations—are “false and materially misleading,” says Charles Ortel, a former Wall Street banker who blew the whistle on stock fraud prior to the 2007-2008 market crash and is the recognized leading expert on the foundation’s financial dealings.
Ortel, who has been investigating the foundation and its operations for the past two years, says he has uncovered “the largest unprosecuted charity fraud in history.” Since May, he has been detailing on Leid Stories the highly irregular and downright illegal practices of the foundation and its multiple affiliated entities.
Continuing to follow the money trail, Ortel has examined the financial statements the foundation filed yesterday. The numbers don’t add up, he says.
Tuesday Nov 15, 2016
Tuesday Nov 15, 2016
It’s a week since Republicans captured not only the White House, the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, but 32 state legislatures and 33 governorships as well. By any definition it’s a political drubbing—and, as most believe, a dramatic political turning point for the country. The writing’s on the wall.
As the duopoly’s Trump-Clinton battle entered hyper mode nearing Election Day, Leid Stories encouraged listeners to examine the quandary many voters felt they were in: They intensely disliked and distrusted both candidates, yet felt bound, whether by “civic duty” or force of habit, to cast their lot with one of them. Believing elections to be essentially a two-party affair, they also felt that voting for a “third” party was akin to “wasting” their vote.
The election over (protests across the country seeking to reverse the outcome very likely won’t succeed) and with Trump beginning to shape his administration, it’s all about moving ahead with a new agenda—unless, of course, you have begun your “reckoning” with the system and have an agenda of your own.
Leid Stories checks with listeners on how far along they are with their “homework” assignment.