Click here for the full interview with Jeffrey Sachs: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/jeffrey-sachs-biden-is-a-miserable?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: CNN says Israel killed food workers because of workflow breakdown https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/cnn-says-israel-killed-food-workers?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web “Biden’s frustrated, because someone told him he was president, and then he found out that it’s actually President Netanyahu who determines US policy.” This is how Jeffrey Sachs, University Professor of economics at Columbia University, sees the “pathetic” administration. “The truth is the Israel lobby is very powerful. Netanyahu has gotten his way on every single thing. If the US is actually going to try to have a US foreign policy, that would be something new.” But what about The Call, which the White House rushed to leak, where Biden supposedly urged Netanyahu to reach an immediate ceasefire? Well, once Netanyahu finishes “laughing off” anything said on this call, there’s not likely to be any change. Because the United States doesn’t have to convince Israel of anything. “All it has to do is stop providing munitions. Biden can say ‘the munitions stop, period.’ That’s what an immediate ceasefire is. We don’t have to convince the Israeli government, we have to stop arming the war. That’s all.” Biden is still pushing votes in Congress to arm Israel with fighter jets, weapons, and money. But while we at Useful Idiots have focused on Biden’s storied career of obsession with Israel, Sachs disagrees on what Biden’s true motive is. He says it’s not a deep, emotional attachment to Israel. “I think he’s got a deep, emotional attachment to becoming president. And he determined early on that never show light with the Israel lobby and someday you might grow up to be president. I don’t think Biden has too many deep attachments to public policy. This was the politics necessary to get him to the presidency.” But then he found out “being president isn’t as good as being prime minister of Israel. That’s the part that frustrates him. He found out it doesn’t have that much power for the same reason he towed the line for forty years.” Subscribe to hear the full interview with Jeffrey Sachs on the US’s disastrous wars in Gaza and Ukraine, the upcoming wars with Iran and China, and the recent mania around TikTok. 00:00 Intro 00:41 The Four Food Groups of News 21:27 Jeffrey Sachs interview 22:22 How to end four wars 27:20 Kicked off MSNBC 30:47 Blocked by the New York Times 35:51 US coups 39:21 Biden's war in Ukraine 45:26 Israel wars with Iran 47:32 What is US hegemony 54:35 Biden's ceasefire call with Netanyahu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesOur Sponsors:* Check out American Giant and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: www.american-giant.com* Check out MyBookie and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: www.mybookie.agAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Click here for the full interview with Norm Finkelstein: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/norman-finkelstein-un-ceasefire-resolution?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: MSNBC's Hypocritical Meltdown Over Ronna McDaniel's Hiring https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/msnbcs-hypocritical-meltdown-over?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Israel is confronting a legitimation crisis, political scientist and prolific author Norman Finkelstein observes, as international pressure on Israel grows from both global protesters and the UN. He flashes back to before the current war for context: “Another war was inevitable, senior Israeli officials observed in 2016. We cannot conduct a constant war of attrition. Therefore, the next conflict has to be the last conflict.” This conflict will be the last one. They’re not going to mow the lawn again, Norm explains. They’re going to extirpate every blade of grass from Gaza. “It’s not about Hamas,” he says, shedding light on Israel’s real plan to solve the Gaza question. “It’s about the refusal on the part of the people of Gaza to accept the fate that has been meted out to them by the state of Israel to languish and die in a concentration camp.” That’s the dark part, but Norm also gives his reason why we can’t give up. “During the Iraq War, many young people concluded in despair that here are the largest anti-war demonstrations in world history and nonetheless the Cheney-Rumsfeld administration goes ahead with the war in Iraq. That to me is a naive understanding of how formidable and concentrated the power we’re up against is. It’s a very long battle.” But though it’s hard to see, the protests are working: “The pressures on Biden gradually accumulate and accumulate until they reach the proverbial critical mass and have a real political impact. “You’re not going to see it. You’re not going to see the connection between your demonstration in your town square and the abstention in the UN Security Council, but it’s there. And so we should always remember not to despair.” Subscribe for the full interview with Norman Finkelstein where we discuss Bernie Sanders’ recent comments on Israel and Golda Meir, the history of Israel’s occupation of Gaza, and what comes next in this genocide. 00:00 Intro 00:39 The Four Food Groups of News 12:29 Norman Finkelstein interview 13:12 UN Security Council ceasefire resolution 20:43 Why did the US let it pass? 31:14 Biden vs Netanyahu? 52:57 Bernie Sanders on Israel 53:32 Katie tells Norm a joke Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesOur Sponsors:* Check out American Giant and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: www.american-giant.com* Check out MyBookie and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: www.mybookie.agAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: US Politicians Ban TikTok to Save Free Speech https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/us-politicians-ban-tiktok-to-save?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Preorder Karina N. González’s new children’s book “Churro Stand” here: https://www.abramsbooks.com/product/churro-stand_9781951836955/ Our full, unpaywalled interview with John Mearsheimer from 02.23.24: Professor John Mearsheimer, whose political analysis predicted today’s horrors in Ukraine and Palestine, joins Useful Idiots to give his take on what’s next in the world’s biggest wars. And since he’s been largely excluded from corporate media for his dissenting views, it’s more important than ever to get his word out. “What you have here is a real disjuncture between what the elites think and what the publics think,” he says of the two conflicts, in what is already a clear affront to the narratives of elitist western media. “There are recent polls produced by the European Council on Foreign Relations and the Quincy Institute that show that only 10% of Europeans and 12% of Americans think that Ukraine can win the war.” And when it comes to Israel, Mearsheimer explains that US policy is even further from what the people want. It’s not the voters who have a say, and even Congress (as pro-Israel as they are) isn’t in control: “I believe that 90% of it is accounted for by the [Israel] lobby.” Professor Mearsheimer deep dives into each war: he explains why the US tanked Ukraine’s peace talks to further instigate Russia and what he would do now if he was in Biden’s or Putin’s position. He also delves into the influence of the Israel lobby and how Biden has given impunity to Israel’s killing Gaza killing spree. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesOur Sponsors:* Check out American Giant and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: www.american-giant.com* Check out MyBookie and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: www.mybookie.agAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: US Politicians Ban TikTok to Save Free Speech https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/us-politicians-ban-tiktok-to-save?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web “This propaganda is a weapon to kill Palestinians.” The New York Times, the US government’s most prestigious arm of state media, has continued to churn out headlines accusing Hamas of a systematic and deliberate campaign of sexual violence as a weapon of war. An independent UN investigation, as well as countless journalists and primary sources, has shown these claims to be completely evidence-free. Even factions within the Times have refused to go along with the story. This has not stopped the paper of record. Throughout history, rape accusations have been a tool of dehumanization. Claims of sexual violence have been used to justify colonialism, slavery, Jim Crow, lynchings, and the West’s violent regime change in Libya. “The bottom line,” explains guest Ali Abunimah, editor of the Electronic Intifada, “is we are now well into the sixth month of this genocide which is partly justified on the basis of these allegations and other claims of atrocities that have turned out to be false. To this day, not a single specific victim, living or dead, has been identified. We keep hearing the refrain ‘believe Israeli women;’ to this date there is not a single Israeli woman who has come forward to say that she was a victim of this kind of assault.” So where are these rumors coming from? After the lies were debunked by journalists, a UN report was published though as it admits it was not “investigative in nature.” Ali explains, “What the UN report did was simply to compile allegations from the Israeli military.” Even this biased non-investigation debunks specific claims of violence and proves that sexual violence was not systemic, and yet you’d never know that from the way legacy media is covering the report.  But while journalists like Ali Abunimah are kept busy debunking these dehumanizing lies, Israel’s assault on Gaza continues. And the independent journalists who are busy covering that are putting themselves in serious danger to shed light on the genocide. Ali reports that four journalists from the Electronic Intifada have been killed and many more are in daily danger. “People do not know from hour to hour if they will live or die.” Hear and share the important voice of Ali Abunimah and the reporting of the brave journalists at the Electronic Intifada. Your support of independent media makes a difference. 00:00 Intro 02:59 The Four Food Groups of News 16:20 Ali Abunimah interview 16:51 Claims of sexual violence on Oct 7 21:29 New York Times LIES 26:42 Source revealed: the Israeli government 35:52 Israel can't keep its story straight 45:35 Hillary Clinton and the history of spreading these lies 50:19 Israeli officials in US media 55:41 Digging into the dodgy NYT story 1:06:13 How the justify the genocide 1:17:41 Dems pivot on Netanyahu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesOur Sponsors:* Check out American Giant and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: www.american-giant.com* Check out MyBookie and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: www.mybookie.agAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Click here for the full interview with George Galloway: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/george-galloway-returns-to-office?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web See Katie LIVE TONIGHT in-person or on Zoom: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/laughs-for-good-tickets-793162168397 For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: "F you!" – Morning Joe gets desperate https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/f-you-morning-joe-gets-desperate?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web “This is for Gaza!” announced the veteran British politician George Galloway in his victory speech, shocking the UK establishment with his win in Rochdale to rejoin the country’s parliament nearly forty years after his first election. He addressed his words to Kier Starmer, the leader of the UK Labour Party: “You will pay a high price for the role that you have played in enabling, encouraging, and covering for the catastrophe in occupied Palestine.” Galloway explains that the parties in the UK aren’t much different than the Democrats and Republicans: you have Rishi Sunak and his Conservative Party, who send weapons to Israel and prolong the proxy war in Ukraine, and then you have Starmer and the Labour Party, who are in complete lockstep. After Biden waited until the very end of his State of the Union address to even mention the crisis in Gaza and Trump recently called for Israel to finish the job, the Uniparty is alive and well in both our countries. And like everyone brave enough to speak out against the War Party and its genocide in Gaza, Galloway gets accused by good narrative-following Twitter users of spreading hate speech. However they, and the entire UK media, were largely silent when George was viciously assaulted by a pro-Israel supporter. He describes the harrowing attack and shares the origin story of how it led to his iconic hat. Subscribe to hear the full interview with MP George Galloway on his relationship with former Prime Minister Jeremy Corbyn, the immediate goals of the Workers Party, and the smears and lies that he most wants to debunk. Thank you for supporting independent media. 00:00 Intro 03:13 The Four Food Groups of News 19:51 Something funny 22:00 George Galloway interview 27:53 Rishi Sunak is MAD 31:23 The Hat origin story 34:50 Spanking Kier Starmer 38:27 Running to help Gaza 44:55 UK's role in Ukraine 48:04 BREAKING: Leak from Germany 52:05 Jeremy Corbyn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesOur Sponsors:* Check out American Giant and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: www.american-giant.com* Check out MyBookie and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: www.mybookie.agAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Click here for the full interview with Chas Freeman: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/biden-is-a-senile-war-monger-veteran?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: CNN Melts Down Over Uncommitted Voters https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/cnn-melts-down-over-uncommitted-voters?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web “Our foreign policy is diplomacy free.” As he watches the escalating crises in our world today, this is the main takeaway for Chas Freeman, who, as the US ambassador to Saudi Arabia during the first Gulf War, knows a thing about diplomacy. “It’s a lot cheaper and more effective to sit down and talk to someone than to pull a gun on them and shoot them,” he says. “But that’s what we seem to have substituted for our normal course of diplomatic interaction.” Freeman explains the leading cause of forever wars: “There's nobody quite as bloodthirsty as a civilian with no experience of war.” As shown in the episode thumbnail above (side note: you know it’s a bad crew if the most likable character in the picture is Matthew Miller), the warmongers in charge of foreign policy are all civilians. When the top US general Mark Milley called for peace talks in Ukraine, it was these bad actors who shut it down. “The military know that they can die in a war, that their comrades will die,” says Freeman. “They know that you should never enter a war without figuring out first how you're going to end it, on what terms, and with whom.” But the ‘leaders’ we do have never had to fight. “Civilians typically define no end state, have no war termination strategy, which is why we get forever wars.” And the future only looks bleaker. “Here we have an election which is between someone who is widely regarded as a senile war monger and somebody who has been correctly diagnosed as a malignant narcissist.” Subscribe to hear the full interview with Chas Freeman on why the protest vote against Biden in Michigan was “very significant,” how the New York Times has been complicit in the information war, the main similarity between the wars in Ukraine and in Gaza (bet you can guess it), and the main difference between the genocide in Israel and the one in South Africa: “South Africa was on the verge of having a race war but it never had one. Israel is having a race war.” Freeman’s important voice makes this an episode of Useful Idiots you’re not going to want to miss. Subscribe now to hear the full interview and support independent media. 00:00 Intro 00:51 The Four Food Groups of News 08:49 Chas Freeman interview 09:29 Uncommitted shocks Biden 14:01 Our foreign policy is diplomacy-free 20:33 Does Israel have a right to exist? 23:43 Israel vs South Africa 28:08 Aaron Bushnell 33:23 Has this ever happened before? 36:47 Palestine vs Ukraine 41:19 Diplomats kill peace in Ukraine Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesOur Sponsors:* Check out American Giant and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: www.american-giant.com* Check out MyBookie and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: www.mybookie.agAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Click here for the full interview with John Mearsheimer: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/insanity-john-mearsheimer-on-the?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Nancy Pelosi needs Russiagate Detox https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/nancy-pelosi-needs-russiagate-detox?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Professor John Mearsheimer, whose political analysis predicted today’s horrors in Ukraine and Palestine, joins Useful Idiots to give his take on what’s next in the world’s biggest wars. And since he’s been largely excluded from corporate media for his dissenting views, it’s more important than ever to get his word out. “What you have here is a real disjuncture between what the elites think and what the publics think,” he says of the two conflicts, in what is already a clear affront to the narratives of elitist western media. “There are recent polls produced by the European Council on Foreign Relations and the Quincy Institute that show that only 10% of Europeans and 12% of Americans think that Ukraine can win the war.” And when it comes to Israel, Mearsheimer explains that US policy is even further from what the people want. It’s not the voters who have a say, and even Congress (as pro-Israel as they are) isn’t in control: “I believe that 90% of it is accounted for by the [Israel] lobby.” Professor Mearsheimer deep dives into each war: he explains why the US tanked Ukraine’s peace talks to further instigate Russia and what he would do now if he was in Biden’s or Putin’s position. He also delves into the influence of the Israel lobby and how Biden has given impunity to Israel’s killing Gaza killing spree. Subscribe for the full interview for his full analysis and predictions on Israel’s assault on Gaza. 00:00 Intro 00:53 The Four Food Groups of News 22:17 Professor John Mearsheimer interview 23:17 Schools of political science thought 26:23 Is Ukraine losing? 29:26 What does Putin want? 38:47 Who's the real puppet? 44:07 Why does the US want war with Russia? 51:21 Western leaders screaming the quiet part 59: 42 When will the truth come out? 1:03:43 Gaza and US support for Israel's assault Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesOur Sponsors:* Check out American Giant and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: www.american-giant.com* Check out MyBookie and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: www.mybookie.agAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: AOC calls Genocide Joe "the most successful US president" https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/aoc-calls-genocide-joe-the-most-successful?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For 30 years, Norwegian doctor Mads Gilbert has risked his life to give medical care to Palestinians, performing surgeries, training medical students, and supporting their renowned healthcare system. But in their most recent assault, Israel banned Dr. Gilbert from entering Gaza. “This is the politics of elimination,” Dr. Gilbert tells us. “Israel is the only nation on Earth who has a military strategy to attack, to kill, and to dismantle civilian hospitals.” Forced to watch the unfolding tragedy from afar, Gilbert struggles to believe the horrors he’s seeing. “It is such an avalanche of human suffering that it is almost incomprehensible. And it’s all done with full will, planning, dedication. It is a 100% man-made disaster, designed to achieve exactly the goals that they have achieved: to maim and destroy Palestinian society.” What should have led to a huge uproar has instead been tolerated and even encouraged by Western politicians and media outlets, who have laundered false claims about militant hideouts at Palestinian hospitals. But while the genocide of Palestinians has only just broken through to mainstream consciousness, Dr. Gilbert explains that none of this is new. “Israel is going against absolutely every international law aimed at protecting civilian hospitals. This is unprecedented, but I’d like to add that for us who have been working with the Palestinians and their healthcare for many years, it’s not a new feature. The Israelis have always been attacking healthcare. In last year’s report from WHO, they reported 600 attacks on healthcare in the last two years.” And in the latest assault on Gaza, there have been “hundreds and hundreds” more. “We’ve seen attacks in the West Bank where they even dress up as doctors and kill patients in their beds.” Gilbert gives his scathing post-mortem: “This is a historical low point in human history. This enormous collapse of western morality and principles. We’re back to the jungle.” Hear the full, unpaywalled interview with Mads Gilbert, and listen to the end for his message on how to help. “We can all do our part: write a poem, sing a song, participate in a demonstration, write a letter to your politician. Take part in history because we need to change history now.” He finishes, solemnly: “What you are doing now, or what you are not doing now, is what you would have done, or not done, during the Holocaust.” 00:00 Intro 5:55 The Four Food Groups of News 20:57 Dr. Mads Gilbert interview 22:13 Israel warns of new hospital attack 27:35 Stories of killed doctors 40:34 Israeli doctors sign letter to BOMB MORE HOSPITALS 55:13 Israeli protesters block humanitarian aid 1:00:58 Israel shuts of water 1:09:13 Answering Israeli arguments 1:23:40 Rafah update 1:29:01 HOW TO HELP Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesOur Sponsors:* Check out American Giant and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: www.american-giant.com* Check out MyBookie and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: www.mybookie.agAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Click here for the full interview with Dennis Kucinich: https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/dennis-kucinich-takes-on-the-war?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Tucker Carlson's Putin interview enrages MSNBC https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/tucker-carlsons-putin-interview-enrages?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Mayor, Congressman, and presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich is making his triumphant return to Useful Idiots. Oh, and also to Congress. After serving as an Ohio Representative for more than 15 years until 2013, Kucinich has been out of politics for over a decade. And after watching his country decline both internationally and domestically, the veteran lawmaker and peace advocate realized that his service is needed once again. “We have to consciously evolve in our politics as a nation to recognize that human unity is the underlying truth of our existence,” he says. “It’s about time that we called for a ceasefire, we gotta make sure that people aren’t paying another $97,000 out of their pockets for the next war.” Homelessness rates are at an all time high and half of Americans can’t afford their rent, but instead of fixing anything, Congress is sending all of our money to the military. “The sons and daughters of America are being sacrificed in unnecessary wars,” Kucinich says. “Their service is honorable. But the people who sent them there? Not honorable.” Which is why he’s running against Rep. Max Miller (just wait until you hear this war monger boast about turning Gaza into a parking lot) to rejoin Congress as an Independent. “People are horrified about the direction the world’s going in, and I’m stepping forward as a voice of sanity, common sense, and a willingness to say the obvious: war is stupid!” Subscribe to hear our full discussion with Dennis Kucinich, and if you want to help kick a psychopath out of Congress and replace him with someone fighting for peace, you can support Dennis’ campaign here. 00:00 Intro 00:27 The Four Food Groups of News 17:24 Dennis Kucinich interview 19:16 Psychopath Max Miller 23:51 Why he's running for Congress 27:31 Homeless as a child 35:27 What can a member of Congress actually achieve? 40:40 $$$ to Israel and Ukraine 44:29 What the US SHOULD be doing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesOur Sponsors:* Check out American Giant and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: www.american-giant.com* Check out MyBookie and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: www.mybookie.agAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

For $6 a month, become a Useful Idiot! Get extended interviews, Thursday Throwdowns, and bonus content at www.usefulidiotspodcast.com Watch this week's Thursday Throwdown: Morning Joe wants to play Battleship with Iran https://www.usefulidiotspodcast.com/p/morning-joe-wants-to-play-battleship?r=je5va&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web In early January, a former Israeli Foreign Ministry official said “It will be impossible to win the war if we do not destroy UNRWA. This destruction must begin immediately.” A few weeks later, UNRWA, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees, had its funding cut after Israel accused 12 of its more than 30,000 employees of involvement in Oct. 7th (its since reduced the number of alleged offenders to six — half the original amount). Their purported evidence came mostly from “interrogations” of Palestinian prisoners — aka, most likely torture. The Biden administration admitted that it hadn’t corroborated Israel’s claims, but nonetheless announced a suspension of US funding for UNRWA. Other countries, including Germany and Canada, have followed suit. Former UNRWA spokesperson Chris Gunness joins the show to refute Israel’s claims. “Just as UNRWA is being held up to be accountable,” he says. “I think we have to hold the donors up to accountability and ask: ‘What did Israel give you?’ and ‘Did you independently verify it?’” Antony Blinken himself told the press: “We have not independently verified this evidence but we think it’s very credible.” Chris asks: “How would you know it’s credible if you haven’t independently investigated?” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also called for ending the agency in yet another sign that the move was political. “UNRWA’s mission has to end,” he said. “UNRWA is self-perpetuating in its desire to keep alive the Palestinian refugee issue.” So the state which is lobbying thousands of munitions every day, including 2,000-pound bombs, is accusing an unarmed refugee agency of perpetuating the conflict? Chris argues that the opposite is true. “UNRWA wants nothing more than to go out of business. And UNRWA goes out of business when the refugees are granted full dignity, human development, prosperity, justice, and accountability in the context of a just and durable solution. Someone who is working hard to achieve this goal is the founder of HEAL and the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund Steve Sosebee. He shares stories of the many heroes and losses he has encountered in his thirty years working in Palestine. He also shares a way to help. “Just to see their entire lives destroyed is very, very saddening and I think all of us have a responsibility to help rebuild and show them love and compassion and give them opportunities to heal. That’s what my goal is for the rest of my life.” Hear these important voices share their messages in this unpaywalled Useful Idiots double header. Plus, catch this week’s Thursday Throwdown: Morning Joe wants to play Battleship with Iran 00:00 Intro 1:51 The Four Food Groups of News 22:43 Chris Gunness interview 25:12 UNRWA funding cut 35:44 Netanyahu wants UNRWA ended 45:06 Are the allegations true? 52:51 Steve Sosebee interview 55:08 Genocide of children 1:03:58 Story of Palestinian child 1:09:29 Israeli doctors call for more bombing 1:13:08 HOW TO HELP Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoicesOur Sponsors:* Check out American Giant and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: www.american-giant.com* Check out MyBookie and use my code USEFUL for a great deal: www.mybookie.agAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy