Politics has been called a rigged game, with elites using money and organizational resources to pull the puppet strings of most candidates for high office. However, the entrance into the race for US president of candidates Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump who both reject funding from Wall Street threatens to challenge that truism. This week’s Global Research News Hour attempts to cut through the propaganda and jargon and assess what real options are out there for making substantive and humane political change. William Blum is a long-time critic of US foreign policy. He has authored five books including his most recent, America’s Deadliest Export: Democracy – The Truth About US Foreign Policy and Everything Else. He also publishes the “Anti-Empire Report” on his site www dot williamblum dot org. In this interview, Blum outlines his reservations about Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, the problematic media coverage of the campaign, and the astonishing view that Trump may actually be the less objectionable in certain respects than both Sanders and Clinton. Mark Robinowitz is publisher of oilempire dot us, a political map to connect the dots.  He has been a writer, political activist, ecological campaigner and permaculture practitioner for over three decades.  He is also author of the forthcoming Peak Choice: cooperation or collapse, an uncensored guide to Earth, energy and money. In this interview, Robinowitz equates the choice between the Democrats and the Republicans to one between death by lethal injection and death by the electric chair. He outlines the mechanisms employed to stop any threat to the establishment from ever becoming elected president. He also explains how the energy and economic decline is becoming reflected in the politics of the Trump campaign.

The first interview is with Linda Pentz Gunter, international specialist for the environmental advocacy group ‘Beyond Nuclear.’ In this conversation, Gunter addresses the question of whether nuclear is being seriously explored as an alternative to the climate-ravaging fossil fuel industry. She also outlines aspects of the Fukushima cover-up, and why international bodies and media are failing to hold nuclear and government agencies to account. In the final half hour, Portland-based Mimi German, Earth activist and founder of Radcast.org, speaks more about the cover-up, the nuclear situation in the U.S. and the consequences for society and all life on earth.

On this week's Global Research News Hour, on the occasion of the March 3, 2016 meeting of Canadian federal and provincial leaders in Vancouver on to work out an agreement on a national climate change plan, we explore the implications of proposed climate solutions for the future of Canada's nuclear industry, environment and energy security. We'll be joined by anti-nuclear activist Candyce Paul of the Committee for Future Generations, and by political economist, professor and author Gordon Laxer.

Dissecting Operation Inherent Resolve: Conversations with Lawrence Wilkerson and Mahdi NazemroayaThis Repeat broadcast of the Global Research News Hour (October 17, 2014) Global Research News Hour centres on the current military mobilization against the entity known as ISIL/ISIS. Can boots on the ground be avoided? Is there an ulterior motive to the bombing campaign related to regional control? What does ISIL/ISIS's successful campaign for control of the Kurdish village of Kobani say about the sincerity of this latest War on Terrorism? This hour attempts to address these and other questions.

REPEAT - Greece: From Austerity to Prosperity? Conversations with Ellen Brown and Binoy KampmarkIn this installment of the Global Research News Hour, we examine the dynamics of the Greek economy and why the Greek people voted the anti-austerity Syriza Party to power.Ellen Brown of the Public Banking Institute explains the role of Goldman Sachs in setting up Greece for a fall, and how the Mediterranean country could survive the end of the bail-outs.In the second half hour, scholar, RMIT University lecturer and Counterpunch contributing editor Binoy Kampmark talks about the background of Syriza, the political culture on the ground, and what the future may hold for a financially emancipated Greece as well as other European countries.

This week's Global Research News Hour examines two of the biggest threats to human existence on planet Earth: the elimination of human habitat due to Climate Change and the dangers of an increasingly likely World War 3 scenario evolving out of the tensions growing between US/NATO and Russia/China. The first interview guest is Guy Mcpherson, Emeritus Professor of Natural Resources and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Arizona, and author of the blog Nature Bats Last (guymcpherson.com) He has put together a workshop on Abrupt Climate change on the site onlyloveremains.orgThe second guest is Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya, a Sociologist and a Research associate with the Centre for Research on Globalization, and an award-winning author. His book The Globalization of NATO is available for purchase at the Global Research Website. Nazemroaya lays out the geopolitical dynamics pushing the US/NATO in the direction of a nuclear confrontation with RUSSIA and China.

As Freedom Flotilla III is departing from an undisclosed location in the Mediterranean Sea to Gaza, this week's Global Research News Hour focuses on activists abroad coming to the assistance of that region's destitute population.We'll speak to Richard Day, a Queen's University Professor and colleague of one of the Freedom Flotilla participants about the parallels between the plight of Palestinians in Israeli occupied territories and the plight of Indigenous peoples in Colonized Canada. We'll hear a pre-recorded commentary from Professor Lovelace. We'll hear from activist and Canadian Boat to Gaza Steering Committee member David Heap about the Flotilla itself, and we'll hear from Dr. Benjamin Thomson, a physician who has worked in Gaza and is behind an exciting initiative to power Gaza hospitals with Solar panels.

With a major humanitarian crisis hitting the population of Yemen in the wake of the Saudi Arabia-led bombing campaign, the Global Research News Hour takes alook at the damage that has been done to civilians in the country, the roots of the conflict, the involvement of outside powers and the prospects for peace at the June 14 UN peace talks in Geneva, Switzerland.Hisham Al-Omeisy is a Yemen information and political analyst based in Sana'a. He has through social media been relaying what he has been seeing and experiencing during the siege. Ali Saeed is the General Secretary with the Solidarity Committee for Ethiopian Political Prisoners. He speaks briefly about the polight of refugees and migrants in particular during the conflict.Abayomi Azikiwe is a geopolicital analyst and the editor of Pan-African Newswire. He provides the historical and geo-political context to the unfolding catastrophe.

The Global Research News Hour speaks to Sabah Al-Mukhtar, president of the london-based Arab Lawyers Association, and with Inder Comar, the legal representative of an Iraqi Woman suing the US government over the war crimes committed in Iraq. The two lawyers discuss the realistic prospects of former US President Bush and former UK Prome Minister actuall being brought to justice.

 In the wake of the recently announced release on bail of Omar Khadr, the Global Research News Hour returns to the case of the young man jailed in the notorious prison camp for nearly a decade.In the first half hour, Khadr's lawyer Dennis Edney expertly debunks many of the talking points being put forward by critics like the Conservative government and Ezra Levant about Khadr's status as a "Confessed terrorist" and outlines the numerous ways in which the Canadian government violated Khadr's Charter rights.In the second half hour, Michel Chossudovsky expands on the Khadr tragedy by pointing to a Seymour Hersh article exposing the protection of Al Qaeda militants in theatre and the known incarceration of civilians at Guantanamo. Chossudovsky explains how the facility serves a propaganda function that enables the so-called "War on Terrorism."

Continuing with coverage of Ukraine on the anniversary of the May 2, 2014 Odessa massacre, we hear an interview with Anatoly Sharij, a high profile Ukrainian journalist forced to flee the country in 2012 and now based in Lithuania. He has found himself targetted for his success in posting critical videos of the Ukrainian government line, and exposing the lies put out by the Ukrainian media.In this exclusive interview, conducted with the assistance of Winnipeg-based Russian-Canadian Konstantin Goulich, we hear about the extent to which true journalism in Ukraine has been suppressed and replaced by pure propaganda, the reasons why skepticism, even of some critical voices of the Kiev regime is needed, and echoes of a past repressive period in history of the region.This interview is followed by a clip from a recent presentation by Robert Parry of Consortium News about the unprecedented Media Group Think that is afflicting coverage of the Ukraine situation.Credits: Interviews by Michael WelchTranslation services, research assistance, and outreach provided by Konstantin GoulichAudio of Talk by Robert Parry obtained under Fair USe rules from footage of the public event US-RUSSIA Forum based in Washington DC from March 26, 2015. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8IL4SvBVxk)

On the occasion of the anniversary of the Odessa Massacre, this week's Global Research News Hour returns to the Ukraine crisis with two vital interviews.Author, blogger and radio journalist Stephen Lendman recently edited a collection of essays on the Ukraine Crisis. He talks about his essay on the Odessa Massacre and about the broader concerns around surrounding a pwderkeg which he thinks could expand into a world war. Roger Annis, trade unionist, writer and editor of the website newcoldwar.org also returns to the program after visiting the Donbass region and compares his observations with what has been said in the Mainstream commercial media abut who is responsible for violating the Ceasefire accord and what the prosects for peace may be.

On this week's Global Research News Hour, we mark Earth Day with two interviews related to the urgent call to defend the planet from environmental damage.First, we hear from Michael J Murphy, director/producer of the films "What in the World are the Spraying" and "Why in the World are they Spraying". He discusses the clear and present threats associated with Geo-Engineering including so-called 'chemtrails' and speculates on who benefits and who does not from efforts to control the weather.Carrie Saxifrage is a sustainability reporter for the Vancouver Observer and the author of the book "The Big Swim: Coming Ashore in a World Adrift". She discusses how popular action can more easily be mobilized by changing the narrative and the way we approach the dilemma of climate collapse and other environmental hazards.

This week's feature guest is Author, blogger and radio journalist Stephen Lendman. He discusses American Presidential politics, his lack of faith in the system, the US-backed agendas in Cuba, Venezuela, Yemen, Syria, Iran and Ukraine, and his fears of another major war being triggered in coming months.

Changing the Way Money Works: The Steady State Economy and Sharing LawDescription: With the current economic framework centered around greed, the result has been environmental desolation and social interactions that set human beings against each other.The mandate for everlasting economic growth has pushed the Earth to its natural limits.This week's Global Research News Hour focuses on the need to change economics as usual. Is it possible?Our guests include James Magnus-Johnston, the Canadian Director of the Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy, and Janelle Orsi, co-founder and executive director of The Sustainable Economies Law Center in the San Francisco Bay Area.

On this Holiday edition of the Global Research News Hour, we hear speeches from a public event in support of American Iraq War Deserter Joshua Key. The event was held at the University of Winnipeg on March 29, 2015. Michelle Robidoux of the War Resisters Support Campaign updated the audience on the actions taken against Americans in Canada who sought sanctuary from the Iraq War. She is followed by Joshua Key' s legal representative. Then Joshua tells the story of how he went to Iraq, what he saw and why he ultimately deserted, and then his efforts to live in peace in Canada.

This week's Global Research News Hour analyses the results of the recent Israeli elections and evaluates resistance tools such as Boycott, Divestment, Sanction (BDS) especially in the face of opposition from political figures like Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Liberal leader Justin Trudeau. Interview guest James Petras explains how Netanyahu managed to secure the support of a plurality of Israeli voters, and what that portends for the future of Israeli relations in the region and worldwide.Bruce Katz of Palestinian and Jewish Unity is up next with a review of efforts to implement BDS in Canada and the obstacles solidarity activists face.JEff Halper talks about the abuses of Palestinians he has witnessed, about the potential for BDS and about why media can't get the message right.

This installment of the Global Research News Hour features coverage of the ongoing efforts by the Canadian government to put in place anti-terrorism legislation which undermines Canadian freedoms at the expense of privacy and other Rights we take for granted.First we hear from the Director of the acclaimed film `The Secret Trial 5, a film about 5 people detained cumulatively for 30 years without conviction in the name of National Security. We hear a speech from Canadian Green Party leader about Bill C51. and we conclude the show with Naomi Wolf, author of the book `THe End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young patriot.`Wolf`s book documents how authoritarian powers have consistently applied ten measures when shutting down democracies around the world.

In the month of February, fifteen former students of the for- profit Corinthian Colleges System declared they would no longer be paying off their sizable federal student loans. They see the Corinthian system as corrupt, making false promises and part of a predatory leding racket. This action sets the stage for a conversation about the Student debt crisis and the nature of money.Ellen Brown author, former civil litigation attorney and founder of the Public Banking Institute comes on in the first half hour. She explains how student debt is not only crippling the debt holders with unfair debt repyment obligations, it is used by money managers as a commodity not unlike the Subprime mortgages that infamously led to the financial meltdown of 2008. In the second half hour we hear a September 2011 speech given by San Francisco Bay Area-basedIndependent journalist and podcast producer Kellia Ramares-Watson. She goes further than Ellen BRown in suggesting that the money system not only has to be reformed but disbanded altogether. She suggests in the speech that students should default on their debts as a political action.

On Friday February 27, a prominent Russian political figure, Boris Nemtsov, was murdered. Some effort has been made to try to connect this tragedy with the Russian government. This latest event takes place in the context of significant military casualties by Ukrainian forces in the Donbass, increasing dispatches of Canadian and US troops to the region, and an intensifying demonizayion campaign of Russian President Putin. To help contextualize these events, the global Research News Hour is joined by two editors of the website newcoldwar.org, a site which attempts to expose the truht about the Ukraine situation.