Colombia & Palestine Protest; Biden Refugee Flip-Flop; The Census Trap

Political Misfits

James Jordan, National Coordinator for the Alliance for Global Justice, talks to us about the ongoing protests in Colombia over a proposed tax hike which has resulted in at least 19 deaths, what were the details in this proposal that ignited such a strong response, and why the response by the police has been so violent. We also talk about how the Colombian economy has shrunk during the pandemic, with some reports indicating a 7% decrease, and what this means for the government of Ivan Duque, who has also faced criticism over his reluctance to uphold its end in the 2016 peace agreement with the FARC.
Samer Makhlouf, Palestinian activist, tells us about increasing violent attacks by Israeli settlers in Palestine, with more than 210 incidents of violence recorded in the first three months of 2021, including the death of one Palestinian, and how these attacks are aided and abetted by the state of Israel. We also talk about the Palestinian Authority delaying elections amid a dispute over voting in Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem and divisions in his Fatah party and whether we could see a change in leadership in Palestine, Netanyahu’s obstacles to form a government, and whether we will see a change in policy vis a vis Palestine from the Biden Administration.
Jon Jeter, author and two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and the former Washington Post bureau chief and award-winning foreign correspondent, talks to us about the narrative that the Biden administration will be incredibly progressive mainly through taxation of high income earners and whether this will successfully address the issues of inequality and a winner-take-all society. We also talk about how the extreme focus on demographics when predicting electoral outcomes in the country is not necessarily an accurate tool when it is combined with long held assumptions about how certain groups vote are not necessarily reflective of reality.
Raymond Caldwell, producing artistic director at Theater Alliance, joins us in a conversation about the new digital play “City in Transition: The Quadrant Series”, which explores Washington DC by unearthing each quadrant's history, exploring their current situations, and projecting their futures.