Day: August 26, 2024

Background Briefing: August 26, 2024

Harris Surges in the Polls as Trump Tries to Weasel Out of the September 10 ABC Debate With Harris

We begin with the Harris/Walz campaign surging ahead of Trump/Vance in the polls as Trump appears to be trying to weasel out of the ABC debate with Kamala Harris scheduled for September 10. Joining us to discuss how Harris fits into a system that accurately predicts who wins the presidency is Allan Lichtman, a political historian who teaches at American University and has studied both the American right and the presidency. He is the author of The Keys to the White House: A Surefire Way to Predicting the Next President, a prediction system that has correctly predicted the outcomes of all US presidential elections since 1984 including the 2016 election when against all odds, he predicted a Trump victory. His most recent books are The Embattled Vote in America, The Case For Impeachment, and Thirteen Cracks: Repairing American Democracy After Trump and he has a new weekly show at 9pm EST on Thursdays at @allanlichtmanyoutube

 

The French Arrest the Founder of Telegram After a Possible Meeting With Putin

Then we will examine the arrest of the Russian owner of Telegram in Paris after he had returned from Azerbaijan where Pavel Durov was rumored to have met with Putin. Joining us is Michael Gorham, Professor of Russian Studies at the University of Florida. He is the author of two award-winning books on language culture and politics: After Newspeak: Language Culture and Politics in Russia from Gorbachev to Putin and Speaking in Soviet Tongues: Language Culture and the Politics of Voice in Revolutionary Russia. He’s currently completing his third book, Networking Putinism: The Rhetoric of Power in the Digital Age, devoted to the impact of digital media on Russian political rhetoric.

 

Houthi Recklessness is About to Cause the Fifth Largest Oil Spill in History 


Then finally we will assess the damage the Houthis have inflicted on a Greek tanker that is on fire and adrift and could soon spill 150,000 tonnes of crude oil into the Red Sea in what would be the fifth largest oil spill in history which would devastate the fishing ground for the Yemeni people. Joining us is Charles Schmitz, a professor of Geography at Towson University who has researched and written extensively on Yemen and its relationships with other nations on the Arabian Peninsula and with the United States.