For our first segment, we will be discussing several unfolding world events. The United States has unveiled its new embassy in occupied Jerusalem, as Israel opens fire on protesters in Gaza. The ceremonial opening of the embassy stands in stark contrast to the violence being leveled against Palestinians across the country, which has continued largely unabated between Palestinian Land Day on March 30, Nakba Day on May 15, and the present.


Later, Maduro has been reelected as the president of Venezuela with 67 percent of the vote. Venezuelan elections have been monitored by hundreds and sometimes thousands of international observers and the Venezuelan electoral system has been described as one of the most transparent in the world by many commentators, including former president Jimmy Carter. But the U.S. media largely refuses to acknowledge these certifications. Instead, most U.S. media has taken fringe right-wing elements of the Venezuelan opposition at face value. What is at stake for Maduro and the PSUV as they continue their process of stabilizing the country after right-wing attacks and crippling U.S. sanctions?

We are joined for this discussion by Abby Martin, host of The Empire Files on Telesur and co-founder of the citizen journalism project Media Roots.

This week we’re also talking with Dr. Gerald Horne, professor of history and African American studies at the University of Houston, about his 2014 book, The Counter-Revolution of 1776: Slave Resistance and the Origins of the United States of America. Rather than begin the story of the American Revolution in the late 1700s, Dr. Horne examines the colonial history of a century earlier, asserting that the independence movement in the American colonies grew largely out of an attempt to preserve slavery for the white landowning ruling class. The result of American independence can thus be seen not as a major leap forward for democracy, but as a world historic defeat for African and indigenous peoples.