April 21 - The Deepening Humanitarian Crisis in the Mediterranean; In Spite of Airstrikes and Iraqi/Iranian Offensives, The Islamic State Remains Strong; Scott Walker Wins the Koch Brother's Republican Lottery

Full Program

Part 1

We begin with the deepening humanitarian tragedy in the Mediterranean where 1,700 migrants have died this year so far compared to 96 last year, and that number is expected to grow to 30,000 unless the European Union, which is about to meet to deal with the crisis, can come up with a solution. Joel Millman, the spokesman for the International Organization for Migration in Switzerland joins us to discuss the desperation of migrants from Africa and the Middle East trying to get to Europe in the hope of a better life, who scrounge up all they have to pay human traffickers who crowd them into unseaworthy vessels then callously put their lives at risk crossing the Mediterranean.

Part 2

Then we get an analysis of the strength of the self-proclaimed Islamic State whose leader is said to be recovering from a near-death experience from an airstrike. Richard Barrett, who sits on the boards of the International Center for Counter Terrorism in the Hague and the Center on Global Counter Terrorism Cooperation in Washington, joins us to discuss how, in spite of promises by President Obama to degrade and destroy the terrorist organization, and military offensives by the Iraqi government and their Iranian allies, the Islamic State remains strong and is on the offensive is parts of Iraq and Syria.

Part 3

Then finally we speak with Lisa Graves, the Executive Director of the Center for Media and Democracy about presidential candidate Governor Scott Walker’s big win in the Republican lottery following an apparent endorsement by David Koch of the billionaire Koch brothers who plan to spend up to a billion dollars in the next election, almost twice what the Republican Party itself spent in the last presidential election.