February 25 - Will the Republicans Take Note of Berlusconi's Success With Anti-Austerity?; Cutting Defense to Make the U.S. Stronger; Cuba's Next in Line in 2018

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Part 1	We begin with the countdown to the sequester that is four days away, and with little hope of a break in the impasse, 85 billion dollars will be automatically cut from a faltering economy, thus reversing economic recovery. James Henry, an economist, lawyer and investigative journalist joins us to discuss what last minute deals could be struck and whether the Republicans will take note of the surprise resurrection of Silvio Berlusconi who ran in the Italian elections as an anti-austerity candidate.
Part 2	Then we look into the extraordinary rise of defense spending during the last decade, increases not seen since the Korean War, and whether this can be slowed or reversed. A former defense and intelligence insider Melvin Goodman, the author of a new book, “National Insecurity: the Cost of American Militarism”, joins us. We discuss whether the Republicans have changed their minds on defense cuts and if cuts could be targeted against useless weapons systems like the most expensive defense contract in history, the F-35 aircraft that is now grounded.
Part 3	Then finally we assess the possibility of new leadership in Cuba with a former analyst with the Cuban government Arturo Lopez Levy. We discuss Sunday’s announcement by Raul Castro that he will step down as Cuba’s President in 2018 after completing a new five year term, and learn about the likely successor, the 52 year old Miguel Diaz-Canel, an electrical engineer. One of eight vice-presidents, he was promoted on Sunday to be the first vice-president.