join me every thursday on the alec simon show and i'll be speaking to guests of the world of politics sports business i'm showbusiness i'll see you then. in 2040 you know bloody revolution to the demonstrations going from being relatively peaceful political protests to be creasing the violent revolution is always spontaneous or is it you know lawyer here liz put me in the new bill is that i'm new to the former ukrainian president recalls the events of 2014. those who took part in this to do over $5000000000.00 to assist ukraine in these another goal that will ensure a secure and prosperous and democratic. led

. greetings and sal you take. as we enter into the early part of 2020 the word pandemic is now trending this of course is all thanks to the corona virus the latest iteration of one of mankind's oldest the greatest pose but is the 21st century version of us truly ready to deal with a potentially dangerous pandemic. well definitely not when the viruses name sounds like a bad gobble san lucas hangover no but thankfully the corona virus has now been officially renamed coded maintained by the world health organization which officially stands for wait for it the corona virus 1 disease that was discovered in 2019 yes kind of obvious now that is pretty to the point generic virus name but that thankfully

doesn't unfairly stigma stigmatize the people in region that it was discovered in which it's happened before i'm looking at you mers or rather the folks that named you mers middle east respiratory illness but tragically that kind of smart thinking displayed in the renaming of the coronavirus has not bled into a lot of the news coverage and political reactions to the discovery of the disease which is now infected approximately $40000.00 and taken a little over a 1000 souls as k.t.l.a. reports restaurants in south korea japan hong kong and vietnam have refused to accept chinese customers indonesians marched in your hotel and called on chinese guests there to leave french and australian newspapers face criticism for racist headlines chinese and other asians in europe the united states asia and the pacific have all complained of racism the united states even institute has instituted a very controversial travel ban actually denying chinese nationals and other boarders who have been in china from entering the united states that's all not to

say that china didn't you know make an initial mistakes in response to the outbreak but as we all know nothing nothing sells a story better in modern western media than a mysterious killer virus and a secretive government failing to contain it and its in its in that quest for kissinger style geo political gain tabloid styles and say tional headlines the represents the 2 greatest gifts any dangerous disease could ever ask for fear and greed in the populace which is why we must always be watching the homes. if you want to know what's going on on the city the streets you want to see. that are so you wish to see the rises joyce state. rolls royce graves displays systemic deception is the late show which. brings up this. world we're going to watch with. her earlier i was joined from

beijing by susi t.v. anchor and journalist of wall to wall and we discussed not only of china's response to the virus but the response by the u.s. government and world journalists as well to it was. one of the again i want to thank you for coming on the show and i want to start with you are on the ground in china what do you feel is the most important information people need to know about the virus and china's current efforts to contain it. there are numerous challenges on the ground the still we're still 'd waiting for the inflection point whereby we can safely say that the worst is over new cases have plateaued. we're waiting for that time we haven't seen that yet but they are hopeful signs that things might be stabilizing for example new suspected cases and patients patient counts are both dropping for a couple of days and also new cases alcide

a problem the epicenter had been dropping for 7 days in the row. 4 times as many recovered patients as those who died so there has been a concerted national campaign against this epidemic. people are persevered through tough times many people are living in virtual lockdown. and in the rest of the country people are self isolating at home people believe that this is what it takes to cut the path of transmission you've also seen. efforts made by the authorities medical staff to new hospitals building to base 11 makeshift hospitals built in a matter of days to treat patients while also incredible i want to one of the things that really struck me about all this was kind of the media's reaction the whole of all of this went down as a journalist working to try to what do you feel news agencies outside of china have

been either misreported you're misrepresenting the most about the virus and china's upwards to contain it. i mean there are misinformation out there. first of all i appreciate the media outlets especially those in the west care about what's happening in china. i think some of their reports are legitimate they reflected things on the ground but also they've got to be fair and they've got to give the audience the full picture. for example in the beginning yes there was there should have been more information there should have been more transparency. on locally or later on once beijing was made aware of the situation it went out it gave the best shot that they can to contain this epidemic as we speak the athletes and there is screaming and quarantine it's all those suspected cases the 11000000 residents there

a very aggressive effort over there. of course in the western press most of the times you hear about the bad things individual cases of tragic losses which may or may not be true but you've also got to give credit where credit is to. you definitely do and i think that's one of the things that really struck me i was living in mexico at the time that like the swine flu kind of hit down there and i remember you know that's you know 25000000 people have it was something like a small amount of people how to those kind of what will they're doing what they can and we can't criticize right away you know look they're at their house but a lot of criticism in china is mr response to the early reports but that's going to happen you know one sort of sums of local doctors you don't look when when criticism is valid what lessons can we learn both from the good in the bad and this is moving forward beyond just this particular virus what can we learn from how

things played out in china initial reaction to the virus and what they're doing today what we you know what have we learned good and bad in case the next you know epidemic comes around or a next outbreak of the virus comes around. i think china's president made a very clear that there war shortcomings and shortfalls in dealing with this epidemic in the beginning. this was they still is a major test to china's system and this governance capabilities there are lessons to be learned and they are being dealt with for example there has been accountability in the past couple of days the health commissioner in a house has been fired hundreds of party officials across who've made at the center have been fired for their incapability to report information to deal with the situation in a timely manner. also the people who 1st informed the public of this

epidemic people who had been vindicated by no other and china supreme court but i think there are also experiences. in that china has been quick later on to mobilize its national resources sending doctors and nurses to poor poor doctors and nurses from across the country to deal with this epidemic you mentioned h one n one that is interesting because tens of millions of people infected globally and tens of thousands of deaths occurred you don't see child bans against american citizens or anti-american you know u.s. bashing happening on such just scale globally. in fact it took a while for the obama administration to declare a national emergency. china of course could have been more faster in terms of responding to this virus at local levels but it is doing just that you know

because this is what i mean ultimately i have never liked the idea of what you know bashing how people handle things and kind of going after other countries for all the and all different. take place especially you know i'm living in the united states we didn't exactly handle katrina well when that hit new orleans you know you can't throw stones when it comes to this where you can only do is say look we're all human beings how can we best help what can we do to help so i want to ask you this what what what can the rest of the world do i know the virus has gotten into the u.s. in a few other spots but what can the rest of the world do to help china and its upwards to contain and potentially reach the point you mentioned earlier where the virus starts receding but. i think global cooperation on a vaccine is very important. i have heard news that as scientists in friends in britain in the u.s. are working on a vaccine that could turn out to be effective that could be delivered as. soon as

early summer. i'm sure many kind hearted americans and people around the world wanted to help but some government policies are making things difficult for example the travel ban that the u.s. administration i'm sure in the u.s. scientists they want to help china and many u.s. enterprises such as the bill found the bill gates foundation is helping but the travel ban is making things difficult because it takes us china cooperation to work on a vaccine some of the scientists that we interviewed in the past couple of weeks they need to catch the last flight home because of this travel ban and those efforts of joining to development is one part and that's the hard thing with the travel ban as is this something that you think is it is it is the purpose your opinion come from trying to perspective or from your perspective obviously can't speak for the entire country but is that is that do you think the travel ban was something that was done on purpose or is that it was a coming from a political junkie or is it coming from kind about the panic of pandemic you know

in the kind of your place that we see a lot of a lot of politicians make decisions out of fear rather than good. i think of the sovereign state the u.s. has every right to make his own immigration policies travel bans. the fact the matter is there are only 2 deaths outside china one in the philippines one hong kong. infection cases in the u.s. have appeared but they're limited this coronavirus has not become a pandemic yet so people in the u.s. they need not panic being in the need facts not fear. some responses from the u.s. government. are pretty disturbing let's be on this for some we have secretary of commerce wilbur ross saying that that i've been making china how the u.s. in terms of bringing back the u.s. . i think when he said that prop perhaps they could have spared the 2nd to think

about all those chinese manufacturing workers who unfortunately caught the virus and fighting for their lives in the icy use i could mcgrew through more and i want to say one thank you so much for joining us and you know some on what's happening there and also you know the mistakes that have been made and the things that we can do in the future to hopefully better prevent this kind of thing and work together as a global community when dangerous threats like this arrives thank you so much for joining me to be a pleasure having you on. as we're going to record watchers don't forget to let us know what you think of the topics we've covered over social media and be sure to check out watching the hawks the podcast which is now available on spotify apple music and everywhere you listen to your favorite or not so favorite pod dress you can also start watching the hawks on demand or the brand new portable t.v. apple billboard smartphones through google play store by simply searching portable to be coming up i am joined by political analyst the mr cross and sylvia cyrus from the association for the study of african-american life and history for an in-depth

discussion on the importance of black history month here in the u.s. and how that fight for equality continues today stay tuned to watch the whole. week the global potential damage here and people here is calm by the fact that nothing in the global economy is anchored to anything. so you dismiss. and it's only going to get more chaotic.

people are told that they can't or shouldn't do something whether it's sexual or otherwise makes them. so. welcome back everyone joining me now is democratic strategist and political analyst . thank you so much tara there are thousands of innovators writers entertainers athletes elected leaders and change agents across the african-american community who are woven into the tapestry of this great nation. martin luther king jr baby lou hamer jackie robinson thurgood marshall james baldwin and others come to mind we saw the passage of the civil rights and voting rights act separate but unequal

education out restrictive covenants ruled unconstitutional and other games but sadly we also watched many of those cornerstones of justice disintegrated before our eyes. during black history month we often acknowledge the great black leaders who paved the way for progress in advancing civil rights and equity but it is also incumbent upon us to recognize today's leaders in our community in our own backyard who are fighting to preserve the work our black forefathers started and build upon their successes today we are tasked with meeting the moment much like our predecessors building on the tools they use devising strategies that meet the demands of an ever changing environment and breaking the shackles designed and legally codified to hold the black community back as we reflect on our leaders of old we must also look to the now and see where our past present and future civil rights and equality warriors collide here to tell us more about this landscape and answer some of our most pressing questions is sylvia cyrus the executive director

of the association for the study of african-american life and history. thank you so much for coming out of there sylvia thank was removing truly a pleasure truly a pleasure. a fellow i have been around for over 100 years and it's an incredible connection with how black history month came to be can you tell us a little bit more about that certainly it is a fantastic story of the power of what one person can do dr carter g. woodson the undisputed father of black history started this organization 105 years ago after participating in a celebration for the 25th anniversary of the mancipation he realized even then that enough was not being told about the truth of the contributions of african-americans and so this organization was started by dr woodson and a few of his friends to share the rich heritage of the african-americans and what we have brought to the nation and to the world i just wanted to jump on that too is ask is why why is that particular thing why is the support and why you know i know

why but why is it important to our viewers know why that study of history and why that is keeping the history alive are so important it's important because it especially in this day of stem individuals focus so much on the science and the technology of it all but america is built on the backs of stories of struggle and triumph and there is no group of people in this country who tells that story better than black people and those of african descent and so through this challenge that we have had in a country that did not always embrace black people did not always embrace our contributions that it's important for everyone to know that the american story that the ability to live the american dream is very much the story of african-american people and all people should know the story and should know the truth about the struggle and with that we'll all do better as a nation great point it's a really great point you know as we usually take this month to reflect on civil rights activists who have paved the way for the advancement of quality of black

people it's not just here in the u.s. but also roam the world and this is a global issue. i wanted to bring up the mess in the copy who was of you who is a ugandan climate change activist from member and she was recently tragically kind of cropped out of an associated press photo along with her white peers including the gratitude board when they were making up you know pledge to the world and i wanted you to hear this is what she had to say when she found out that she was cropped out of his photo and this really is stuart moment. everyone's. always. being talked about. it's. the mystique it's the start. and you may. as well it's. i mean this is a young woman fighting to make climate change you know fight for that's her future

and the fact that we called her what i want to get your thoughts about how you're african-americans and people of color who are trying to make the difference trying to make the world better whether it's for equality or climate change awareness but yet they are continually being cut out of history you know and that's exactly what you guys are trying to prevent absolutely and it's our job to do the research so that we know as i said before the truth about the contributions and so often those there are a few people who get the spotlight there are few people who are in the camera there's so many great stories behind the camera there are so many people who get cut out of the picture but the whole fabric of the contributions of african-americans and those who make a real change in this country are not told and that is what a sol is about we are a membership organization that studies we research we publish we share that information so that there's a place for those who get cropped out of the picture to have their day in the sun.

absolutely and thankful to you for that i would also like to bring up what we saw in parkland when there were obviously several black students who were also there when that tragic shooting happened and when the media covered it all of those students weren't interviewed or weren't talked about either even though they were trying to be advocates on the front lines as well so i think that this is something that we all are still grappling with that the media is in all honesty making a lot harder for a lot of the young african-american advocates for a lot of different issues for. and you know recently we've had several people such as a mixed bag in the mother of mike brown sabrina fulton the mother of trayvon martin and they run for positions of power they run for political office do you think that there is something about this climate that has led them to do that coming off of the tragic situations that they they both endured but we're seeing more and more particularly african-american women stepping up and taking that role in terms of running for office they're moving beyond advocacy to actually move towards legislative change and what do you. think about that well as fate would have at this year's black history thing and that is one of the jobs of this is so see the

set that theme is african-americans in the vote and so in our communities we start by recognize the power in just being able to have your voice heard and so we go to the next level where it is makes perfectly good sense that these women in particular and others would step forward and recognize that in order to really make the change you have got to be in a position to make that change you have got to run for office and you've got to build your base which they already have done a great job of highlighting the issues of what's happening to our our young people are black men in the community and so it makes perfectly good sense to us and we applaud this because ever since reconstruction black people have been wanting to be in a position so that we could make a difference and that just for black people but for the entire community exactly exactly you know and i think that's one of the most powerful things and any kind of fight for rights and equality can do is when you get into those those institutions where you've got a terrible down or getting them yourselves and say are we have to reset all this i

want to woo who are some of the more content you know we talk a lot of history we know a lot of the great names of the civil rights struggle throughout history obviously but who do you feel are the more contemporary people that are making history today the years from now you're going to have people looking back 100 years from now we're going back and saying well these people really blazed a trail here in the early 21st century it would be so difficult for me to start naming individuals i mean i could get in a lot of trouble. but i'm just going to say that there are a lot of individuals within our given communities that have done so much individuals as you've mentioned who would run for office and i mean that is really critical but in our communities there's so many people that we could look to i mean in the state in washington d.c. our mayor in other places where we are leaving governments where we are leading municipalities etcetera and we're on the front. live in so many organizations we have leaders of black sororities and fraternities civic civil attorneys

organizations college students who are involved in organizations like the end p. and others involved in the urban league so it would be really difficult for me to start pulling out names i'm just going to say that one of the things that we say at a solid which is how we refer to the association for the study of african-american life in history is to look in your own community for those change makers those history makers that are really going to make a difference not just to day for the future and to document it write it down and share it so important so important so so important. to you i guess because i'm not organizationally affiliated with i don't know i would definitely say following mckissic i think that really is on the front lines doing a lot of great work we've seen a lot of people rise particularly younger people like that you shouted out the urban league i'm an urban league or they think that the urban league as a whole has a very large young professionals group and training for advocacy not only in terms of building it online in these social media channels but actually doing the work in

your communities as well my question though would be around bridging the gap because this existed during the civil rights movement as well we saw a lot of these younger leaders who emerged in leaders of a different generation weren't necessarily always the most open and welcoming to them as they came through martin luther king actually faced a lot of this in addition to. people who look just like him as these younger leaders emerge what are some ways that they can build that connectivity between the older branch to already have this embedded understanding and i've gone through several iterations of the civil rights movement at this point but also helping move into what the future looks like well you know change agents are always going to have struggles and there are powers out there that don't want this to happen and so i think that it's very much being true to who you are and know who you are we are very multi general. race anyway we sat at grandma's knee and a lot of the stories of our family history and what happen in communities as we

came from the south to the north and migrated in different areas so i just say that we just have to continue to work together working together it's never going to be easy but we have to be patient with each other i think that we have to really be understanding of each other and you just have to persevered because leadership is a mantle that you drag every day it's not going to be easy it's not it's not a soft sell kind of thing but i think that if you only in your heart and your spirit if you know that you want to make a difference that you can persevered and it's the story of perseverance just keep working at it and i think that will accomplish much by doing and being history and perseverance great it's truly a pleasure having you on the on the show sylvia cyrus from the association for the study of african-american life history thank you so much to be sure cross always a pleasure thank you for joining me today as well. and so there we had with a story straight out of the thomas crown affair after

a famous painting stolen 23 years ago was recently found hidden inside the walls of the very gallery it was taken from i kid you not to stop clips portrait of a lady stolen of a lady stolen on february 22nd 1970 from riccio b. modern art gallery in the northern italian city of sons of it was discovered back in december by the gallery's gardner while clearing away ivy on an outside wall the gardener found clips 1917 masterpiece wrapped inside a plastic bag hidden in a compartment in the wall the going conjecture is that the thief or thieves placed it there waiting for the heat to die down around the painting after the storm with it or they just kept it at home and just recently brought it back well everybody that is our show for you today remember everyone in this world we are told that we are love the love so i tell you all i love you i rolled into a keep on watching those off to the bakery and i.

what politicians do yourself a little. bit put themselves on the line. to get accepted or rejected. so when you want to be president or injury. or somehow want to be rich. but you want to be prosperous like them before 3 in the morning can't be good for. i'm interested always in the laws of our. question. so what we've got to do is identify the threats that we have it's crazy to confront a shim let it be an arms race is all off and spearing dramatic development only personally i'm going to resist i don't see how that strategy will be successful very critical time time to sit down and talk.

eat. eat. eat eat. eat eat. eat eat. eat.

deescalation turned on its head as turkey threatens syrian forces in its own province of idlib and a us patrol clashes with residents of an eastern town resulting in the death of a boy. italy's former interior minister faces a trial charged with illegally holding more than $100.00 refugees at sea as the senate votes to investigate the politician. on the german city of dresden to commemorate 75 years since the 2nd world war bombing campaign which left an estimated $25000.00 dead we speak to a man who narrowly escaped the ordeal. there were bodies lying around everything was destroyed it was chaos because there were also many refugees.