Juno News - Thou Doth Protest Too Much

00:00:00.000 Welcome to Canada's most irreverent talk show.

00:00:06.620 This is the Andrew Lawton Show, brought to you by True North.

00:00:13.080 Coming up, turns out the Canadian government says protesting isn't that bad after all,

00:00:17.440 as long as you're protesting something they like.

00:00:19.960 Also, the push for the four-day work week,

00:00:22.440 plus Iran's dishonesty and duplicity when it comes to the pandemic. 0.90

00:00:26.180 Welcome, everyone, to Canada's most irreverent talk show,

00:00:38.620 another edition of the Andrew Lawton Show here on True North.

00:00:42.340 Thank you very much for tuning in.

00:00:44.500 Going to be talking later on in the show with Ali Safavi about the Iranian regime

00:00:48.800 and how even when the coronavirus is dwindling elsewhere in the world,

00:00:53.220 Iran is still seeing a death toll that is at around 50,000 now,

00:00:57.600 vastly different from the official tally, much like China's figures.

00:01:01.600 Also going to be talking in a little bit about a lighter story,

00:01:04.920 about how we might take the best of the pandemic

00:01:07.440 in adapting our working environments going forward.

00:01:11.560 But I want to begin by really extrapolating on

00:01:15.600 just the absolute nonsense that is passing for public health advice in Canada.

00:01:21.700 The latest comes from Dr. Theresa Tam, the chief public health advisor,

00:01:25.480 the one from whom Canadians are hearing how they're to live every day,

00:01:29.040 the one from whom Justin Trudeau is taking his cues.

00:01:32.280 You know the Prime Minister of Canada has said repeatedly

00:01:34.980 that everything he's doing is just an exact mirror image

00:01:39.040 of what the public health officials are telling him they want.

00:01:42.140 So Dr. Theresa Tam right now is the de facto Prime Minister. 1.00

00:01:46.000 Now she's been telling us for months now

00:01:48.840 to stay home, save lives, don't go to the park,

00:01:52.260 don't go to the cottage, don't do this, don't do that.

00:01:54.920 And by and large, a lot of Canadians have been listening.

00:01:58.320 But this week we learned that apparently all of that scientific advice

00:02:01.940 apparently doesn't mean all that much

00:02:04.680 depending on the political narratives that are at play.

00:02:07.180 This was a question that she was asked about going to protests

00:02:11.980 and whether people could safely go to Black Lives Matter protests.

00:02:16.660 One thing that people may want to consider is that, of course,

00:02:21.800 wearing a mask is important, but shouting and making really loud

00:02:25.620 sort of projections can potentially increase the risk.

00:02:30.740 And so, you know, I might want to choose other means of showing

00:02:37.460 or messaging, whether it be signage or making noise

00:02:41.860 using other instruments, for example.

00:02:44.720 It's just to consider that, you know, shouting

00:02:47.900 and that type of behavior can potentially project more droplets.

00:02:55.240 Okay, so it's not stay home, save lives.

00:03:00.120 It's not if you go there, you're going to kill grandma.

00:03:02.820 It's not don't go because protests are mass gatherings

00:03:05.880 where you can't contain a virus.

00:03:07.320 It's, hmm, well, you know, wear a mask and don't yell

00:03:10.200 because if you yell, that's going to get your droplets.

00:03:12.040 So use instruments.

00:03:13.220 So apparently all this time, if people wanted to go to the park

00:03:17.000 and go to the beach and go to anywhere that they wanted to be outside,

00:03:21.220 all they had to do was bring a sign and protest a political cause.

00:03:24.680 That was all they had to do this whole time.

00:03:26.720 Because if you're not protesting, it is fatal and dangerous and how dare you.

00:03:31.340 But if you are protesting, as long as you don't yell, you're fine.

00:03:34.820 Now, by and large, the people protesting

00:03:36.320 weren't listening to that advice anyway.

00:03:38.400 They were yelling, they are chanting.

00:03:40.440 But it's amazing to me that when you are protesting the lockdown itself,

00:03:45.480 well, you can't do that.

00:03:47.120 You can't do that.

00:03:47.960 How dare you go to Queen's Park and protest

00:03:50.360 just because you want a haircut and this and that,

00:03:52.380 and that's dangerous and you're threatening the lives of others.

00:03:55.180 But when you're protesting now, it's all fine.

00:03:57.760 It's all well and good.

00:03:58.620 It's all dandy and no one's going to be hurt by it.

00:04:00.800 Yeah, it's just you exercising your civil rights

00:04:03.840 and your civil liberties to go out and protest.

00:04:06.600 And I think it's shameful for many reasons,

00:04:09.380 but particularly how brazen it is

00:04:13.200 that the advice that was necessary a week ago

00:04:17.140 now no longer applies.

00:04:18.980 And this is how either you have to accept

00:04:21.280 that either the science is wrong

00:04:22.960 or they were just not caring about it.

00:04:26.280 And either one, I think, is a possibility.

00:04:28.320 I would say that they've been over-exaggerating

00:04:31.380 to justify their control,

00:04:32.960 to justify that public order mentality.

00:04:35.300 And now that there's something that conflicts

00:04:36.940 with the narrative that a lot of these people

00:04:38.840 on the left are trying to put forward,

00:04:40.580 they don't care about upholding the rules anymore.

00:04:42.900 They don't even care about pretending

00:04:44.980 that everyone should be staying home.

00:04:46.880 So I don't think this is going to end particularly well.

00:04:51.840 I'm one of these people that believes,

00:04:54.140 yes, the lockdown is overzealous.

00:04:56.620 Yes, we need to have a more nuanced approach.

00:04:58.820 I also believe that the pandemic is real

00:05:00.800 and that coronavirus is a real thing

00:05:02.620 and it is infectious and could pose risk.

00:05:04.880 So I wouldn't be surprised to see emerging

00:05:06.920 from the demonstrations we've had just across Canada.

00:05:09.900 Let's just look at Canada here specifically,

00:05:12.760 that there are going to be more outbreaks

00:05:14.700 that emerge from that.

00:05:16.060 Because yeah, you see some people

00:05:17.280 that are holding signs that are wearing their masks,

00:05:19.280 but a lot of people that are just in close quarters,

00:05:21.720 not really socially distancing,

00:05:23.780 because now they know

00:05:24.860 that you don't have to socially distance

00:05:26.280 if you're protesting a political cause

00:05:28.480 that the left is on board with.

00:05:30.160 That's the rule.

00:05:30.740 If only we knew that.

00:05:31.840 If only we knew that back in March

00:05:33.480 when everyone was talking.

00:05:35.520 So now all these hair salons that everyone needs,

00:05:38.040 myself included,

00:05:39.240 could reopen as long as they start,

00:05:41.420 you know, putting some chant on for a protest.

00:05:44.120 And by the way,

00:05:44.760 I'm not even minimizing the protesting here

00:05:46.980 because people, I think, have a right to do that.

00:05:49.360 That's part of living in a free society,

00:05:51.720 part of living in a free country.

00:05:53.880 I am taking aim at the bureaucrats

00:05:57.020 and the politicians and the political advisors,

00:05:59.520 because we have to say

00:06:01.120 that the public health team in Canada

00:06:02.660 is a political advisory team

00:06:04.880 more than it's a public health team,

00:06:06.700 that all of these people

00:06:08.400 were just yanking our chain.

00:06:11.000 They were just pulling our legs this whole time

00:06:12.820 and hoping we'd play ball.

00:06:15.080 So now it's baffling.

00:06:17.220 Where is the condemnation?

00:06:19.220 When people were going to the cottage,

00:06:21.000 Doug Ford was condemning them.

00:06:23.220 When people were spending time

00:06:25.280 or wanting to spend time with their families,

00:06:27.260 at first, Justin Trudeau was condemning them.

00:06:29.360 He was saying, no, no, no,

00:06:30.120 you've got to stay home.

00:06:31.420 You've got to talk to people on Zoom and all of that.

00:06:33.800 So where's the condemnation?

00:06:35.220 Where are the lawmakers telling these protesters right now,

00:06:38.060 listen, I know you want to,

00:06:39.720 I know it's hard, but you can't.

00:06:41.400 It's wrong to do that.

00:06:42.500 Where is that condemnation?

00:06:44.780 The same condemnation that went to everyone else

00:06:47.140 that was doing the protesting thing 0.64

00:06:50.000 a couple of weeks ago at Queen's Park now

00:06:52.000 or Parliament Hill or other legislatures.

00:06:54.340 Queen's Park is the one that comes to mind

00:06:55.840 for me being in Ontario.

00:06:57.780 But the scorn of lawmakers

00:06:59.820 is no longer applicable.

00:07:01.720 So here's what I would like to see happen.

00:07:04.360 I would like to see lawmakers either say,

00:07:08.040 look, apparently we were, you know,

00:07:10.760 just a little bit overcautious

00:07:12.720 and overzealous with the whole lockdown thing.

00:07:14.980 Yeah, be careful, be mindful,

00:07:16.640 but we're going to ease these restrictions.

00:07:20.040 Or start taking the same approach to these people

00:07:25.180 that they were a couple of months ago

00:07:27.040 or a couple of weeks ago to everyone else.

00:07:28.840 I don't necessarily like that,

00:07:30.800 but at least it would be intellectually honest.

00:07:32.740 At least it would be consistent.

00:07:35.500 Because right now what's happening is

00:07:38.100 there is an illegitimate narrative

00:07:42.140 that's being peddled by the government

00:07:43.720 that things are bad under certain circumstances

00:07:47.000 but not bad under other circumstances.

00:07:49.340 That a church service is not okay.

00:07:51.800 That a kid's birthday party is not okay.

00:07:54.580 But a gathering or a looting or a rioting is okay.

00:07:58.040 So that's what's happening right now.

00:07:59.520 That's the double talk.

00:08:00.500 It's hard to keep track

00:08:01.340 where the government is going,

00:08:03.340 but that is how things are unfolding here.

00:08:06.100 So if we are to accept this,

00:08:09.240 which I don't think we should,

00:08:10.580 and I don't think we have to,

00:08:11.820 we'll be essentially telling government,

00:08:14.200 yeah, we just do things

00:08:15.820 because the government says so.

00:08:18.720 And it would prove that a lot of people

00:08:20.780 are approaching this

00:08:21.740 in a pretty uncritical way,

00:08:24.800 which may not seem like a big surprise,

00:08:27.740 but it is a big problem

00:08:29.300 because government right now

00:08:31.080 is still trading off of its good grace.

00:08:33.460 It's waning,

00:08:34.320 but government is still trading off

00:08:35.960 of its good grace

00:08:36.740 by effectively telling people,

00:08:39.120 listen, we're all in this together,

00:08:40.460 but that narrative is gone.

00:08:42.060 The we're all in this together narrative is gone.

00:08:44.380 The stay home, save lives narrative is gone.

00:08:46.840 The flatten the curve narrative is gone.

00:08:48.880 And all of it has just been replaced by,

00:08:51.640 we're just going to say something on one day

00:08:54.000 and hope you go along with it

00:08:56.000 because that's all we've got.

00:08:57.220 We're treading water,

00:08:58.080 we're just figuring it out.

00:08:59.180 And it becomes where everything

00:09:00.600 is a part of the public health crisis,

00:09:02.940 whether it has to do with it or not,

00:09:04.780 whether it's rooted in science or not,

00:09:06.760 whether it's rooted

00:09:07.520 in even any fundamental basis of logic or not.

00:09:12.180 And this is what's passing

00:09:13.520 for leadership in this country.

00:09:15.740 We've got to take a break.

00:09:16.820 When we come back,

00:09:17.440 more of The Andrew Lawton Show

00:09:18.720 here on True North.

00:09:20.500 You're tuned in to The Andrew Lawton Show.

00:09:24.000 Life is looking a lot different

00:09:27.720 now than it was four or five months ago.

00:09:30.080 Zoom calls, no pants, work meetings

00:09:33.220 because of the Zoom calls,

00:09:34.640 Skype, phone, telecommuting,

00:09:36.480 working from home, all of this stuff.

00:09:38.220 And these things for a lot of people

00:09:40.400 have been, I think, a blessing,

00:09:42.440 albeit for many others,

00:09:43.720 it's been a bit of a stressor,

00:09:45.260 especially if you have kids running around

00:09:47.160 or you work in a bit of a noisy environment normally

00:09:50.020 and you need that noise to focus

00:09:51.580 or whatever the case is.

00:09:53.240 Some people like it.

00:09:54.020 Some people like the hustle and bustle.

00:09:55.500 But there is a big question

00:09:57.160 about what offices are going to look like

00:09:59.480 once this is all over.

00:10:01.120 Let's assume for a moment,

00:10:02.640 knock on wood,

00:10:03.440 that things are going to be over,

00:10:04.740 at least be accepted as being over.

00:10:07.600 If you are someone

00:10:08.280 who normally works in an office

00:10:09.500 and you have been relegated

00:10:10.960 to working from home,

00:10:12.260 would you continue with that

00:10:13.820 if you could?

00:10:15.000 Other companies are taking this

00:10:17.080 by the horns.

00:10:18.700 Shopify, one example,

00:10:20.260 has large offices right now,

00:10:22.100 but they're going to be shifting

00:10:23.080 to basically an almost entirely remote workforce.

00:10:27.100 This is a Canadian tech company,

00:10:28.840 so people will essentially

00:10:30.380 not go back to the office,

00:10:31.840 it sounds like.

00:10:32.800 I know other companies

00:10:33.740 are poking around,

00:10:35.100 polling their employees.

00:10:36.500 At True North,

00:10:37.200 everyone's remote anyway.

00:10:38.240 I don't even know if we have an office.

00:10:39.720 If so, I've never been invited there.

00:10:41.300 So for me anyway,

00:10:42.600 I'm always working from home

00:10:43.760 and I'll continue,

00:10:44.760 so I haven't gotten the novelty

00:10:46.060 that a lot of people did.

00:10:47.220 But there are talks right now

00:10:49.780 about the way that we go forward with this

00:10:51.820 and one of them

00:10:52.560 from a Fraser Institute report

00:10:54.240 is whether we would adopt

00:10:56.000 a four-day work week.

00:10:57.560 Now this is something

00:10:58.200 that theoretically could be adopted

00:10:59.740 in an office as well,

00:11:01.100 but when we talk about

00:11:02.320 more flexible work,

00:11:03.520 this is where this discussion

00:11:05.200 is coming from.

00:11:06.820 And the study says

00:11:07.700 if workers manage

00:11:09.260 to up their productivity

00:11:10.560 a little bit

00:11:11.240 and keep at it,

00:11:12.360 you could have

00:11:13.240 a shorter work week,

00:11:14.780 which would be

00:11:15.500 for a lot of people

00:11:16.360 a great opportunity

00:11:17.340 to have increased leisure time,

00:11:19.280 which the report says

00:11:20.420 contributes to a higher

00:11:22.000 standard of living.

00:11:23.460 So here's the part

00:11:24.860 that I find interesting here.

00:11:26.100 And I've talked about

00:11:26.900 the four-day work week before

00:11:28.620 and a lot of the times

00:11:30.080 it's structured as

00:11:31.260 instead of working

00:11:32.320 five, eight-hour days,

00:11:34.500 you work four,

00:11:35.180 10-hour days.

00:11:36.100 And some people

00:11:37.080 would take that,

00:11:37.840 other people wouldn't.

00:11:38.880 I would love to do that

00:11:40.120 because then you get

00:11:40.820 a three-day weekend

00:11:41.560 every week.

00:11:42.160 So it's like every week

00:11:43.180 is like one of those

00:11:44.620 holiday-long weekends.

00:11:46.340 But the trade-off

00:11:48.100 is that you have

00:11:48.660 less time at home

00:11:49.560 on your work days.

00:11:51.280 If you live in a city

00:11:52.700 like Toronto

00:11:53.440 or Vancouver

00:11:54.540 or Montreal

00:11:55.100 and you spend

00:11:55.720 a lot of time commuting,

00:11:57.040 you spend hundreds

00:11:57.980 of dollars a month

00:11:58.860 on parking spots

00:11:59.820 or perhaps even more,

00:12:01.300 then this is something

00:12:02.160 that would be great

00:12:02.780 because then it's

00:12:03.340 less commuting time,

00:12:04.720 you're at home more,

00:12:05.620 less money that you're

00:12:06.340 spending on gas

00:12:07.160 and all of that stuff.

00:12:08.860 But I guess the question is

00:12:10.160 will we decide

00:12:12.220 to take some things

00:12:13.620 that we've learned

00:12:14.360 or had to embrace

00:12:15.480 moving forward?

00:12:16.920 And I think

00:12:17.500 more flexible work

00:12:18.600 is a huge one

00:12:19.640 that we could all

00:12:20.200 benefit from.

00:12:20.920 I think a lot of people

00:12:21.980 get stuck in this

00:12:23.520 nine-to-five mindset

00:12:24.920 which is anti-productivity.

00:12:27.320 I mean,

00:12:27.680 not all jobs

00:12:28.360 are the same.

00:12:28.940 In some cases,

00:12:29.700 let's say you're

00:12:30.180 a receptionist,

00:12:31.240 your job is to cover

00:12:32.280 this desk and cover

00:12:33.280 this phone for a period

00:12:34.300 of time.

00:12:34.820 So I don't know

00:12:35.580 how much more flexibly

00:12:36.620 you could do that.

00:12:37.760 But if you work

00:12:38.500 in a sector

00:12:39.200 where you have

00:12:39.880 to produce

00:12:40.600 some sort of task,

00:12:42.640 you have to do a task

00:12:43.640 and that's your job.

00:12:45.420 The nine-to-five thing

00:12:46.660 is irrelevant.

00:12:47.620 It actually

00:12:48.540 disincentivizes

00:12:50.260 productivity.

00:12:51.420 It disincentivizes

00:12:52.400 people from

00:12:53.400 working more quickly.

00:12:54.540 Imagine

00:12:54.920 if you had a situation

00:12:56.460 where here's all the stuff

00:12:57.720 you need to get done

00:12:58.460 in a day

00:12:58.920 and whenever you're

00:13:00.300 finished,

00:13:00.740 you get to go home.

00:13:02.200 And obviously,

00:13:02.840 you don't want people

00:13:03.380 to cut corners

00:13:04.080 and just speed through things.

00:13:05.740 But assuming that

00:13:06.460 quality is there,

00:13:07.720 it would be great

00:13:08.380 for people

00:13:08.780 because then you can say,

00:13:09.620 OK, you know,

00:13:10.100 if I'm smart

00:13:11.300 and I'm quick

00:13:11.920 and I'm adaptable

00:13:13.440 and I'm adept,

00:13:14.180 then I can finish this all

00:13:15.480 and be home by 2 p.m.

00:13:16.940 or something like that.

00:13:18.100 And the four-day work week

00:13:19.100 is the same thing.

00:13:19.880 If you can, you know,

00:13:20.620 do all your stuff

00:13:21.360 on Thursday,

00:13:22.860 then you don't need

00:13:23.980 to come in Friday.

00:13:24.960 Great.

00:13:25.380 Bonus.

00:13:25.880 Have fun.

00:13:27.140 I shouldn't say this,

00:13:27.940 but when I used to do

00:13:28.620 a daily radio show,

00:13:30.160 which was live,

00:13:31.500 there were a couple

00:13:32.280 of Fridays where,

00:13:33.220 and it wasn't like

00:13:33.940 without good reason.

00:13:35.060 It was if I was going away,

00:13:36.640 where I would pre-record

00:13:38.120 a show for Friday

00:13:38.940 and just like hoped

00:13:39.820 to the high heavens

00:13:40.840 that, you know,

00:13:41.640 some giant breaking news

00:13:42.900 thing didn't happen

00:13:43.540 on Thursday.

00:13:44.300 So on Friday,

00:13:45.500 actually at one day,

00:13:46.220 on Friday,

00:13:46.780 I was in an Uber

00:13:47.660 on the way to the airport

00:13:48.520 and the driver

00:13:50.140 had my show on,

00:13:51.140 which was nice

00:13:51.640 because, you know,

00:13:52.620 at least someone

00:13:53.020 was listening to it

00:13:54.200 that day.

00:13:55.120 And I was on the way there

00:13:56.740 and the voice came on

00:13:57.820 and the guy was like,

00:13:59.980 oh, yeah,

00:14:00.420 I know.

00:14:00.640 I listen to this show

00:14:01.640 all the time

00:14:02.100 and I was like,

00:14:03.280 okay.

00:14:04.420 And then I'm like

00:14:05.220 having to change

00:14:05.860 my real voice

00:14:06.600 so he doesn't know

00:14:07.280 it's me

00:14:07.620 because then it would

00:14:08.860 just be weird

00:14:09.360 because then the jig

00:14:10.160 would be up

00:14:10.640 and he'd know

00:14:11.140 that it wasn't live

00:14:12.220 that day.

00:14:12.780 So the four-day work week

00:14:14.560 doesn't work in live radio

00:14:15.720 necessarily,

00:14:16.420 but it can

00:14:17.860 if you're really dedicated.

00:14:20.080 But the interesting thing

00:14:20.940 I find about this

00:14:21.920 is that productivity

00:14:23.000 has grown.

00:14:24.060 Between 1961

00:14:25.000 and 2012,

00:14:26.680 productivity grew

00:14:27.640 at 2%,

00:14:29.520 but there's been

00:14:30.420 a slowdown

00:14:31.540 in productivity growth

00:14:32.800 now,

00:14:33.580 which means that

00:14:34.580 Canadians can't maintain 0.92

00:14:35.840 their standards of living

00:14:36.800 while working fewer hours.

00:14:38.400 So the report's

00:14:39.480 charging here

00:14:40.160 that you need to

00:14:40.680 increase your productivity

00:14:41.680 and then you can justify

00:14:43.580 working fewer hours.

00:14:45.280 But I actually think

00:14:46.320 this kind of supports

00:14:47.140 my point here

00:14:47.840 that productivity

00:14:49.380 by and large

00:14:50.060 is going down

00:14:50.840 because everyone

00:14:51.840 is locked in this mindset

00:14:53.160 that is discouraging

00:14:54.820 productivity.

00:14:56.280 Whereas if people

00:14:57.200 aren't happy

00:14:57.700 with their working environment,

00:14:59.180 people aren't happy

00:15:00.000 with their work itself

00:15:01.000 in some cases,

00:15:01.920 or if people just know

00:15:03.340 that no matter

00:15:03.820 what they do,

00:15:04.400 they need to be there

00:15:05.180 from this hour

00:15:05.860 till that hour,

00:15:06.920 there's no point

00:15:08.020 in being quick.

00:15:10.240 There's no point

00:15:10.820 in being overly productive.

00:15:13.080 So we would look at this

00:15:15.160 and see that,

00:15:16.500 yeah,

00:15:16.860 it's a give and take.

00:15:18.440 I mean,

00:15:18.600 employers want to make sure

00:15:19.640 that their employees

00:15:20.340 are not just

00:15:21.060 buggering off early

00:15:22.520 and not doing

00:15:23.480 the real work.

00:15:24.420 But I think that employers

00:15:25.660 could also stand

00:15:27.300 to benefit

00:15:28.380 from being a lot

00:15:29.840 more flexible

00:15:30.480 with their approach

00:15:31.460 to working arrangements.

00:15:32.640 And I am curious

00:15:33.420 if you've had

00:15:34.040 any of these experiences,

00:15:35.280 if your office

00:15:36.020 would go back,

00:15:36.960 because I realize

00:15:37.840 that for employees,

00:15:38.760 they'd say,

00:15:39.140 oh yeah,

00:15:39.360 I'd love to work from home.

00:15:40.480 I realize the risk

00:15:41.760 to employers

00:15:42.560 because a lot of employers

00:15:43.680 feel like they need

00:15:44.480 to be on their employees

00:15:45.820 to make sure

00:15:46.620 they're doing stuff.

00:15:47.380 And it's a lot harder

00:15:48.060 to monitor

00:15:48.580 your workforce remotely,

00:15:50.160 which I think

00:15:51.140 is a big issue

00:15:51.800 that a lot of people

00:15:52.820 are facing right now.

00:15:54.500 We've got to take

00:15:55.560 a quick break.

00:15:56.260 When we come back,

00:15:56.860 we'll talk about

00:15:57.700 global geopolitics

00:15:59.420 and the duplicity

00:16:00.140 and dishonesty

00:16:00.840 of the Iranian regime.

00:16:02.840 That's coming up next

00:16:03.580 on The Andrew Lawton Show.

00:16:08.760 You're tuned in

00:16:09.920 to The Andrew Lawton Show.

00:16:15.540 Welcome back

00:16:16.360 to The Andrew Lawton Show.

00:16:17.820 You know,

00:16:18.040 all around the world,

00:16:19.000 people are talking

00:16:19.700 about the coronavirus pandemic,

00:16:21.820 the COVID-19 pandemic,

00:16:23.240 and the fact

00:16:24.340 that the worst

00:16:24.900 is behind us.

00:16:25.800 People are talking

00:16:26.780 about reopening the economy,

00:16:28.420 getting back to normal

00:16:29.440 as best as possible.

00:16:31.260 Yet there's a story

00:16:32.240 that hasn't really been told

00:16:33.580 in the mainstream media here,

00:16:35.020 and that's that

00:16:35.600 in the country of Iran,

00:16:37.160 the deaths continue to mount.

00:16:39.260 A new report

00:16:40.140 from the National Council

00:16:42.180 of Resistance of Iran

00:16:43.480 will today suggest

00:16:45.280 that around 50,000 people,

00:16:47.960 50,000 people,

00:16:49.200 have lost their lives

00:16:50.200 in Iran to COVID-19.

00:16:52.080 Now, that's horrific

00:16:53.220 on the surface,

00:16:54.420 but also even more so

00:16:55.720 when you take into account

00:16:57.140 how vastly different

00:16:58.380 that number is

00:16:59.260 from Iran's official tally,

00:17:01.680 which is just a fraction of that.

00:17:04.240 I want to speak about this

00:17:05.440 with Ali Safavi,

00:17:06.700 an official

00:17:07.100 with the National Council

00:17:08.300 of Resistance of Iran,

00:17:09.920 who joins me on the line now.

00:17:12.020 Ali, thank you so much

00:17:13.080 for coming on today.

00:17:13.860 Great speaking with you.

00:17:15.320 Thank you very much, Andrew,

00:17:16.600 and thanks for having me

00:17:17.500 on the show.

00:17:17.960 Looking forward to it.

00:17:18.760 Let's talk about

00:17:19.900 the real issue here,

00:17:21.760 I think,

00:17:22.420 which is why is there

00:17:23.920 such a gap

00:17:24.920 between the official numbers

00:17:26.800 of Iran

00:17:27.360 and the numbers

00:17:28.480 that your group,

00:17:29.480 NCRI,

00:17:30.260 has been able

00:17:30.880 to come out with?

00:17:32.360 Well,

00:17:33.320 as you might imagine,

00:17:34.600 of course,

00:17:35.840 lies,

00:17:36.620 deception,

00:17:37.280 and cover-up

00:17:37.960 are part of this

00:17:38.740 urgent DNA.

00:17:39.540 And the issue

00:17:42.220 is not only

00:17:43.740 regarding

00:17:44.280 the fatalities

00:17:45.640 figure,

00:17:46.660 but even as to

00:17:47.620 when this coronavirus

00:17:49.340 has spread to Iran,

00:17:51.140 the Iranian officials

00:17:52.180 out of political expediency

00:17:54.940 to ensure

00:17:56.620 that there is

00:17:57.140 a large participation

00:17:58.240 in the anniversary

00:18:00.520 of their coming to power

00:18:02.300 and also

00:18:02.900 the sham parliamentary elections,

00:18:05.760 they did not

00:18:06.500 inform the Iranian public

00:18:07.700 about the coronavirus

00:18:10.400 having spread to Iran.

00:18:12.540 In fact,

00:18:12.980 they delayed it

00:18:13.640 for about a month,

00:18:14.800 which, of course,

00:18:15.400 resulted in many people

00:18:16.940 being infected with it.

00:18:18.900 And so,

00:18:19.300 for them,

00:18:20.000 if they basically

00:18:21.420 tell the Iranian public

00:18:23.900 that the casualty figure

00:18:25.780 is getting close

00:18:27.060 to 50,000,

00:18:28.720 that, of course,

00:18:29.420 would have tremendous

00:18:30.400 internal backlash,

00:18:31.800 it would also have

00:18:32.620 tremendous

00:18:33.700 international backlash.

00:18:35.040 in a sense,

00:18:35.680 Iran probably

00:18:36.480 would be

00:18:36.960 the second

00:18:37.960 or the third country

00:18:38.980 with a number

00:18:39.520 of fatalities.

00:18:40.620 And so,

00:18:40.960 in this sense,

00:18:42.160 they do this

00:18:42.860 because, of course,

00:18:43.920 they don't want

00:18:44.520 the Iranian people

00:18:45.240 to know

00:18:45.900 the extent

00:18:46.800 of their mismanagement,

00:18:48.240 their incompetence,

00:18:49.980 and, of course,

00:18:51.040 the fact

00:18:51.920 that they have not

00:18:52.700 allocated the kind

00:18:53.920 of resources

00:18:54.540 that they have

00:18:55.640 to addressing

00:18:58.120 this problem

00:18:59.820 in the country.

00:19:00.820 Now,

00:19:01.900 as the name

00:19:02.440 of your organization

00:19:03.220 suggests,

00:19:04.260 Resistance,

00:19:05.000 you are not

00:19:05.820 representative

00:19:06.720 of the Iranian regime,

00:19:08.140 not an organ

00:19:08.640 of the Iranian government.

00:19:10.240 How does your organization

00:19:11.940 get access

00:19:12.660 to these figures

00:19:13.600 if there is such,

00:19:15.260 as you know,

00:19:15.920 a dishonesty

00:19:16.780 and duplicity

00:19:17.720 coming from the regime

00:19:19.140 and the figures

00:19:19.700 that they make available?

00:19:21.500 Well,

00:19:21.980 you know that

00:19:22.520 the people

00:19:23.560 who are basically

00:19:24.620 dealing with the coronavirus

00:19:25.960 on a daily basis,

00:19:27.360 like the physicians,

00:19:29.040 the medical staff,

00:19:30.040 the mortuaries,

00:19:31.960 the cemeteries,

00:19:33.400 those folks

00:19:34.080 give accurate numbers.

00:19:36.240 But, of course,

00:19:36.940 the Iranian regime

00:19:37.900 channels all of that

00:19:39.100 information

00:19:39.600 into official,

00:19:41.260 if you will,

00:19:42.400 channels,

00:19:43.240 and, in fact,

00:19:44.360 even the governors

00:19:45.180 in different provinces

00:19:46.260 have been prohibited

00:19:47.340 from giving

00:19:48.400 any kind of figures

00:19:49.700 concerning the virus

00:19:51.040 whatsoever.

00:19:52.520 In some cases,

00:19:53.640 even,

00:19:54.360 when governors

00:19:55.500 have spoken

00:19:56.140 and spoken

00:19:57.200 about the fatalities,

00:19:58.980 they've been forced

00:20:00.140 to retreat

00:20:00.680 from their comments.

00:20:03.100 And more than that,

00:20:04.800 the Iranian regime

00:20:05.900 has made a crime

00:20:07.120 for anybody

00:20:08.940 giving any kind

00:20:10.520 of figures

00:20:11.180 outside of the

00:20:11.960 official channels.

00:20:13.500 And so,

00:20:14.200 our movement,

00:20:15.240 given that it has

00:20:15.920 a very vast network

00:20:17.020 inside Iran,

00:20:17.900 as has been the case

00:20:18.800 with many other issues,

00:20:19.960 such as the nuclear weapons

00:20:21.660 programs,

00:20:22.340 the regime's terrorism,

00:20:23.540 whatnot,

00:20:24.640 has relied on those figures

00:20:26.140 to inform the public

00:20:28.020 about the catastrophic

00:20:30.420 scale of the coronavirus

00:20:32.640 disaster inside Iran. 0.53

00:20:35.040 In fact,

00:20:35.900 we issued a very detailed report

00:20:37.540 about a week ago,

00:20:40.020 which was based

00:20:41.280 upon information

00:20:42.040 from some 18 hospitals

00:20:44.180 out of 138 hospitals

00:20:46.500 in Tehran

00:20:47.360 who accept

00:20:48.400 coronavirus patients.

00:20:50.440 And based on that,

00:20:52.420 we determined

00:20:53.080 that the number

00:20:53.720 of fatalities

00:20:54.380 in Tehran itself

00:20:55.940 is at least 10,000,

00:20:58.020 which is 3,000 more

00:20:59.240 than the total

00:20:59.920 casualty figure

00:21:00.900 that the regime

00:21:02.060 has announced

00:21:02.680 so far.

00:21:05.320 And so,

00:21:05.820 in this sense,

00:21:06.400 we're quite confident

00:21:07.400 of the kind of information

00:21:08.700 that we received.

00:21:09.680 And incidentally,

00:21:11.800 both Rouhani

00:21:12.740 and other officials

00:21:13.640 every day

00:21:15.020 complain about

00:21:16.500 facts and figures

00:21:18.500 that are being broadcast,

00:21:19.720 they say,

00:21:20.420 by satellite televisions

00:21:21.780 abroad,

00:21:22.300 which, of course,

00:21:23.180 means the resistance

00:21:24.440 satellite network

00:21:25.560 because we are

00:21:26.300 the only one

00:21:26.860 that has been given

00:21:27.720 any information

00:21:28.860 on the coronavirus

00:21:29.580 inside Iran

00:21:30.380 aside from some few

00:21:31.560 reports by news agencies

00:21:33.340 and so forth.

00:21:34.160 So, in this sense,

00:21:35.720 we were trying

00:21:36.940 to prevent the regime

00:21:38.880 from hiding the facts

00:21:41.160 and the fact

00:21:42.660 that it has really done

00:21:43.900 nothing to address

00:21:45.060 the crisis.

00:21:45.840 Now, one other,

00:21:46.780 unfortunately,

00:21:47.580 tragic aspect

00:21:48.260 of all of this

00:21:49.000 is that because

00:21:51.180 the donors

00:21:51.680 are unwilling

00:21:52.420 to allocate

00:21:53.280 the kind of money

00:21:54.500 that is needed

00:21:55.200 to address the people

00:21:56.380 who obviously

00:21:58.320 have lost their jobs

00:21:59.500 or cannot go to work,

00:22:01.220 they basically

00:22:02.460 have lifted

00:22:03.080 the lockdown

00:22:04.240 on going to work.

00:22:06.640 And so,

00:22:07.260 as we speak,

00:22:08.420 in fact,

00:22:09.420 the coronavirus,

00:22:10.460 and as you addressed

00:22:11.180 it in your opening

00:22:11.980 statement,

00:22:13.140 is spreading

00:22:14.040 like wildfire.

00:22:15.060 in Iran just yesterday,

00:22:16.860 the number of people

00:22:17.760 who have been infected

00:22:18.880 was 3,000,

00:22:20.900 which is incredible.

00:22:21.860 Everywhere else

00:22:22.420 in the world,

00:22:23.360 the number is coming down.

00:22:24.460 The only country

00:22:25.040 that is going up

00:22:25.880 is Iran,

00:22:27.220 many cities

00:22:27.900 in Khuzestan province,

00:22:29.480 in Kermanshah,

00:22:30.460 in Nor'estan,

00:22:31.480 actually eight provinces.

00:22:33.380 The regime itself

00:22:34.180 has declared

00:22:34.720 it to be red,

00:22:35.980 in a state of red

00:22:37.060 and red

00:22:38.220 when it comes

00:22:38.780 to the spread

00:22:40.320 of coronavirus.

00:22:41.680 And I know

00:22:42.380 there are more

00:22:42.820 than 80 million people

00:22:44.020 that live in Iran,

00:22:45.280 but when you're

00:22:45.720 talking about

00:22:46.500 a spread

00:22:47.360 as massive

00:22:48.840 as the numbers

00:22:49.820 that your organization

00:22:51.220 has found

00:22:51.820 and the casualty count

00:22:53.240 that your organization

00:22:53.820 has found,

00:22:54.520 as I said earlier,

00:22:55.600 nearly 50,000,

00:22:56.940 it stands to reason

00:22:58.000 that especially

00:22:58.860 in Tehran,

00:23:00.220 everyone would be

00:23:01.220 seeing this.

00:23:02.000 And is that true,

00:23:02.820 that everyone

00:23:03.180 who lives in Tehran

00:23:04.480 is seeing this,

00:23:05.360 they're seeing

00:23:06.040 the evidence of it,

00:23:06.940 they're seeing people

00:23:07.600 they know get infected,

00:23:08.860 people they know die?

00:23:10.080 Because you'd think

00:23:11.180 it would be very difficult

00:23:12.280 even with the grip

00:23:13.980 that the regime

00:23:14.660 has on the press,

00:23:16.160 you'd think

00:23:16.640 it would be very difficult

00:23:17.400 to keep people

00:23:18.180 just from seeing

00:23:18.920 the effects of this

00:23:20.200 in their own lives

00:23:21.040 and in their own circles.

00:23:23.100 Absolutely.

00:23:24.060 In fact,

00:23:25.260 in a sense,

00:23:25.800 the regime's figures

00:23:26.700 and Rouhani

00:23:27.640 going on television

00:23:28.480 every day,

00:23:29.140 that has become

00:23:29.700 a laughingstock.

00:23:31.620 And people are,

00:23:32.640 you know,

00:23:33.000 sarcastically

00:23:33.900 have made a mockery

00:23:35.620 of what he says.

00:23:36.680 In fact,

00:23:38.060 his remarks

00:23:39.140 and like officials

00:23:40.320 in the health ministry

00:23:41.400 is in romantic contrast

00:23:45.080 with the statements

00:23:46.360 by medical sciences

00:23:47.560 universities

00:23:48.160 across the country,

00:23:49.880 by anybody

00:23:50.720 who's like

00:23:51.500 a lot of physicians

00:23:52.460 who are dealing

00:23:54.040 with the crisis.

00:23:55.140 In fact,

00:23:55.680 a few weeks ago,

00:23:57.280 dozens of Iranian physicians

00:24:00.180 dealing with this crisis

00:24:01.200 wrote a letter

00:24:01.780 to Rouhani

00:24:02.560 and said

00:24:03.380 the statistics

00:24:04.100 you're giving

00:24:04.560 is not the actual figure

00:24:06.520 and that you're not

00:24:08.100 really doing anything

00:24:09.160 to curb this

00:24:11.840 coronavirus

00:24:12.380 because you're forcing

00:24:15.280 people to go back

00:24:16.180 to work.

00:24:16.620 So, yes,

00:24:17.020 the Iranians

00:24:17.500 are quite aware.

00:24:18.340 I think even more so

00:24:19.340 because they see

00:24:20.580 their loved ones

00:24:21.420 or their friends

00:24:22.200 and their family

00:24:23.020 and their co-workers

00:24:24.960 being infected

00:24:26.340 and, of course,

00:24:27.360 unfortunately,

00:24:28.120 a majority of them

00:24:29.100 die because

00:24:30.440 they don't get

00:24:31.280 the necessary treatment

00:24:32.380 that they require.

00:24:34.400 I know this was something

00:24:37.000 that really came

00:24:37.880 on my radar

00:24:38.740 earlier on

00:24:39.860 in the pandemic

00:24:40.780 because Canada,

00:24:41.840 as you know

00:24:42.500 and as certainly

00:24:43.200 many of the people

00:24:43.840 in your organization

00:24:44.540 likely know,

00:24:45.500 has a large population

00:24:46.780 of Iranian Canadians,

00:24:47.980 a lot of travel

00:24:48.640 between the two,

00:24:49.520 especially students

00:24:50.880 and people

00:24:51.640 in the healthcare field

00:24:52.880 and very early on

00:24:54.800 we had a lot

00:24:55.820 of our cases

00:24:56.420 in Canada

00:24:57.000 that weren't coming

00:24:57.640 from China

00:24:58.220 but they were coming

00:24:58.900 from people

00:24:59.420 that had recently

00:25:00.100 traveled from Iran

00:25:01.180 and I know

00:25:02.100 that other countries

00:25:02.860 have seen this as well

00:25:03.900 so the inability

00:25:05.360 or unwillingness

00:25:06.580 for the Iranian regime

00:25:07.760 to acknowledge

00:25:09.280 what was happening

00:25:10.080 early on

00:25:10.740 is really something

00:25:11.740 that can be blamed

00:25:13.420 directly for the spread

00:25:14.880 in a lot of other countries

00:25:16.040 my own included

00:25:16.860 and I know a lot

00:25:17.860 in the United States

00:25:18.680 as well.

00:25:19.980 Absolutely.

00:25:20.920 You're absolutely correct.

00:25:22.060 In fact,

00:25:23.220 the head of the

00:25:24.100 World Health Organization

00:25:25.380 branch in Iraq

00:25:26.900 blamed the Iranian regime

00:25:29.220 for the virus

00:25:30.440 not only to Iraq

00:25:31.640 but to all of Iran's 0.80

00:25:33.160 neighboring countries

00:25:33.980 because as I said

00:25:35.600 while the virus

00:25:36.780 had spread to Iran

00:25:37.920 perhaps in late December

00:25:39.880 or early January

00:25:41.040 we know definitively

00:25:42.560 that some people

00:25:43.840 have contacted the virus

00:25:45.000 as early as January 5th.

00:25:48.320 Rouhani and other folks

00:25:50.160 told the Iranians 0.95

00:25:51.740 we learned about it

00:25:53.520 on the 19th of June.

00:25:55.100 So during that time period

00:25:57.160 thousands of people

00:25:58.340 traveled from Iran

00:25:59.360 to countries in the region

00:26:00.760 in the Persian Gulf

00:26:01.980 also thousands of them

00:26:04.760 traveled to Europe

00:26:05.800 as you may know

00:26:06.880 the first case

00:26:07.760 of coronavirus

00:26:08.500 identified in New York City

00:26:11.060 was a woman 0.75

00:26:12.200 who traveled there

00:26:13.120 from Iran.

00:26:14.420 And so

00:26:14.840 in reality

00:26:16.280 this disaster

00:26:18.340 I guess

00:26:18.960 within Iran

00:26:21.240 and outside of Iran

00:26:22.600 in many countries

00:26:23.580 needs to be blamed

00:26:24.600 on the kind of cover-up

00:26:26.680 that the regime engaged in.

00:26:27.800 But again as I said

00:26:28.880 remember the Ukrainian

00:26:30.820 airliner shoot-down

00:26:32.280 many Iranian Canadians

00:26:34.320 lost their lives

00:26:35.360 we still don't know

00:26:36.520 what the details are.

00:26:37.700 And the regime

00:26:38.400 for four days

00:26:39.180 three days

00:26:39.640 four days

00:26:40.080 said oh this was an accident

00:26:41.380 and then they said

00:26:42.260 oh yes

00:26:42.740 it was a

00:26:44.200 revolutionary guard missile

00:26:45.580 that had hit the plane.

00:26:46.840 So as I said

00:26:47.940 this regime

00:26:48.560 is based upon

00:26:49.680 lies and deception

00:26:51.460 and cover-up

00:26:53.300 and that is how

00:26:54.160 it has been able

00:26:54.820 to maintain its grip

00:26:56.700 and power.

00:26:57.380 You know

00:26:57.600 Khamenei

00:26:58.400 has hundreds

00:27:01.720 of billions

00:27:02.280 of dollars

00:27:02.960 worth of money

00:27:04.000 under his own control.

00:27:05.540 The revolutionary guard

00:27:06.600 is the same.

00:27:07.960 We have exposed them

00:27:09.260 in the past

00:27:09.820 through webinars

00:27:10.660 and reports

00:27:11.580 these huge economic

00:27:13.360 financial institutions

00:27:14.500 that they control

00:27:15.460 and 10%

00:27:17.000 of what they control

00:27:18.200 would be suffice

00:27:19.640 to address

00:27:20.940 all these problems

00:27:22.760 related to coronavirus

00:27:23.720 in Iran

00:27:24.360 easily.

00:27:26.240 But they're not

00:27:26.920 spending any of this.

00:27:28.560 Remember that

00:27:29.300 one senior parliament

00:27:32.700 deputy of Iran

00:27:34.600 of the previous parliament

00:27:36.260 because now

00:27:36.880 there's a new parliament now

00:27:38.160 previous senior figure

00:27:40.600 he said that

00:27:41.280 they had spent

00:27:41.940 30 billion dollars

00:27:43.180 in Syria.

00:27:44.700 You know how many

00:27:45.620 people's lives

00:27:46.800 could have been saved

00:27:47.820 without money

00:27:49.660 but the priorities

00:27:51.120 of this regime

00:27:51.820 are different.

00:27:53.280 In a sense

00:27:53.720 in every country

00:27:54.740 you have governments

00:27:56.280 and the people

00:27:57.420 battling the coronavirus.

00:28:00.080 In Iran 0.76

00:28:00.800 you have the regime

00:28:02.320 and the coronavirus

00:28:03.180 against the people 0.98

00:28:04.460 of Iran.

00:28:05.380 And so

00:28:05.800 it is the population

00:28:07.080 that is suffering

00:28:07.900 but as you say

00:28:09.320 unfortunately

00:28:10.420 the scope

00:28:11.180 of this tragedy

00:28:12.100 is not just

00:28:15.100 about Iran

00:28:15.860 it's about

00:28:16.320 the rest of the world

00:28:17.100 and about

00:28:17.700 the international community

00:28:18.700 and that is precisely

00:28:20.240 why the president-elect

00:28:22.400 of the National Council

00:28:23.400 of Existence

00:28:24.060 Mr. Rajabi

00:28:24.920 has repeatedly

00:28:26.260 called on the

00:28:27.040 international community

00:28:28.140 to take a more

00:28:29.400 proactive approach

00:28:30.440 when it comes to

00:28:31.380 not only the coronavirus

00:28:32.900 issue in Iran

00:28:34.100 but other aspects

00:28:35.120 of human rights

00:28:35.920 violations.

00:28:37.360 You heard about

00:28:37.920 this young woman

00:28:39.120 being beheaded

00:28:39.860 by her father

00:28:40.820 as part of an honor

00:28:42.880 clinic.

00:28:43.340 You hear about

00:28:44.120 arrest of young

00:28:46.160 Iranians 0.58

00:28:46.760 to award-winning

00:28:47.960 Iranian students

00:28:49.920 being arrested

00:28:50.820 by the regime

00:28:51.620 back on May 5th

00:28:52.840 because of their ties

00:28:54.660 with the main component

00:28:57.000 of the NCRI

00:28:57.960 the majority

00:28:58.500 in the Khar.

00:29:01.000 Yesterday

00:29:01.540 Ibrahim Raisi

00:29:02.640 the head of the judiciary

00:29:03.760 spoke at length

00:29:05.460 about the 1988 massacre

00:29:07.120 of tens of thousands

00:29:08.120 of political prisoners

00:29:09.100 and you know

00:29:09.620 they just elected

00:29:10.540 Mohammed Baler Qalibab 0.87

00:29:12.460 as the parliament

00:29:13.200 speaker

00:29:13.660 who has a long

00:29:14.560 record

00:29:15.040 of killings

00:29:16.880 and massacring

00:29:17.960 Iranians 0.58

00:29:19.720 and he brags

00:29:20.940 about his role

00:29:21.640 about the suppression

00:29:22.420 of the 1999

00:29:23.840 protests

00:29:24.800 and other protests

00:29:26.240 inside Iran

00:29:27.180 and now he's

00:29:28.980 become the head

00:29:29.440 of the legislature

00:29:31.840 and Ibrahim Raisi

00:29:34.140 who's by any measure

00:29:35.860 a mass member

00:29:36.600 raised ahead

00:29:37.120 of the judiciary.

00:29:41.520 I'm glad you mentioned

00:29:42.840 the international

00:29:43.600 community here

00:29:44.560 because I know

00:29:45.360 that there's been

00:29:45.920 a huge problem

00:29:47.060 in that a lot

00:29:47.680 of people around

00:29:48.340 the world

00:29:48.700 myself included

00:29:49.560 have been able

00:29:50.560 to point to

00:29:51.260 the links

00:29:51.920 between the World

00:29:52.660 Health Organization

00:29:53.600 and China

00:29:54.860 and really

00:29:55.600 I think

00:29:56.120 an unhealthy

00:29:56.740 and very

00:29:57.520 undemocratic

00:29:58.200 deference

00:29:58.820 that the WHO

00:29:59.600 tends to have

00:30:00.380 to China.

00:30:01.060 The story

00:30:01.780 that hasn't been

00:30:02.460 told as much

00:30:03.200 is the Iranian

00:30:04.300 factor

00:30:04.820 and that's part

00:30:05.340 of the reason

00:30:05.720 I've been following

00:30:06.400 this and I wanted

00:30:07.040 to have you

00:30:07.400 on the show

00:30:07.820 today.

00:30:08.580 Do you think

00:30:08.920 that the

00:30:09.160 international

00:30:09.640 community

00:30:10.120 has failed

00:30:11.160 the Iranian

00:30:12.180 people

00:30:12.720 by how it's

00:30:13.440 handled the

00:30:14.100 pandemic

00:30:14.680 either on a

00:30:15.380 global scale

00:30:16.060 or even just

00:30:16.760 in the part

00:30:17.540 of the world

00:30:18.020 that we're

00:30:18.280 talking about

00:30:18.840 now?

00:30:20.480 I couldn't agree

00:30:21.480 with you more.

00:30:22.420 I think

00:30:22.860 the problem

00:30:23.840 is

00:30:24.300 all the news

00:30:25.800 or reports

00:30:26.440 you see

00:30:26.760 from the mainstream

00:30:27.440 media

00:30:27.980 is that

00:30:29.480 the sanctions

00:30:30.640 are hampering

00:30:32.300 the Iranian

00:30:32.900 regime's efforts

00:30:33.680 to address

00:30:34.200 the coronavirus.

00:30:35.720 that the people

00:30:36.260 of Iran

00:30:36.760 are suffering

00:30:37.340 because of

00:30:37.820 the sanctions.

00:30:38.540 That is

00:30:38.840 absolutely

00:30:39.320 false.

00:30:41.020 The fact

00:30:41.800 is that

00:30:42.380 the regime

00:30:43.640 officials

00:30:44.200 themselves

00:30:45.060 acknowledge

00:30:45.880 that they

00:30:47.240 have all

00:30:47.700 the money

00:30:48.020 in the world

00:30:48.580 to purchase

00:30:49.400 medicines

00:30:50.300 to address

00:30:51.980 the medical

00:30:53.000 issues.

00:30:54.960 Recall

00:30:55.560 that the

00:30:56.040 health minister

00:30:57.300 himself,

00:30:58.400 Rouhani's health

00:30:59.340 minister,

00:30:59.860 Said Namaki,

00:31:00.640 said that

00:31:02.220 we had

00:31:02.620 allocated

00:31:04.500 $1.3

00:31:05.500 billion

00:31:06.460 to purchase

00:31:07.740 medicine.

00:31:08.900 We don't know

00:31:09.280 what happened

00:31:09.680 to it.

00:31:11.240 $4.8

00:31:12.380 billion

00:31:13.620 was lost

00:31:14.780 according

00:31:16.260 to the

00:31:16.800 government

00:31:17.100 audit of

00:31:17.760 the Iranian

00:31:18.120 regime's

00:31:18.620 budget under

00:31:19.200 Rouhani.

00:31:19.860 So where

00:31:20.160 does all

00:31:20.600 this money

00:31:20.960 go?

00:31:21.720 Who steals

00:31:22.360 them?

00:31:22.620 the daughter

00:31:25.600 of a

00:31:26.000 foreign

00:31:26.260 minister

00:31:26.780 is now

00:31:28.220 being charged

00:31:28.860 nominally,

00:31:29.480 I should

00:31:29.740 say,

00:31:30.620 for holding

00:31:32.120 a lot

00:31:32.700 of medicine,

00:31:33.500 engaging

00:31:33.880 in price

00:31:34.400 gouging,

00:31:35.780 and basically

00:31:36.740 diverting the

00:31:38.420 medicine that

00:31:38.960 had come

00:31:39.340 to around

00:31:39.760 to the

00:31:40.240 Revolutionary

00:31:41.500 Guard,

00:31:42.200 who sell

00:31:42.720 the medicine

00:31:44.420 in the open

00:31:45.320 market ten

00:31:46.020 times the

00:31:46.460 price.

00:31:47.220 So you're

00:31:47.840 absolutely

00:31:48.260 correct that

00:31:49.080 the international

00:31:50.440 community has

00:31:51.760 looked the

00:31:52.100 other way,

00:31:53.240 and the

00:31:54.660 mainstream

00:31:55.080 media doesn't

00:31:55.860 address this

00:31:56.340 problem.

00:31:57.760 It seems as

00:31:58.920 though it's

00:31:59.380 the outside

00:32:00.000 world that

00:32:01.000 is the

00:32:01.320 villain,

00:32:02.140 and not

00:32:02.560 the

00:32:03.660 Muslims who

00:32:04.160 have basically

00:32:04.740 looted and

00:32:05.560 fleeced Iran 1.00

00:32:06.480 out of its

00:32:07.480 natural resources.

00:32:08.600 You know,

00:32:08.800 Iran is a 1.00

00:32:09.980 country where

00:32:10.900 it's the

00:32:11.720 second largest

00:32:12.660 gas reserves

00:32:13.540 in the world,

00:32:14.440 was the

00:32:15.100 fourth largest

00:32:16.000 exporter of

00:32:16.780 oil in the

00:32:17.920 world.

00:32:19.080 Yet,

00:32:19.940 15 million

00:32:20.780 Iranians go 1.00

00:32:21.560 hungry every

00:32:22.200 night.

00:32:22.920 25 million

00:32:23.980 Iranians live

00:32:25.320 in slums around

00:32:26.280 major metropolitan

00:32:27.160 areas.

00:32:28.300 Right now in

00:32:29.360 southwest province

00:32:31.360 of Kudestan,

00:32:32.400 the problem of

00:32:33.080 water shortage

00:32:33.800 has become

00:32:34.440 tremendously

00:32:35.660 acute.

00:32:37.420 Why is

00:32:38.120 this?

00:32:39.280 Because the

00:32:40.960 Revolutionary

00:32:41.540 Guards have

00:32:42.000 built all

00:32:42.480 these dams and

00:32:43.240 they're diverting

00:32:44.000 the water to

00:32:44.760 the owner,

00:32:47.220 projects from

00:32:48.180 the farmers.

00:32:50.760 There was a

00:32:51.300 very important

00:32:53.500 official of the

00:32:54.260 regime on

00:32:55.000 Iranian,

00:32:56.240 one of these

00:32:56.880 websites of the

00:32:57.980 regime the other

00:32:58.720 day, who said,

00:32:59.600 I have seen

00:33:00.260 these luxury

00:33:01.600 houses in

00:33:02.440 northern Tehran

00:33:03.300 that I have not

00:33:04.420 seen anywhere else

00:33:05.380 in the world.

00:33:06.140 So you can see

00:33:06.920 that there is this

00:33:07.640 massive discrepancy,

00:33:10.120 if you will,

00:33:11.020 of income

00:33:13.500 distribution.

00:33:14.160 The vast

00:33:15.360 majority are

00:33:16.100 poor, and

00:33:17.040 very few are

00:33:18.160 basically having

00:33:20.780 all the wealth

00:33:21.420 and spending it

00:33:22.340 to their own

00:33:23.580 benefit.

00:33:24.420 In a country

00:33:25.120 where you see

00:33:25.820 the budget for

00:33:27.880 the Revolutionary

00:33:29.080 Guards and

00:33:29.780 the Institutive

00:33:30.320 Forces and

00:33:30.860 the military,

00:33:32.280 roughly about

00:33:33.280 $55 billion,

00:33:35.020 and the budget

00:33:36.180 for the health

00:33:36.920 system, health

00:33:37.640 care, medical

00:33:38.200 care, only

00:33:39.140 $60 billion,

00:33:40.480 that tells you

00:33:41.260 what the priorities

00:33:42.020 of this regime

00:33:42.700 are.

00:33:43.000 And indeed,

00:33:43.960 Khamenei speaking

00:33:45.480 a week ago

00:33:46.780 before some

00:33:47.540 pro-regime

00:33:49.440 students, he

00:33:50.400 said, I want

00:33:51.640 a government,

00:33:53.240 a Hezbollah

00:33:53.940 government, and

00:33:55.800 my ideal

00:33:56.680 president is

00:33:57.620 somebody like

00:33:58.320 the eliminated

00:34:00.180 notorious

00:34:01.200 Revolutionary

00:34:01.880 Guard,

00:34:02.700 World Force

00:34:03.160 Commander

00:34:03.700 Bassem Soleimani.

00:34:05.700 And that is

00:34:06.260 why you see

00:34:06.840 now the

00:34:08.500 Speaker of the

00:34:09.140 Parliament,

00:34:10.060 Mohammed

00:34:10.440 Bader Walibar,

00:34:11.900 a sort of

00:34:12.680 colleague and

00:34:13.500 protégé of

00:34:14.340 Soleimani.

00:34:15.040 And like he

00:34:15.600 said, I'm

00:34:16.460 going to

00:34:16.980 follow in the

00:34:18.800 forces of

00:34:19.440 Soleimani, and

00:34:20.560 I'm going to

00:34:21.020 avenge his

00:34:22.720 elimination.

00:34:23.580 So this is

00:34:24.340 really the

00:34:24.720 problem, and

00:34:25.460 naturally the

00:34:26.440 international

00:34:26.800 community has

00:34:27.600 not risen to

00:34:28.540 its obligations

00:34:29.280 and its

00:34:29.740 standards when

00:34:30.880 it comes to

00:34:31.320 the issue of

00:34:31.760 Iran.

00:34:32.960 Just, I

00:34:33.960 guess, as a

00:34:34.400 closing question

00:34:35.380 here, Ali,

00:34:36.140 because when

00:34:37.080 you're talking

00:34:37.620 about these

00:34:38.180 sorts of

00:34:38.680 numbers, if

00:34:39.600 the regime

00:34:40.120 is trying

00:34:40.540 to pretend

00:34:41.020 it has

00:34:41.480 everything

00:34:41.760 under

00:34:42.000 control and

00:34:42.640 there's no

00:34:42.980 problem, that

00:34:43.640 means that

00:34:44.040 the regime

00:34:44.500 is not

00:34:45.280 responding to

00:34:46.200 the crisis.

00:34:47.060 And I

00:34:47.340 know that, as

00:34:48.220 you know,

00:34:48.580 they've

00:34:48.820 prevented money

00:34:49.520 from getting

00:34:50.000 to actual

00:34:50.940 support.

00:34:51.620 They've

00:34:51.860 turned away

00:34:52.560 Doctors Without

00:34:53.560 Borders because

00:34:54.500 the doctors

00:34:55.740 weren't

00:34:56.500 apparently approved

00:34:57.680 by the

00:34:58.040 Iranian regime.

00:34:58.760 And they're

00:34:59.640 trying to

00:35:00.380 pretend that

00:35:01.000 they don't

00:35:01.280 need the

00:35:01.680 help.

00:35:02.120 So where

00:35:02.520 does it

00:35:02.880 go from

00:35:03.320 here?

00:35:03.620 Well, I

00:35:05.180 think at

00:35:05.620 the end

00:35:05.980 of the

00:35:06.280 day, and

00:35:06.880 we've

00:35:07.140 said this

00:35:07.520 many, many

00:35:08.000 times,

00:35:08.820 Rajabhi has

00:35:09.500 said it

00:35:09.880 time and

00:35:10.300 again, that

00:35:11.280 the ultimate

00:35:11.980 solution to

00:35:13.480 all of this

00:35:13.920 problem is

00:35:14.840 to overthrow

00:35:15.680 this regime.

00:35:17.000 And I

00:35:17.260 think the

00:35:19.220 Iranian

00:35:19.600 resistance is

00:35:21.080 hard at work

00:35:21.860 to bring that

00:35:22.500 about.

00:35:22.880 We call

00:35:23.240 that in

00:35:24.300 November of

00:35:25.200 2019, there

00:35:27.040 were anti-regime

00:35:28.360 protests in

00:35:30.040 more than

00:35:30.540 160 cities

00:35:31.980 across the

00:35:32.560 country in

00:35:33.120 all 31

00:35:33.640 provinces.

00:35:35.460 1,500

00:35:36.140 people were

00:35:37.140 massacred, and

00:35:38.320 many of them

00:35:38.780 young people

00:35:39.320 shot in the

00:35:39.940 head and

00:35:40.840 in vital

00:35:41.260 organs by

00:35:41.840 the C-54.

00:35:42.600 Ironically, after

00:35:43.660 a seven-month

00:35:45.140 delay, two

00:35:46.600 days ago, the

00:35:47.380 interior minister

00:35:48.420 Rahmani

00:35:49.640 Fazli said,

00:35:50.720 oh, yeah,

00:35:51.380 you know,

00:35:52.400 we maybe

00:35:54.460 killed some

00:35:55.960 225, and

00:35:57.600 of course, of

00:35:58.160 those, 20% 0.65

00:35:59.020 were killed

00:35:59.580 by non-standard

00:36:01.340 weapons, which

00:36:01.980 is ridiculous.

00:36:02.540 hundreds of

00:36:04.360 video clips

00:36:04.980 of showing

00:36:05.660 the security

00:36:06.200 forces shooting

00:36:06.980 people from

00:36:07.560 rooftops, shooting

00:36:08.820 them at close

00:36:09.580 range in the

00:36:11.140 head and in

00:36:12.040 the heart and

00:36:12.620 whatnot.

00:36:13.180 So I think

00:36:14.260 what the

00:36:14.660 mullahs are 1.00

00:36:15.120 very afraid

00:36:15.860 of, quite

00:36:16.340 frankly, is

00:36:17.620 another

00:36:19.060 uprising

00:36:19.620 coming.

00:36:22.120 And the

00:36:23.260 resistance units

00:36:25.120 of the

00:36:25.880 MEK have

00:36:26.500 been quite

00:36:26.920 active across

00:36:27.620 the country

00:36:28.160 every day.

00:36:28.980 they are

00:36:30.540 engaged in

00:36:31.080 acts of

00:36:31.480 resistance, and

00:36:32.180 the regime

00:36:32.540 keeps talking

00:36:33.200 about it

00:36:33.780 day in and

00:36:35.060 day out.

00:36:36.740 As I

00:36:37.020 told Joe

00:36:37.440 Khamenei when

00:36:38.040 he's speaking

00:36:38.520 to pro-regime

00:36:40.120 students, the

00:36:41.380 Basijis, they 1.00

00:36:42.160 are actually,

00:36:43.300 last week,

00:36:45.820 he said that

00:36:46.620 be careful

00:36:47.380 that the

00:36:48.140 MEK does not

00:36:49.140 influence our

00:36:49.820 young people.

00:36:50.540 And as I

00:36:50.860 said, the

00:36:51.740 fact that even

00:36:52.460 the elite

00:36:53.280 Iranian students

00:36:54.200 are attracted

00:36:55.360 to the

00:36:56.920 goals and

00:36:57.400 ideals that

00:36:58.180 the NCRI

00:36:59.400 and the

00:36:59.900 MEK advocate

00:37:01.040 goes to

00:37:01.820 show that

00:37:02.280 change is

00:37:02.820 on the

00:37:03.120 way, and

00:37:04.240 certainly this

00:37:04.980 regime will

00:37:05.400 be overthrown.

00:37:07.100 And what

00:37:08.100 is needed, I

00:37:09.340 think, is

00:37:09.860 some sort

00:37:10.400 of recognition

00:37:12.840 that this

00:37:13.840 regime is

00:37:14.600 an inhuman

00:37:16.720 regime that

00:37:17.540 has lost

00:37:18.280 all legitimacy

00:37:19.220 among its

00:37:20.520 own people,

00:37:21.140 and that the

00:37:21.660 Iranian people

00:37:22.380 and opposition

00:37:23.040 needs to be

00:37:24.380 assisted to

00:37:25.780 finally end

00:37:26.760 this 40

00:37:27.320 years of

00:37:27.800 dark rule

00:37:28.480 that has

00:37:29.320 brought nothing

00:37:29.900 but death

00:37:30.580 destruction,

00:37:32.120 not only to

00:37:33.180 the people of

00:37:33.700 Iran, but

00:37:34.160 also to the

00:37:34.780 rest of the

00:37:35.160 region.

00:37:36.420 Ali Savavi,

00:37:37.540 official with

00:37:38.180 the National

00:37:38.620 Council of

00:37:39.380 Resistance of

00:37:40.200 Iran, the 0.95

00:37:41.140 Foreign Affairs

00:37:41.700 Committee, joins

00:37:42.340 me on the

00:37:42.860 line now.

00:37:43.300 Ali, thank

00:37:43.760 you so much

00:37:44.200 for your

00:37:44.420 time, really

00:37:44.840 appreciate it.

00:37:46.100 Thank you,

00:37:46.740 Andrew, for

00:37:47.220 giving me the

00:37:47.760 opportunity, and

00:37:48.980 keep safe.

00:37:51.320 I know I

00:37:52.040 have talked

00:37:52.840 about some

00:37:53.440 of these

00:37:53.720 issues on

00:37:54.160 my show

00:37:54.480 before.

00:37:54.900 I know I've

00:37:55.140 written columns

00:37:55.680 about it, but

00:37:56.240 I've never

00:37:56.800 actually had

00:37:57.300 Ali on, so

00:37:58.220 I thought it

00:37:58.540 would be good

00:37:58.920 to talk about

00:37:59.820 that and

00:38:00.260 really get

00:38:00.800 through, I

00:38:01.200 think, some

00:38:01.700 of the big

00:38:02.060 themes there

00:38:02.760 that even

00:38:03.520 as I mentioned

00:38:04.580 at the

00:38:04.820 beginning, the

00:38:05.280 pandemic winds

00:38:06.180 down, the

00:38:07.340 issues that are

00:38:08.040 still very much

00:38:08.840 there revealing

00:38:09.660 just glaring

00:38:11.020 holes in how

00:38:12.600 the international

00:38:13.180 community has

00:38:14.080 turned a blind

00:38:14.720 eye to just

00:38:15.980 these horrific

00:38:16.620 dictatorships and

00:38:17.860 autocratic regimes.

00:38:18.980 So my thanks to

00:38:20.040 Ali Savavi for

00:38:20.980 coming on, and

00:38:21.940 to all of you

00:38:22.520 for tuning

00:38:23.000 in, we've

00:38:23.360 got to wrap

00:38:23.740 things up.

00:38:24.500 I am off

00:38:25.220 next week, but

00:38:26.180 we'll be back

00:38:26.720 in a couple

00:38:27.220 of weeks, and

00:38:27.920 if not for my

00:38:28.780 show, lots of

00:38:29.420 other stuff at

00:38:30.420 tnc.news to

00:38:31.620 keep you busy

00:38:32.240 while I'm gone.

00:38:33.140 We'll talk to

00:38:33.580 you soon.

00:38:34.020 Thank you, God

00:38:34.660 bless, and good

00:38:35.320 day, Canada.

00:38:36.340 Thanks for

00:38:36.680 listening to the

00:38:37.300 Andrew Lawton

00:38:37.880 Show.

00:38:38.500 Support the

00:38:38.920 program by

00:38:39.440 donating to

00:38:40.020 True North at

00:38:40.720 www.tnc.news.

00:38:46.240 www.tnc.news.

00:38:47.000 Thank you.

Juno News - June 03, 2020

Thou Doth Protest Too Much

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