In this episode of By Any Means Necessary, hosts Sean Blackmon and Jacquie Luqman are joined by John Ross, Senior Fellow at Chongyang Institute, Renmin University of China and an award-winning resident columnist with several Chinese media organizations, to talk about why the Coronavirus relief bill currently awaiting Trump's signature seems more interested in bailing out Wall Street than Main Street, how anti-Chinese racism at the highest levels of government is actively hindering the response to the Coronavirus, whether the seemingly inevitable wave of death headed our way could lead to a massive breakdown in social and cultural cohesion, and why Trump's ongoing and numerous failures to address the pandemic could ultimately sweep him out of office.
In the second segment, Sean and Jacquie are joined by Kevin Steele, a father, abolitionist, and spokesman for the Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee NYC chapter, to talk about the news that the Coronavirus outbreak has reached Rikers Island prison in New York, how the criminalization of basic hygienic supplies leads to conditions which seem certain to exacerbate the outbreak, and why the Coronavirus pandemic is demonstrating to working people everywhere that we have the systemic capability to provide for everyone's basic needs—and only lack the political willpower and organization.
In the third segment, Sean and Jacquie are joined by independent journalist and photographer Vanessa Beeley to talk about the heightened US sanctions mean for people in Iran, Venezuela, and Syria, how the shortages and quarantine protocols experienced by many in the US and Europe effectively represent a small taste of the isolation, alienation, and systematic impoverishment which which their governments have long unleashed on populations in the State Department's crosshairs, whether the "maximum pressure" campaign espoused by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is fundamentally a crime against humanity, and why the Trump administration's decision to effectively weaponize the Coronavirus against the populations of Non-Aligned nations endangers the population here as well.
Later in the show, Sean and Jacquie are joined by award-winning editorial cartoonist and columnist Ted Rall to talk about the news that Tulsi Gabbard has dropped out of the race for the Democratic nomination and endorsed Joe Biden, whether the $1000 checks and public tendency to support an incumbent president in times of crisis could allow for Trump's reelection, what to make of the secret recording of Richard Burr privately acknowledging we were likely facing a "Spanish flu" scenario three weeks ago, how to explain the laissez-faire attitude about social distancing by so many beachgoers and St. Patrick's Day revelers, whether the historical moment we're living through has any real parallels and why it's likely to leave an indelible mark on our collective consciousness, and the need to move beyond the two-party structure to create real progressive political change.
We'd love to get your feedback at radio@sputniknews.com
