The Critical Hour

Hong Kong Demonstrators Shut Down Train Station to Protest July Gang Attack

On this episode of The Critical Hour, Dr. Wilmer Leon is joined by Bob Schlehuber, producer for By Any Means Necessary and Sputnik news analyst.
Sputnik

Protesters in Hong Kong are once again disrupting transportation. Hundreds of demonstrators are staging a sit-in at a suburban train station to mark one month since a violent attack there by masked assailants. On July 21, a group of men suspected of organized crime links flooded the Yuen Long station and began to attack protesters. Demonstrators are flooding the same station to protest what they are calling a lack of progress by police in investigating those attacks. They held a moment of silence, then covered their right eyes, referencing to a woman who suffered a severe eye injury after being struck by a police projectile.   

The student activists who crashed the political arena after the mass shooting last year at their high school in Parkland, Florida, are throwing their weight behind a new and ambitious gun control program that they hope will set the tone for the debate following the most recent mass shootings and headed into the 2020 elections. This occurs after police stopped three potential mass shootings that could have taken place over the weekend in Florida, Connecticut and Ohio with help from the public. Authorities arrested three men in their 20s who sent threatening social media posts or text messages alluding to the desire to carry out mass shootings late last week. Despite these realities, it still appears that the chances of real legislation impacting the purchasing of guns are once again waning.

The US and Venezuela are now confirming secret, high level talks have been held between the countries. US President Donald Trump and his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro have said that talks are underway between senior officials from their governments to attempt to resolve the Latin American country's deepening crises. The US has been attempting to pressure Maduro through sanctions to step down and hold presidential elections, something he has steadfastly refused to do.

The United States envoy negotiating with the Taliban for an end to nearly 18 years of fighting in Afghanistan departed Tuesday for Qatar to resume talks, the State Department said, amid concerns about a growing threat in Afghanistan from a Daesh affiliate. The new talks in Qatar, where the Taliban has a political office, will take place in the wake of a suicide bombing at a wedding in Kabul over the weekend, for which a brutal Daesh affiliate has taken responsibility. In light of the attack, Afghans have questioned whether a deal between the US and the Taliban would deliver peace for civilians in the war-torn country.  

GUESTS: 

Bob Schlehuber — Producer for By Any Means Necessary and Sputnik news analyst.      

Joia Jefferson Nuri — Communications specialist for In The Public Eye Communications.  

Ray Baker — Political analyst and host of the podcast Public Agenda.    

Margaret Flowers — Co-editor of Popular Resistance.  

Dr. Gerald Horne — Professor of history at the University of Houston and author of many books, including "Blows Against the Empire: US Imperialism in Crisis."

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