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Did Russia Win the COVID-19 Vaccine Race?

On today’s episode of Fault Lines, hosts Jamarl Thomas and Shane Stranahan discussed a range of topics from the latest announcement by Putin that Russia had developed a vaccine against COVID-19 to the cause of the recent deadly explosion in Lebanon to Joe Biden's vice presidential pick possibilities to the state of the US Postal Service.
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GUESTS

Maram Susli - Political Commentator and Geopolitical Analyst | The Beirut Explosion in Context

Chuck Zlatkin - Legislative and Political Director, New York Metro Area Postal Union | Trump vs. the Mailmen

Caleb Maupin - Speaker, author of City Builders and Vandals in Our Age: Articles and Essays on Socialism | Left Eye on the News

In Jamarl’s first hour monologue, he said that Joe Biden is a horrible candidate for the Democrats. Jamarl also wished Shane a happy birthday. Then Shane and Jamarl were joined by Maram Susli, and they discussed the recent explosion in the port of Beirut, Lebanon, that injured thousands and killed hundreds. Maram said she believes it is important to look at the events that led up to the explosion in trying to determine what actually happened, and she believes it is suspicious that the blast came during a time of such economic hardship and unrest in Beirut, and especially as Lebanon was beginning to explore other economic options for itself. She said the blast has left Lebanon desperate from the International Monetary Fund. Maram also discussed the role of the French in the response of the explosion as well as historically and said that French President Emmanuel Macron is one of the people who stands to benefit most.

In the second hour, Jamarl and Shane talked with Chuck Zlatkin about the importance of the postal system, especially in the era of COVID-19, and how the Trump administration is currently trying to dismantle it. John talked about the importance of the universality of the Postal Service and how they deliver mail to anyone anywhere in the United States and contrast that with big private carriers like FedEx and UPS. He pointed out that not many people are aware that those private carriers often use the US Postal Service to deliver the "last mile" and get packages to people in remote areas. He pointed out how the Trump administration had made the new Postmaster General a logistics person who is cutting overtime and putting people in positions who are not aware. He also said this war with the Postal Service at such a critical time may backfire on President Trump.

The hosts were joined in the third hour by Caleb Maupin, who discussed the importance of what he sees as an FDR style work project to get the COVID-19 economy rolling again. Caleb talked about the benefits of such a project not just to the economy, but also to solving certain health and infrastructure problems that he sees the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbating. They also discussed the upcoming election and Joe Biden's choice for vice president. Caleb said he believes powerful forces are battling it out behind closed doors to put Kamala Harris in as Biden's vice-presidential pick, a prospect he finds scary, given what he sees as her hostility towards protesters and notably pro Palestinian activists. He said he learned of this from interviewing people who have met with Harris.

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