The Critical Hour

Portland City Council Heavily Restricts Use of Facial Recognition Technology

On this episode of The Critical Hour, co-hosts Dr. Wilmer Leon and Garland Nixon talk to political organizer Patricia Gorky about Wednesday's restrictions on facial recognition technology in Portland, Oregon.
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"The Portland, Oregon, city council on Wednesday unanimously approved a sweeping ban on the use of facial recognition surveillance by public agencies as well as private businesses 'in places of public accommodation,'" Common Dreams reported Thursday. What does this mean going forward?

A massive, new fire burns at the port of Beirut, Lebanon, only a month after a massive explosion there. People rushed to evacuate the area surrounding the port on Thursday after the blaze broke out at a warehouse which held tires and oil, according to the Washington Post. What’s going on in the city just one month after the deadly blast?

Former Brazilian President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva released a video this week attacking President Jair Bolsonaro and saying the country's oligarchs had "created a monster." Is Lula beginning a political comeback?

A Wednesday headline in MintPress News read "Cheap Mediterranean Natural Gas Could Spell the End for the NATO Alliance." Is this the case?

"Weapons provided by Western powers and Iran to warring sides in Yemen are fuelling the six-year conflict, marked by deadly Saudi-led coalition air strikes and Houthi shelling, UN investigators said on Wednesday," Reuters reported. "Britain, Canada, France, Iran and the United States continued their support to the warring sides 'including through arms transfers, thereby helping to perpetuate the conflict,' the UN panel said." The report is entitled "Yemen: A Pandemic of Impunity in a Tortured Land." How big of a problem is this?

"Serbia suspended military drills with foreign troops for six months on Wednesday, halting planned joint exercises with Russia in protest-hit Belarus, after what the government termed pressure from the European Union," Reuters reported Wednesday. "Serbia's suspension of drills with foreign troops, including also those from China and the trans-Atlantic NATO alliance, would help maintain its military neutrality, [Defense Minister Aleksander] Vulin said."  Meanwhile, "Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko reportedly confessed to a Russian state reporter that 'maybe' he’s 'overstayed his welcome' as the country’s leader, VGTRK correspondent Evgeny Rozhkov revealed in an appearance on the Rossiya 1 television network on Tuesday," Meduza reported. What are we to make of this?

"Moscow said on Wednesday a 'disinformation campaign' over the alleged poisoning of opposition figure Alexei Navalny was being used to promote new sanctions against Russia," AFP reported. Meanwhile, Deutsche Welle reported, "Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told public radio on Wednesday that Germany must stop construction of the Nord Stream 2 project. 'It strengthens Russia's power, helps President Putin to build a military power, helps to intimidate other nations,' he said."

"Amazon announced on Wednesday that Keith Alexander, a former National Security Agency director, has been named to the company’s board of directors," CNBC reported. The outlet added: "Alexander was awarded 288 shares of common stock as part of his appointment, which will vest in three equal annual installments beginning on November 15, 2021. Amazon shares closed at $3,268.61 per share on Wednesday."

Guests:

Patricia Gorky - Political organizer

Laith Marouf - Broadcaster and journalist based in Beirut, Lebanon

Leo Flores - Latin America coordinator for Code Pink

Ramzy Baroud - Media consultant, author, columnist and editor of the Palestine Chronicle

Ariel Gold - Co-Founder of Code Pink

Mark Sleboda - Moscow-based international relations and security analyst

Alexander Mercouris - Editor-in-chief of The Duran 

Rob Kall - Publisher of OpEdNews.com and author of "The Bottom-up Revolution: Mastering the Emerging World of Connectivity"

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