The Critical Hour

US Senate Confirms Amy Coney Barrett to Supreme Court, Establishes Firm Conservative Majority

The US Senate confirmed Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court on Monday, making her the fifth woman to serve on the high court and giving conservatives a 6-3 majority there.
Sputnik

Greg Palast, investigative reporter, joins us to talk about the Senate confirming Barrett on Monday evening. He also discusses the Supreme Court ruling on Monday night rejecting "a pandemic-related request from Democrats and civil rights groups to extend the deadline for counting mail-in ballots received after Election Day in the key battleground state of Wisconsin," as the Washington Post reported.

Fred Rabner, Pittsburgh-based civil rights and trial attorney, joins us to discuss Monday's fatal shooting by police of a 27-year-old Black man who was allegedly armed with a knife in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The incident sparked protests, and demonstrators clashed with police. "Mayor Jim Kenney said the shooting, which was partially captured on video by a bystander, raised 'difficult questions that must be answered,' and the police commissioner promised an investigation," the New York Times reported.

Leo Flores, Latin America coordinator for Code Pink, journalist and political analyst, joins us to discuss how Chile's "historic vote comes just days after another overwhelming progressive electoral victory in Bolivia, where citizens rejected the conservative Añez administration, who came to power in November in a US-backed military coup," as MintPress News reported Monday. "With almost all of the votes counted ... 78 percent of Chileans voted 'si' yesterday for a new constitution." 

Dr. Linwood Tauheed, associate professor of economics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, joins us to discuss rural Americans' dilemma of going hungry. Despite US President Donald Trump funneling a "record amount of aid to the agricultural sector," most of it has been "going to big farms over food workers or small-scale farmers," Reuters reported Wednesday.

Jamarl Thomas, co-host of Fault Lines on Sputnik Radio, weighs in on the Hunter Biden email story and discusses the recent Washington Post piece calling on the media to report the leaks as foreign disinformation, even if they probably aren't. 

Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations security analyst, discusses a Reuters report stating, "Turkey on Monday said goal-oriented talks in line with decisions by the United Nations Security Council were needed for efforts by the OSCE's Minsk group to yield results, as a US-backed ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh crumbled. On Monday, a US-backed truce in the region fell under jeopardy as Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenian forces renewed fighting in the mountain enclave, defying international efforts to end a conflict that has killed hundreds in the last month."

Daniel Lazare, investigative journalist and author of The Velvet Coup, joins the show to discuss a Monday column by retired US Congressman Ron Paul, entitled "'Iraq War Diaries' at Ten Years: Truth is Treason." The article noted, "Ten years ago last week, Julian Assange's WikiLeaks organization published an exposé of US government wrongdoing ... [that] showed us all the brutality of the US attack on Iraq. It showed us the truth about the US invasion and occupation of that country." 

Caleb Maupin, journalist and political analyst, joins the show to discuss a Reuters report that stated, "Iran's foreign minister on Monday urged action at the United Nations against US unilateralism as he denounced Washington over wars waged since 2001. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif addressed the General Assembly for a high-level session to mark the 75th anniversary of the world body, where the United States has been seeking to raise pressure on Iran." He urged the UN to "recommit itself to stand up united against unilateralism and war." 

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