Colin Campbell, Washington, DC, senior news correspondent, joins us to discuss the return of the Boeing 737 MAX after two crashes, one in Indonesia in October 2018 and another in Ethiopia in March 2019, killed 346 people. "Single-aisle jets like the MAX and rival Airbus A320neo are workhorses that dominate global fleets and provide a major source of industry profit," Reuters reported Wednesday.
Jack Rasmus, professor in Economics and Politics departments at St. Mary's College of California, talks about his latest article. He details how the US Federal Reserve injected $7 trillion into the market, which international corporations used to buy back their own shares and artificially inflate stock values. Additionally, he warns of the coming post-Christmas economic disaster as millions of Americans are set to lose unemployment benefits.
Laith Marouf, broadcaster and journalist based in Beirut, Lebanon, joins us from Beirut to discuss recent reports that indicate the United States may be preparing Americans for a military attack on Iran. Additionally, he gives us his perspective on Israeli attacks on Syria based on claims that they are retaliating for bombs placed on their border.
James Carey, editor and co-owner of Geopolitics Alert, joins our hosts to explain Iran's potential olive branch towards the Biden administration as the transition team lays out a simple and effective plan to return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal. The Iranians argue that the Biden administration could utilize a series of executive orders to immediately end sanctions and set a course for a peaceful resolution of the dispute between the two countries.
Ray McGovern, former CIA analyst and co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity, joins us to explore a Tuesday article in Common Dreams that argues for the prosecution of US President Donald Trump after he leaves office, using CIA Director Gina Haspel as an example of the consequences of forgoing such prosecution. US President-elect Joe Biden has reportedly signaled to aides that he wishes to move forward and views any attempt to go after Trump as a divisive act to be avoided.
Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations security analyst, joins us for an update on the ceasefire and potential end to hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh. French and American diplomats are traveling to Russia to discuss the plan's final details, and the Russian government has sent troops on a peacekeeping mission to the war-torn region.
Ajamu Baraka, former US vice-presidential candidate for the Green Party, returns to The Critical Hour to talk about the Bolivian election and the hero's welcome that former President Evo Morales received upon his recent return to his native land. The nation's Indigenous citizen majority has quickly recovered from a US-sponsored coup, and the effects of this powerful grassroots movement are reverberating throughout Central and South America.
Kathy Kelly, American peace activist, one of the founding members of Voices in the Wilderness and co-coordinator for Voices for Creative Nonviolence, joins us to discuss Trump's recent move to dramatically decrease the United State's military presence in Afghanistan and Iraq. The action is popular among US citizens but is being panned by pro-war think tanks and multi-government organizations such as NATO. After nearly 20 years of US combat in Afghanistan, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg still argues that the Trump pullout is "too soon."
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