Caleb Maupin, journalist and political analyst, joins us to discuss a move by House Democrats to investigate and perhaps remove a number of GOP legislators from Congress. Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) has co-sponsored a resolution that would investigate House Republicans who sought to overturn the results of the presidential election ahead of last week's pro-Trump protest that ended in violence at the US Capitol. The freshman congresswoman argued in a statement that those found to have supported overturning the election should be removed from Congress and held accountable "for their role in this insurrection." The opposition argues that the members were legally voted in by their constituents and, absent any criminal convictions, should be allowed to serve.
Ajamu Baraka, former US vice-presidential candidate for the Green Party, joins us to discuss the flurry of foreign policy moves by the outgoing Trump administration. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is taking actions against Iran and Cuba that seem designed to hamstring the incoming Biden administration's ability to maneuver after US President Donald Trump exits the world stage. Some believe that the moves against Iran are coordinated with Israel and anti-Iranian Gulf states who are concerned about the US returning to the Iran nuclear deal. However, the actions against Cuba seem to be more ideological and part of a broader war against the anti-imperialist bloc forming in Latin America.
Medea Benjamin, co-founder of the antiwar organization Code Pink, returns to The Critical Hour to discuss Victoria Nuland, who has been nominated by US President-elect Joe Biden for undersecretary of state for political affairs. A group of 25 organizations including Code Pink has penned a letter opposing the nomination of the infamous anti-Russia war hawk. They argue that Nuland "played a key role in facilitating a coup in Ukraine that created a civil war costing 10,000 lives and displacing over a million people" and that it would be extremely dangerous to include her in the US foreign policy decision-making process. They close their letter by stating, "Some US military officials say this demonizing of Russia is all about weapons profits and bureaucratic power, no more fact-based than the Steele Dossier that was given to the FBI by Victoria Nuland."
Author and activist Miko Peled joins us to talk about Israel's COVID-19 vaccine program, which has had remarkable success for free Israelis but has not provided inoculations to Palestinians in the West Bank or the Gaza Strip. Palestinian rights activists argue that this is a blatant example of apartheid policies, but Israeli officials counter that "these Palestinians don’t fall under their jurisdiction under the terms of the Oslo accords and that it is the job of the Palestinian Authority to procure and distribute vaccines in the occupied territories," the Washington Post reported Tuesday.
Ted Rall, political cartoonist and syndicated columnist, joins us to discuss the worldwide response to Trump's removal from Twitter. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has released a statement warning of the "unchecked power" of tech companies, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel finds the Trump Twitter ban "problematic," according to a spokesperson. Noted libertarian Ron Paul has also written an article in which he argues that the latest social media purge is an example of the War on Terror coming home.
Nicholas Ayala, editor at the Anticonquista media collective, joins us to discuss Latin America's response to the events at the US Capitol last week. A recent article in the Orinoco Tribune is headlined "The United States Suffers the Same Thing that it has Generated in other Countries with its Policies of Aggression." The article points out that Venezuela recently seated a new National Assembly after a peaceful and successful election in which over 100 parties participated, as the US political system lies in obvious ruins.
James Carey, editor and co-owner of Geopolitics Alert, joins us to discuss Afghanistan. The Trump administration continues to reduce troop numbers in the Central Asian country, despite the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) including an amendment that seeks to block planned troop drawdowns. The US-Taliban peace deal signed in February 2020 paved the way for all US troops to leave Afghanistan by spring 2021, but it's not clear if Biden will follow through with the plan.
Dr. Linwood Tauheed, associate professor of economics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, joins us to discuss an interesting article in Asia Times which argues that China is now "well on track to challenge the US as the world's financial center" while still serving as the leader in manufacturing. It also says that the US losing 140,000 jobs in December 2020 was the "clearest sign yet" that the American economy is in the throes of another COVID-related crash.
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