The Critical Hour

Julian Assange and the Battle for Press Freedom; Europe's Fuel Crisis

The European fuel crisis worsens as the misadventures of simultaneously blaming Russia and begging them for salvation slams head-on into a cold and unforgiving winter.
Sputnik
Chris Hedges, investigative journalist, joins us to discuss Julian Assange. World-renowned speaker and philosopher Chris Hedges has penned an article in which he argues that the Julian Assange trial is the most important battle for press freedom in our time. He says that the US' quest to convict and sentence the publisher would effectively put an end to national security reporting.
National Director for Code Pink Ariel Gold joins us to discuss the G20 summit. International analysts and observers for covid measures and climate change are unhappy with the outcome of the meeting. The leaders of the nations that produce the most vaccines and greenhouse gases ended with a few hollow comuniques that acknowledge the problems, but show little promise of concrete action.
Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations security analyst, joins us to discuss Europe's fuel crisis. The European fuel crisis worsens as the misadventures of simultaneously blaming Russia and begging them for salvation slams head-on into a cold and unforgiving winter. Russia has signed a gas deal with Moldova, demonstrating a willingness to deal with individual European nations that are willing to commit to a long-term contractual agreement.
Laith Marouf, broadcaster and journalist based in Beirut, joins us to discuss the Middle East. Tensions between Lebanon and Saudi Arabia have increased. Also, the US continues its duplicitous actions during negotiations with Iran as it plans for more sanctions, but blames Iran for the failure of progress.
John Kiriakou, journalist, author, and host of The Backstory, joins us to discuss torture. Several military officials wrote a letter calling the torture of a Guantanamo detainee a stain on America's moral fiber. The defendant had spent several hours detailing brutal torture that he received at the hands of his US captors. The prisoner told onlookers that the more he cooperated, the more torture and abuse he received.
KJ Noh, peace activist, writer and teacher, joins us to discuss China. KJ Noh joins us to review the absurdity of the US charge of "genocide" in the Xinjiang region of China. He discusses the origin of the charge from a single anti-China zealot and how the US accepted the absurd claims despite the total lack of evidence. Also, the Taiwanese military leadership has some significant fissures in its ranks regarding animosity toward the mainland.
Steve Ellner, an American scholar, retired professor at the Universidad de Oriente, Venezuela, and author of 12 books including his latest, entitled "Latin American Extractivism," joins us to discuss the Global South. In a change of direction, the US empire is now pushing its puppet opposition to participate in the elections. However, few analysts believe that the empire has abandoned its hegemonic desires to overthrow the Bolivarian Republic and steal its natural resources. Also, Cuba's leadership is well aware of the US regime-change operations planned for mid-November.
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