In this episode of By Any Means Necessary, hosts Sean Blackmon and Jacquie Luqman are joined by Peter Bolton, a DC-based journalist, activist and scholar, and a regular contributor to The Canary and CounterPunch to discuss how the collapse of the Soviet Union and US involvement in Russia contributed to the devastation of the Russian people and the rise of Vladimir Putin, how the liberalization of the Russian economy and the destruction of social safety nets led to impoverishment of the Russian people and why some Russians desire a return to socialism, and the hypocrisy of the western response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its efforts to ignore the history of US involvement in Eastern Europe and Russia.
In the second segment, Sean and Jacquie are joined by Nate Kassa, organizer with the Party for Socialism and Liberation to discuss so-called “progressive” police chief Vanessa Wilson of Aurora, Colorado and why the police needed this PR campaign of progressivism, Vanessa Wilson’s involvement in arresting activists demanding justice for Elijah McClain instead of the officers responsible for McClain’s death, the backlash WIlson has received from Aurora officers for taking the slightest action against officers who engaged in police brutality, and the centrality of the movement of working and poor people in demanding justice for victims of police brutality.
In the third segment, Sean and Jacquie are joined by Ari Paul, Contributing Writer to Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting to discuss what the New York Times editorial hysteria over “cancel culture” is really about, why the New York Times is afraid of the free speech of regular people and often ignores the real threats to speech in the halls of governmental and corporate power, and the consequences that this “cancel culture” often fails to achieve.
Later in the show, Sean and Jacquie are joined by Dr. Charisse Burden-Stelly, assistant professor of Africana Studies and Political Science at Carleton College, Visiting Scholar with the Race and Capitalism Project at the University of Chicago, and co-editor of the upcoming book, “Organize, Fight, Win: Black Communist Women’s Political Writing” to discuss how racial capitalism relates to President Joe Biden’s recent budget proposal, which prioritizes funding for police and the military, how the sanctions on Russia affect the world food supply and the disproportionate impact that shortage will have on places that already struggle with hunger, and the new era of repression of speech that is critical of US foreign policy.
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