In this episode of By Any Means Necessary, hosts Sean Blackmon and Jacquie Luqman are joined by Don Debar host of the Weekday World show on Radio Justice LA to discuss Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to the US and speech to Congress as he asks for even more US aid to Ukraine, the disturbing implications of the latest aid package and sending of US Patriot missiles to Ukraine, and how this blank check being given to Ukraine compares to the so-called humanitarian assistance provided to other nations by the US.
In the second segment, Sean and Jacquie are joined by Ken Hammond, professor of East Asian and Global History at New Mexico State University and an activist with the organization Pivot to Peace to discuss Japan’s historic military buildup and rearmament and what it means for China and East Asia, the historic profits that this will provide for weapons manufacturers and how it fits into the trend of weapons purchases by other nations in the region, and why Japan’s insistence that this build-up is purely defensive may be questionable.
In the third segment, Sean and Jacquie are joined by Ryan Cooper, managing editor of The American Prospect to discuss a settlement between the Federal Trade Commission and Epic Games, the company behind the popular video game Fortnite, revealing that the company violated the privacy and safety rights of children, the predatory nature of the microtransactions in Fortnite and how easily Epic made it to make purchases accidentally, and what this reveals about regulations on the video game industry and how they profit from a dangerous monetization model.
Later in the show, Sean and Jacquie are joined by Josh Gomez, producer for By Any Means Necessary to discuss the omnibus spending bill passed by the Senate and the billions it provides to fund war and destruction, why organizers need to think critically about politicians who argue for things we might agree with, the decrease in life expectancy in the US in 2021 and how that’s connected to issues of imperialism and war, and the best pop culture moments of 2022.
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