Critical Hour Discussion on George Floyd, Pressure on Biden, Stealing Stimulus (5/29/2020)

Former Officer Derek Chauvin Faces Murder Charge for Killing George Floyd — Will Others Be Charged?

It’s Friday, so that means it’s panel time!

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension arrested Derek Chauvin on Friday on third-degree murder and manslaughter charges. Chauvin is the now-former Minneapolis Police Department officer filmed with his knee on the neck of George Floyd on Monday. "Police responded to a convenience store in the area after someone called 911 claiming a person believed to be Floyd used a counterfeit bill and appeared drunk," 24/7 News Source reported Friday. "Floyd passed out and died a short time later." Chauvin and three other officers were fired this week for their involvement in Floyd's death. Hennepin County prosecutors said the others may be charged but did not provide specifics.

More than 40 million Americans have filed claims for unemployment benefits since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and about 30 million are receiving them, according to the US Labor Department. "For millions of Americans left out of work by the coronavirus pandemic, government assistance has been a lifeline preventing a plunge into poverty, hunger and financial ruin," the New York Times reported Thursday. "The $1,200 checks sent to most households are long gone, at least for those who needed them most, with little imminent prospect for a second round. The lending program that helped millions of small businesses keep workers on the payroll will wind down if Congress does not extend it."

"Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is facing growing pressure from activists and party leaders to pick a nonwhite running mate in the wake of explosive incidents involving race and police violence that have stoked widespread outrage," the Washington Post reported Friday. "Biden has pledged to select a woman, prompting leading Democrats to publicly and privately promote several high-profile women of color for the job."
[My related article:  Joe or No?]

GUESTS:
Caleb Maupin — Journalist and political analyst who focuses his coverage on US foreign policy.
Dr. Colin Campbell — TV news reporter for more than 20 years. As a senior Washington, DC, correspondent since 2008, he has been a reporter-at-large covering two presidencies, Congress and the State Department.
Jim Kavanagh — Political analyst and commentator and editor of The Polemicist.

[My segment begins ~21:41]
Listen to "Former Officer Derek Chauvin Faces Murder Charge for Killing George Floyd — Will Others Be Charged?" on Spreaker.

The Critical Hour is a daily 60-minute news analysis and talk radio program on Radio Sputnik hosted by Dr. Wilmer Leon. Introduction above is theirs, with related articles of mine referenced in brackets.

Loud & Clear Discussion of Richard Burr and Other Senators' Suspicious Stock Sales (5/15/2020)

Congressional stock sale scandal: Sen. Burr resigns committee chairmanship

Republican Senator Richard Burr stepped aside yesterday as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee after the FBI showed up at his office with a warrant and took his cell phone. Burr is alleged to have engaged in insider trading after having sold hundreds of thousands of dollars in stock after receiving a confidential briefing from the intelligence community in the days before the start in the United States of the coronavirus pandemic. Jim Kavanagh, the editor of thepolemicist.net, whose latest article on The Polemicist and CounterPunch is titled “Joe or No?,” joins the show.

Listen to "Congressional stock sale scandal: Sen. Burr resigns committee chairmanship" on Spreaker.

Loud & Clear is a daily program of news, commentary, and political analysis on Radio Sputnik, hosted by Brian Becker and John Kiriakou, featuring independent experts, activists, and political writers.

By Any Means Necessary Discussion of post-Covid Recovery Prospects (5/8/2020)

From Ahmaud Arbery to Amazon, Imperialism Is Showing Its True Colors

In this episode of By Any Means Necessary, hosts Sean Blackmon and Jacquie Luqman are joined by Atlanta-based community organizer and activist Monica Johnson to talk about the news that Georgia police have finally charged the men involved in the videotaped killing 26-year-old Ahmaud Arbery, how various conflicts of interest between the accused killers and local law enforcement appear to have obstructed the investigation thus far, and why the case's handling seems to only confirm long-term doubts about the inability of Black families to get justice from the state.

Critical Hour Discussion on Economic Path of Recovery and Whether to Vote for Biden (5/1/2020)

Trump Officials Plan Revenge Against China, Despite COVID-19's Natural Origin

"Senior officials across multiple government agencies are expected to meet Thursday to begin mapping out a strategy for seeking retaliatory measures against China," the Washington Post reported Thursday. "Officials in American intelligence agencies are also involved in the effort." Last week, we discussed the fact that some states have filed or are filing civil law suits in US courts for damages against China. Now the administration is trying to map out a plan.

"The city of New York delivered a freezer truck to a funeral home on Wednesday after it was found to be storing dead bodies in unrefrigerated U-Haul vehicles," Reuters reported Wednesday, citing an eyewitness. "ABC News reported about 100 bodies were stored in the vehicles after the owner of the Andrew T. Cleckley Funeral Services funeral home said the freezer that normally stores bodies stopped working. ... It was not clear how long the bodies had been stored in the U-Hauls or whether any were COVID-19 victims. The bodies were found after neighbors reported an odor coming from the trucks, New York media reported." This highlights some of the challenges that funeral homes are experiencing during the pandemic.

Critical Hour Discussion of Trump and Coronavirus Discourse (4/24/2020)

Iran Launches Military Satellite, Was Prepared to Hit US Targets in January

On this episode of The Critical Hour, Dr. Wilmer Leon is joined by Caleb Maupin, journalist and political analyst who focuses his coverage on US foreign policy and the global system of monopoly capitalism and imperialism.

It's Friday: that means it's panel time!

"After a presentation Thursday that touched on the disinfectants that can kill the novel coronavirus on surfaces and in the air, President Trump pondered whether those chemicals could be used to fight the virus inside the human body," the Washington Post reported Friday. “'I see the disinfectant that knocks it out in a minute, one minute,' Trump said during Thursday's coronavirus press briefing. 'And is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside, or almost a cleaning? Because you see it gets inside the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it would be interesting to check that.'” I would be laughing about this, but I am concerned that someone will hear that question and think it’s okay to drink Lysol or bleach or some other disinfectant. It is not. Do not. That is ridiculous and dangerous, if not deadly.