Critical Hour Discussion of Bernie, Bloomberg, Dems (2/14/2020)

NYT's Smear Campaign Against Sputnik: Is This the Pot Calling the Kettle Black?

It’s Friday, so that means it's panel time.

A Thursday New York Times piece that seeks to discredit Sputnik News states, "In January, Radio Sputnik, a propaganda arm of the Russian government, started broadcasting on three Kansas City-area radio stations during prime drive times … In the United States, talk radio on Sputnik covers the political spectrum from right to left, but the constant backbeat is that America is damaged goods." In addition, The Hill reported Thursday, "A group of House Democrats criticized the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Thursday for not taking action to curb Russian propaganda aired on U. radio stations, and urged the agency to take steps to remedy this ahead of the 2020 elections." These are Democrats, who are supposed to be the liberal side of the political aisle. We'll lay out the truth and the fallacies and point out the hidden message.

Four US peace activists - Adrienne Pine, David Paul, Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese, aka the Embassy Protectors - "were arrested on May 16 after staying in the Venezuelan embassy in Washington, DC, for 37 days to prevent it from being handed over to right-wing Venezuelan coup-leaders in violation of the Vienna Convention. ... The activists face federal charges punishable by up to a year in prison, a $100,000 fine each and restitution to the government for police time and damages," Popular Resistance reported in December. They are on trial right now, but the proceedings are getting very little coverage. "On December 13, the chief judge of the US District Court for Washington, DC, Beryl A. Howell, denied discovery motions requested by the defendants," Popular Resistance noted. This means that "the jury will not be allowed to consider the contentious legality of the Trump administration’s recognition of the leadership of the coup in Venezuela, and thus the legal basis of the charges the defenders are facing. ... The Embassy Protectors had permission from the internationally recognized, elected Venezuelan government to be in the embassy."

The US Senate passed a resolution with a bipartisan vote Thursday limiting US President Donald Trump’s ability to order future strikes against Iran without first seeking Congress' explicit approval. What does this mean going forward? The measure is being described as a pointed rebuke of the Trump administration’s resistance to involving the legislature in foreign policy decisions. Many believe that the administration's inconsistent messages and irresponsible actions could lead to an all-out war. "Eight Republicans joined all Democrats in voting 55 to 45 for the measure from Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), which invokes the War Powers Act to block Trump from engaging in hostilities without consulting Congress except in cases where self-defense is required against a clear, imminent attack," the Washington Post reported Thursday.

Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Troy Price resigned Wednesday after the state's Democratic presidential caucuses became embroiled in confusion last week. In his resignation letter, he said the following, "The fact is that Democrats deserved better than what happened on caucus night. As chair of this party, I am deeply sorry for what happened and bear the responsibility for any failures on behalf of the Iowa Democratic Party." Now that we know, based upon the reporting of Max Blumenthal at The Grayzone, about Shadow Inc., ACRONYM and hedge-fund billionaires like Seth Klarman, is Troy Price the scapegoat?

GUESTS:
Caleb Maupin — Journalist and political analyst who focuses his coverage on US foreign policy and the global system of monopoly capitalism and imperialism.
Jim Kavanagh — Political analyst and commentator and editor of The Polemicist.
Daniel Lazare — Journalist and author of three books: "The Frozen Republic," "The Velvet Coup" and "America's Undeclared War."
Dr. Linwood Tauheed — Associate professor of economics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

[My segment begins at 25:30]
Listen to "NYT's Smear Campaign Against Sputnik: Is This the Pot Calling the Kettle Black?" 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.