UK Government, BBC, and Reuters Exposed in Anti-Russia Propaganda Operations

The Critical Hour

Alexander Mercouris, editor-in-chief at TheDuran.com and host of "The Duran" on YouTube, joins us to discuss an ongoing scandal involving a UK government media operation against Russia. Recently leaked documents reveal a secret UK government-funded operation involving the BBC and Reuters aimed at creating instability in Russia. The operation appears to be exactly the targeted propaganda that EU and US media outlets have accused the Russians of operating during the 2016 US election cycle.
Chris Garaffa, web developer and technologist, join us to discuss a court ruling in California related to net neutrality. Judge John Mendez of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California denied a telecom industry request for a preliminary injunction against a 2018 California State Legislature statute intended to restore net neutrality in the Golden State. The legislation created an outright ban on zero-rating—the practice of offering free data, potentially to the advantage of some companies over others.
Kevin Gosztola, the managing editor of Shadowproof.com, joins us to discuss a letter from two prominent democrats pushing for the censorship of conservative media news-outlets in the United States. Reps. Anna Eshoo and Jerry McNerney sent the letters to AT&T, Verizon, Roku, Amazon, Apple, Comcast, Charter, DISH, Cox, Altice, and Hulu as well as Google's parent, Alphabet. This rare move has brought the ire of many free speech advocates due to the serious 1st Amendment questions that it raises. The House Energy and Commerce Committee will be holding a hearing on misinformation and disinformation on cable and broadcast networks on Wednesday, with a focus on the January 6th Capitol protests and the pandemic.
Medea Benjamin, the founder of Code Pink, joins us to discuss an article that she co-authored with Nicolas Davies regarding NATO's recent moves to confront Russia and China. The article brings out the failure of the military group in Afghanistan and questions the sanity of creating additional enmity with two of the world's preeminent nuclear powers. Also, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin pushes NATO to join the US in increasing pressure on China.
William J Astore, retired lieutenant USAF colonel, who has taught at the Air Force Academy and the Naval Postgraduate School, and now teaches History at the Pennsylvania College of Technology, joins us to discuss Afghanistan. Recent leaks from Capitol Hill say that military and intelligence officers have given President Biden three options for Afghanistan, none of which are particularly appealing. They present that Biden can stay indefinitely, follow the Trump negotiated May 1st withdrawal date, or attempt to negotiate an extension of the exit agreement with the Taliban. Meanwhile, the Taliban is stating that any changes in the current agreement for a May 1st withdrawal will cause problems.
George Koo, journalist, social activist, international business consultant and chemical engineer joins us to discuss US policy towards China. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has directed his legislative personnel to craft a bill that will be designed to counter China in the technology sector. The bill will reportedly have a price tag of approximately 100 billion dollars. Also, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin says that recent claims of Chinese human rights violations by the UK regarding the Xinjang region are intentionally disrupting Chinese cooperation with the UN Human Rights Council.
Miko Peled, an author and activist, joins us to talk about Israel joins us to discuss Israel's controversial vaccine policies regarding its Palestinian population. The Israeli government is giving away vaccine doses to allied nations who are willing to join the US in moving their diplomatic corps to Jerusalem. The vaccine giveaway is part of a number of moves that have been dubbed by international security analysts as "vaccine diplomacy."
Dr. Linwood Tauheed, associate professor of economics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City joins us to discuss the argument over increasing the minimum wage. In his latest article on Common Dreams, noted economics professor Richard Wolff argues that "Paying a decent living wage to workers by raising the minimum wage need not threaten the viability of small businesses." He goes on to argue that the corporate media has been complicit in pushing an extremely flawed argument against creating a living wage for workers and ultimately decreasing income inequality.