Europe Swifter Than United States to Shut Down Russian Media

Today the Misfits talk about the nuclear risk in Ukraine, SCOTUS protects torturers in recent decision and Europe’s war.

At the top of the show, Dr. Kenneth Surin, Professor Emeritus of literature and professor of religion and critical theory at Duke University joins the show to break down the latest news from Ukraine. They talk about whether there is more support for NATO across Europe in the wake of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine. The strategy by the western alliance has been to pump all the weapons they can into NATO countries and Ukraine. They will not put boots on the ground, says Dr. Surin. Meanwhile, shares of defense manufacturers are soaring. They also discuss whether the U.S. will burn more coal amid rising NLG costs. Will higher energy costs spur the development of renewable energy such as wind and solar domestically and abroad? The Greens in Europe have some political clout. They are calling for growth of non-carbon forms of energy according to Dr. Surin. Then the Misfits talk about how Europe has been swifter to shut down Russian media than the United States.

Next, Kevin Kamps, radioactive waste watchdog at Beyond Nuclear, joins the conversation to talk about what happens when nuclear power and nuclear waste sites are overtaken by conflict. What added risks does this kind of energy present at a time of war? Nuclear power plants in a combat zone is a high risk situation. Last night, Russian troops took control of what is apparently Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, after a group of Russian National Guard officers came under attack from Ukrainian saboteurs while patrolling the territory of the NPP. The Russian servicemen repelled the attack, but as the saboteurs were leaving they set the plant on fire, the Russian MoD said. Shutting down the 15 nuclear plants in Ukraine is not a reasonable option considering the plants provide near 50 percent of electricity consumed in Ukraine, Kamps said.

At the top of the second hour, Bruce Fein, former Associate Deputy Attorney General of the United States and one of the country’s leading constitutional scholars joins the show to talk about the Supreme Court decision on Thursday. In a 7-2 decision, the court ruled that the US government can, in the name of national security, shield the testimony of two former government contractors from a terrorism suspect who seeks to use the information in a criminal proceeding abroad. Abu Zubaydah underwent relentless torture at the hands of the CIA and its two contractors. But the Supreme Court ruled that the government can invoke a “state secrets privilege” to prevent disclosure of information “when that disclosure would harm the national security,” according to Justice Stephen Breyer. Only Justices Neil Gorsuch, a Trump appointee, and Sonia Sotomayor, an Obama appointee, dissented.

For the last segment, Guy McPherson, Scientist, professor emeritus of natural resources and ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Arizona joins the conversation to talk about the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission updating the policies it uses to determine whether to approve or deny applications to construct interstate natural gas pipelines. They talk about how the public should feel about being sold the idea that natural gas is a clean fuel. It is just not the case because it's all methane and it's causing the loss of habitat across the globe, said McPherson.

It's Friday! The Misfits close with Stories of the Weird.

We sign off till Monday…

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