19 Years Since 9/11: What Lessons Has US Learned, What Has Changed?

On this edition of The Critical Hour, Co-hosts Dr. Wilmer Leon and Garland Nixon speak with Caleb Maupin about the 9/11 attacks, when the World Trade Center's Twin Towers came down, the Pentagon was hit, and United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and US President Donald Trump were both set to visit Shanksville on Friday. "Biden’s campaign announced Thursday evening that he would be in New York Friday morning for a ceremony at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, before traveling to Shanksville in the afternoon," the Washington Post reported Thursday. Has the US learned from the past?

"The number of people seeking and collecting unemployment benefits has remained at historically high levels in recent weeks, a sign the labor-market recovery is losing steam six months after the pandemic struck the US," the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. How will this play out?

Friday is panel day. For our first panel, we are joined by Laith Marouf and James Carey. A Thursday Washington Post headline read: "Talks between Taliban, Afghan government to begin this weekend after 6 high-value prisoners were released from Afghan custody." What does this mean going forward?

For our next panel, we are joined by Margaret Kimberley and Ajamu Baraka, who will also discuss the upcoming talks in Afghanistan.

For our final panel, we are joined by Dr. Clarence Lusane and Jim Kavanagh. They will begin by talking about a US federal court ruling on Thursday that blocks the Trump administration from excluding undocumented immigrants from the US Census.  

Guests:

Caleb Maupin - Journalist and political analyst

Dr. Jack Rasmus - Economist, professor in the Economics and Politics Departments at St. Mary’s College of California and author of "The Scourge of Neoliberalism: US Economic Policy From Reagan to Trump"

Margaret Kimberley - Editor  and senior columnist at Black Agenda Report and author of "Prejudential: Black America and the Presidents."

Ajamu Baraka - Former US vice-presidential candidate for the Green Party

Laith Marouf - Broadcaster and journalist based in Beirut, Lebanon

James Carey - Editor and co-owner of Geopolitics Alert

Dr. Clarence Lusane - Author, professor and activist

Jim Kavanagh - Writer at The Polemicist and CounterPunch whose latest article is "Payroll Taxes are the Achilles Heel of Social Security" 

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