Dr. Paul Larudee on Israel’s assault on Gaza Freedom Flotilla. Larudee has been on this show numerous times, most recently in March. He is a founder of the Free Palestine Movement and over the past two years has been on some of the boats that have made 10 attempts to penetrate the Israeli blockade of Gaza’s port. Larudee gives a chilling first-person account of the events of May 31, when Israeli choppers and gunboats accosted the flotilla in international waters. Larudee was aboard the Sfendoni which was boarded before the larger ship, Mavi Marmara; he explains the sequence of events, and his own nonviolent resistance–including taking a plunge in the sea–which enraged the soldiers who beat him and treated him roughly. Larudee responds to lies and spin delivered by the Israeli Defense Ministry, Prime Minister Netanyahu, and the US media echo chamber. While 9 Turks (including a US dual citizen) were killed in the Israeli assault, Larudee says the Israeli commandos fired as they landed on the ship, before some passengers attacked with sticks and tossed an invading soldier into the sea. Larudee feels that their efforts are producing a shift in the policies of Israel and neighbors like Egypt, which has re-opened the Rafah border with Gaza. After our conversation, Larudee left for a meeting in Beirut to plan next steps, and he urges you to contact members of Congress to support an end to the lockdown of Gaza. PBC opens the show in honor of Helen Thomas, the intrepid White House reporter. Tech note: due to a computer glitch, there are some audio dropouts in the file, but you should be able to follow without missing much.
Month: June 2010
Back from the Midwest
I spent a week in Ohio and Michigan, went to the Heekin family reunion in Cincinnati. More than 500 attended, and I got to connect and re-connect with some great people. But one cousin reminded me why I left there–he told me his favorite radio host is Michael Savage, and worries that liberals will take him off the air with a new Fairness Doctrine. Only there is no proposed FCC rule or bill in Congress to revive the Fairness Doctrine. It’s a phantom menace created by right wing radio nuts and eagerly embraced by their listeners.
In Cincinnati, I met with David Krikorian, who lost his primary election bid to take on one of the worst Republicans in Congress, “Mean Jean” Schmidt. Just one week before election day, Schmidt attacked Krikorian for a comment he says he never made, regarding his opponent in the Democratic primary; the smear was front page the next day on the GOP house organ, the Cincinnati Enquirer, and then got 2 days of TV coverage. Krikorian produced witnesses from the event where he didn’t say what she says he said, but the TV stations weren’t too interested and the newspaper ran a story in the middle of the local section. Krikorian, whose polls said he would win by 10% or more, lost by 2 points, and Schmidt will coast to re-election in November.
After two cross-country airline adventures within a month, I gotta say that flying really sucks now. Landing at Dulles, we were told by our captain not to be alarmed by the fire trucks on the runway, but the brake light is on–we landed safely and he told us 3 wheels had deflated. On the return, we were delayed for 30 minutes at the TSA checkpoint and almost missed our flight–there was no security breach, just dinnertime for the TSA crew. And you can’t complain because they have arbitrary authority to block you from your flight or even detain you. Between the deterioration of airline service and the prison setting of the post-9/11 security theatrics at airports, they’ve taken all the fun out of air travel.
Info on Podcast #137
Jeffrey Kaye on immigration. Kaye is the former correspondent for the PBS Newshour and author of Moving Millions: How Coyote Capitalism Fuels Global Immigration. The book takes a thoughtful look at the complex set of factors that cause people to cross borders for work, the history of waves of migration and American xenophobia, starting with the anti-Chinese actions dating to the late 1800’s. You’ll hear Meg Whitman’s anti-immigrant screed in the current California governor’s race (with a bad cameo from former Gov. Pete Wilson), a discussion of H1-B visas and their abuse by US corporations, and the recent legislation in Arizona. Kaye offers history, economics and context for the so-called “debate” on immigration in the US today, along with rational analysis–all the things that are missing from the mainstream media’s coverage.