Posts In Category

Israel & Palestine

Portrait of a thoughtful woman with curly hair and a serious expression.
CultureIsrael & PalestineJusticePodcastRacism

After nearly 50 years, she’s back in the news, and she keeps on pushing.  Angela Davis gained fame/notoriety as the Afro-coiffed California professor/activist speciously charged with helping Jonathan Jackson trying to free his brother George, author of Soledad Brother, from

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A serious-looking man in a suit on a CNN broadcast.
Civil LibertiesInternational NewsIsrael & PalestineJusticePodcastRacism

A wall isn’t going to work. What will work is addressing the reasons desperate Central Americans walk a thousand miles. Foreign Affairs columnist Patrick Lawrence suggests ways to alleviate the conditions causing the caravan. And on part two, why did

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A man speaking passionately against a red background.
Israel & PalestinePodcastPopulism

He’s spoken openly about his concern for justice for Palestinians. As Jeremy Corbyn is continuing to rise as he leads the traditional left Labour Party of the United Kingdom, his detractors are working feverishly to discredit him as an anti-Semite.

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Portrait of a serious middle-aged man in a suit.
Israel & PalestineJusticePodcast

At least it’s now out in the open. All Israelis who are not Jewish have had their rights diminished. Given the longstanding discrimination against non-white non-European Jews, Palestinians and Druze are now just third class citizens. Prime Minister Netanyahu described

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A large explosion with thick smoke rising over a cityscape.
Israel & PalestinePodcastTrumpWar

Americans are just beginning to learn about our deadly role for the Saudi war in Yemen. For many decades and many presidents, the Saudi royal family has held great sway in Washington. Today the famine and cholera outbreak in Yemen,

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Close-up of a young woman with curly hair and a neutral expression.
Israel & PalestinePodcastRacismTake ActionWomen

If you are a sixteen year old girl, standing up to the men of the Israeli military is highly risky. You may not have heard of Ahed Tamimi. She is being held in an Israeli jail for slapping an Israeli

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Magnifying glass highlighting 'Freedom of Speech' on a document.
Israel & PalestinePodcast

Now and in the future, if certain opinions are not popular with the government in power, they can be prosecuted. Under the current bill S 720, which actually has Democratic sponsors, if a person even inquires about which companies may

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BDS logo with orange text on a white background.
Israel & PalestineJusticeNational PolicyPodcastProtests & ResistanceRacism

It took a long time but Boycott, Divest, and Sanctions worked to end South African Apartheid. Now powerful forces are working in the US congress to penalize businesses and individuals who express support for BDS against the State of Israel.

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Jet fighter descending rapidly with smoke trail against blue sky.
Israel & PalestinePodcastProtests & ResistanceTake ActionWar

In the 21st century, it seems every new war is a “humanitarian intervention.” Our guest on this show, Jim Kavanagh of Counterpunch defines that as just more “missionary imperialism.” As the US quickly ramps up its war against the government

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Sign stating anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitism by Orthodox Jewish leader Ahron Cohen.
Israel & PalestineJusticeNational PolicyPodcastRacismReligionWar

It’s starting to fade. The unquestioned backing by Jewish Americans for the State of Israel is slipping.  As author Allan C Browfield discusses, Zionism actually has a short shelf life among Jewish Americans. Before 1948, it was condemned by most

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A woman in a blue outfit stands between two men in traditional Middle Eastern attire.
Israel & PalestineJusticeNational PolicyPodcastReligionTake Action

Through twelve administrations, the US has been tight with the Saudi government. On part one, Medea Benjamin talks about her new book: Kingdom of the Unjust: behind the US-Saudi Connections. She argues it’s time to cut the cord, they are

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Maps showing Palestinian land loss from 1946 to 2000.
CultureIsrael & PalestineJusticeNational PolicyPodcastRacismSocialismWar

Is the dream over? The socialist democratic Israel our parents generation dreamed of is not the right wing Israel we see today.What’s happening with Jewish Americans who are under 70? Why does the right wing Israel lobby still have so

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A large group of soldiers marching in formation.
EnvironmentIsrael & PalestineJusticeNational PolicyPodcastTake ActionWarWomen

It’s been called the most progressive Democratic Party platform ever, but in terms of foreign policy, it’s pretty much as militaristic as ever. On this show, Phyllis Bennis, of the Institute for Policy Studies dissects the foreign policy aspects of

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A ballot box for the 2016 presidential election with patriotic stripes.
CultureEnergyEnvironmentGunsIsrael & PalestineNational PolicyPodcastPopulismRacismTake ActionWarWomen

With Trump as president, it would be a major effort to just move back to the center. With Hillary Clinton, and sustained  pressure from progressives, forward motion is possible, if difficult. This is for progressives thinking about the election. Michael

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Protesters holding a Palestinian flag and a sign advocating for Palestinian rights.
EconomyFiscal PolicyIsrael & PalestineJusticeNational PolicyPodcastPopulismSocialismTake Action

How do you like paying interest to use your own money? According to Mike Krauss of the Public Banking Institute, it doesn’t have to be that way. We can replace the privately held Federal Reserve system and use the treasury

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Black and white photo of a man speaking into a megaphone.
CultureGunsIsrael & PalestineJusticeNational PolicyPodcastPopulismRacismReligionWarWomen

From ruthless cold warrior to taking on his nemesis LBJ over the war in Vietnam, was Bobby Kennedy an opportunist? Who was the “runt” of the Kennedy litter?  In this remarkable interview, bestselling author Larry Tye tells us how Bobby’s

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Abandoned, unfinished large concrete building under gray sky.
CultureEconomyEducationIsrael & PalestineJusticeNational PolicyPodcastPopulismRacism

They sought a better life from the Jim Crow South and freedom, but what they found was something else. It may not be bricks and mortar prison, but black citizens have been intentionally limited to specific areas on the map

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A man adjusting his glasses with a focused expression.
CultureIsrael & PalestineJusticeNational PolicyPodcastRacismReligionTake Action

And not just for Palestinians. With the ascent of the nationalistic right, even Jewish Israelis are feeling the sting of government assaults on democracy. Allan Brownfeld, editor of the magazine of The American Council for Judaism, explains how democracy is

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Flag with Arabic script and a sword on a green background.
CultureIsrael & PalestineNational PolicyPodcastReligionTake ActionWar

They’ve been the big boys ruling their neighborhood for half a century. They really don’t want to give it up, but with their war in Yemen hurting their standing (and America’s) and the dropping price of oil, they are being

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Protesters holding signs against Israeli apartheid and AIPAC.
CultureIsrael & PalestineJusticeNational PolicyPodcastWarWomen

How significant a change in policy toward Latin America does Obama’s trip to Havana mean? As Mark Weisbrot, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy research explains, while the opening to Cuba is beneficial, it seems the American tradition

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Three men in traditional Arab attire holding swords.
EnergyIsrael & PalestineNational PolicyPodcastReligionWar

On January 2, 2016, our great ally, the Saudi government, cut the heads off 47 prisoners, including the revered Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr. Shiite Iran was none too pleased. Tensions between them are at an all time high. Guest on

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Convoy of armed vehicles with militants in desert terrain.
GunsIsrael & PalestineJusticeNational PolicyPodcastRacismReligionWar

The horror of ISIS terrorism today grew from the “peace” imposed by the most powerful Western nations on the former Ottoman Empire at the finish of the first world war, a war that never ended. Many more civilians were killed

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Historic meeting between two prominent political leaders in a formal setting.
Israel & PalestineJusticeNational PolicyPodcastReligionWar

http://media.blubrry.com/keeping_democracy_alive/www.dropbox.com/s/6issbyw42inhgle/ArabSpringRedux.mp3?dl=0It started out so promising: peaceful revolutions for self-determination. From Tunisia through Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Yemen, and of course Syria. Now Tunisia is the only stable secular democracy, and on this show author and professor Rebecca Gordon sheds light on

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A massive crowd celebrates with fireworks lighting up the night sky.
GunsIsrael & PalestineJusticeNational PolicyPodcastReligionWar

It started out so promising: peaceful revolutions for self-determination. From Tunisia through Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Yemen, and of course Syria. Now Tunisia is the only stable secular democracy, and on this show author and professor Rebecca Gordon sheds light on

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A massive crowd celebrates with fireworks lighting up the night sky.
GunsIsrael & PalestineJusticeNational PolicyPodcastReligionWar

It started out so promising: peaceful revolutions for self-determination. From Tunisia through Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Yemen, and of course Syria. Now Tunisia is the only stable secular democracy, and on this show author and professor Rebecca Gordon sheds light on

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A crowd of people waving flags and celebrating outdoors.
EnergyIsrael & PalestineJusticeNational PolicyPodcastReligionWar

A hundred were killed in a peaceful rally in Ankara: who did it and why? It seems to have been ISIS, which our ally, the Erdogan government of Turkey, is actually helping. meanwhile our enemy, Putin’s Russia is helping to

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Map highlighting ISIS-controlled areas in Syria and Iraq.
EnergyGunsIsrael & PalestineJusticeNational PolicyPodcastWar

Despite the fact that the US inadvertently created ISIS and is still arming the wrong people, and despite the fact that the US and Russia seem to be on opposite sides, Ambassador Peter Galbraith argues the region is on a

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Five people stranded on a small boat in the sea.
CultureEconomyGunsIsrael & PalestineJusticeNational PolicyPodcastRacismReligionSocialismWarWomen

We’ve all seen the images: refugees crammed in rubber rafts, mobbed trains, young children drowned in the seas. Hundreds of thousands are leaving war zones in hopes of a better life. But in Europe there are those who want to

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The national flag of Saudi Arabia with Arabic inscription and a sword.
EnergyEnvironmentFiscal PolicyGunsIsrael & PalestineJusticeNational PolicyPodcastReligionTake ActionWarWomen

Republican presidential wannabes fall over themselves to see who can hate Iran the most. And of course, ISIS is despicable. Yet with all their state run beheadings and human rights abuses, somehow Saudi Arabia remains America’s best Arab ally. Guest

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Two children navigate through rubble in a war-torn area.
Israel & PalestineJusticePodcastTake ActionWarWomen

Would any other country have gotten away with it? It might be best called Israeli Exceptionalism. After a 51 day war on the Gaza Strip, more than 2,200 Palestinians died and the infrastructure was devastated. Seventy seven Israelis died, all

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