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August 19 - Obama's Strong Card Not In Play; The Wikileaks Founder's Fate; How Threats of War Benefit Netanyahu
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We begin with an analysis of President Obama’s apparent strong card in this election, his foreign policy that so far does not seem to be a winning issue in the presidential campaign. James Mann, a former foreign correspondent with Los Angeles Times who is author in residence at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies joins us. He is the author of the new book “The Obamians: The Struggle Inside the White House to Redefine American Power”. |
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Then we speak with Tom Hayden, a founding member of Students for a Democratic Society who later served 18 years in the California Legislature. He has been in close contact with Julian Assange’s defense team and we examine the limited legal options open to the Wikileaks founder who addressed the world from the balcony of the Ecuadorean embassy in London where he is holed up, calling on the United States to “end its witch hunt against Wikileaks.” |
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The finally we speak with Dr. Trita Parsi, the co-founder and president of the National Iranian American Council and author of “The Single Roll of the Dice: Obama’s Diplomacy with Iran”. We discuss the increasing rumors of war coming from Israel that an attack on Iran is immanent, and examine the possible consequences of the targeting of leadership and nuclear and rocket scientists which are contained in an alleged leak of Israeli war plans. |
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August 16 - The Standoff in London over Julian Assange; Debunking Sham "Terrorist Experts"; A New Light Bulb That Could Change the World
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We first go to London and speak with an expert on British extradition law, David Bentley, an associate fellow of International Law at Chatham House. We discuss extradition as it applies to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange who has just been granted political asylum by Ecuador and is holed up in the Ecuadorean embassy with the UK police outside waiting to arrest him for extradition to Sweden. |
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Then we look into the hysteria over terrorism that was at fever pitch before the London Olympic Games, leading presidential candidate Mitt Romney to criticize alleged deficiencies in security. Dr John Meuller, who has an article in the latest issue of International Security, “The Terrorism Delusion: America’s Overwrought Response to September 11”, joins us. He is quoted in articles in Foreign Policy and at Salon.com by Glenn Greenwald, debunking sham “terrorist experts” masquerading as objective scholars, shilling for the Terrorism Industrial Complex. |
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Then finally we speak with the inventor of a revolutionary light bulb that uses minimal energy and will last for generations. Daniel Lang joins us. He just unveiled BriteSol Inc’s breakthrough technology at Senator Harry Reid’s National Clean Energy Summit in Las Vegas with former president Bill Clinton and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. We discuss how his invention, which will be given way for free to developing countries, is expected to save energy and reverse global warming. |
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August 15 - War Fever on the Rise in Israel; How Iran Views an Israeli Attack; An Analysis of Romney's Taxes From Tax Analysts
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We begin with the roiling rumors of war with Iran in the Israeli press, buttressed by remarks from the outgoing head of Israel’s home front defense who expects a 30 day war on several fronts with only 500 Israeli casualties. A specialist on Israeli military and foreign policy at the Brookings Institution, Natan Sachs, joins us to assess the likelihood of an Israeli attack on Iran before the November elections. |
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Then we get an Iranian perspective on the possibility of a war with Israel that Iranian President Ahmadinejad dismissed with bravado saying, “Israel is too weak to face up to Iran’s military”. Rasool Nafisi, an expert on the Pasdaran, the Guardians of the Revolution, who are the power behind the Supreme Leader, joins us to discuss whether targeting the leadership and the homes of senior figures in nuclear and missile development, scenarios that are contained in a purported leaked Israeli memo, would result in regime change. |
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Then finally, with Ann Romney telling NBC News that two years of taxes are all we are going to get from the Romney’s, we discuss what Mitt Romney might be hiding with Lee Sheppard, a contributing editor to the influential provider of tax news and analysis, Tax Analysts. She just published a report at Tax Analysts, “Your Mitt Romney Tax Issues Cheat Sheet”. |
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August 14 - Ryan Reignites the War on Women; Media Wars in the Middle East; Wind Energy on the Move
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We begin with a perennial issue that divides if not dominates American politics, and that is abortion, now returning to center stage with Paul Ryan on the Republican ticket. Best-selling author Frank Schaeffer joins us. He is the son of Francis Schaeffer who began the anti-abortion movement in this country and was one of the founders of the religious right. We discuss the latest round of abortion politics brought on by Paul Ryan who opposes all abortions including those for victims of rape, as well as all forms of contraception. |
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Then, as the proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran over Syria is not just being fought in the streets of Aleppo, but is raging over the airwaves across the Arab world, we look into the media wars in the Middle East. An expert on the Arab media, Marwan Kraidy, a professor at the Annenberg School of Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, joins us to discuss the double standard in coverage of the Arab spring revolutions by Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya. |
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Then finally, while Mitt Romney was in Ohio today accusing Obama of waging a war on coal, the president visited Iowa to tout wind energy. Dr Harold Prior, the founder and Executive Director of the Iowa Wind Energy Association joins us to discuss a thriving and growing industry that employs 75,000 Americans and generates 50 gigawatts of power. An industry that Romney dismisses as “imaginary” and Ryan says is a “fad”. |
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August 13 - Is Netanyahu About to Bomb Iran?; Paul Ryan's Appeal to Blue Collar Voters; "Letters to a Young Activist"
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We begin and go to Israel where there are intensifying reports in the press that Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Barak are determined to bomb Iran soon, in the fall, before the American election. The former spokesman for Shimon Peres, Gideon Levy joins us. He has an article in Ha’aretz “The Hour of the Warmongers” and we discuss the growing alarm in Israel that their leaders are bent on war with Iran. |
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Then we go to Madison, Wisconsin and examine the local reaction to Paul Ryan’s ascendance as Vice President on the Republican ticket. Matthew Rothschild, the editor of The Progressive magazine joins us to discuss the political skills of his neighbor in nearby Janesville, who regularly gets reelected in a blue collar district, appealing to working Americans, even though his policies and priorities benefit the super-rich, undermine the middle class and punish the poor. |
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Then finally we speak with sociologist Todd Gitlin about his latest book “Letters to a Young Activist” which teaches protestors and dissenters how it was done in the 60’s and how it can be done more effectively today. As America lurches further and further to the right, we discuss idealism, identity politics and the legacy of activism in the 60’s and whether similar protest movements can be revived today. |
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