A Critical Ear

On this week’s show, we spent most of our time talking about Georgia, in light of the recent events there. We wanted to get beyond the headlines and usual frames of coverage, and believe we accomplished this through two approaches. First, we talked with Jodi Blumenfeld. A graduate student at the University of Illinois, she has participated in archaeological excavations in Georgia, and she spoke with us a little about Georgian culture, giving a more three-dimensional portrait of the country than is usually achieved in news coverage.

Second, Bob and I (Andrew) spoke about the news frames being used, and how we might contextualize the conflict. Is it as simple as “Russia is an aggressor?” Is it sufficient to look for a ‘good guy’ and a ‘bad guy’? How does this relate to resource issues (Georgia is an important distribution route for gas from the Caspian Sea to Europe)? What about politics in other former Soviet states and Eastern bloc nations?

Then a brief update on events in Bolivia and Ecuador - where offers of mediation by the government in the lawsuit against Chevron may not be the positive development one might think.

Finally, in a tribute to Mahmoud Darwish, Bob recites (in the original Arabic) from the 1964 poem Identity Card.

Write down!
I am an Arab
And my identity card number is fifty thousand
I have eight children
And the ninth will come after a summer
Will you be angry?

We close with salutations in Georgian, from Jodi.

The show is now available on Radio4All (direct mp3 link), on Audioport (mp3), and Indymedia Radio (mp3).

The show is now on Radio4All and Audioport. This week we cover more geography than usual:

• We start, as usual, with the Panos Institute news bulletin.
• Ecuador is in the process of putting in place a ban on foreign military bases
• Chevron using the US Trade Representative to put pressure on Ecuador and resist an environmental lawsuit. The money quote? We Can’t Let Little Countries Screw Around With Big Companies
• Disputes in Bolivia about attempts to reform constitution. Rich, white provinces (illegally) undertake ‘autonomy’ referendums to protect their privilege.
• Venezuela’s Citgo to offer Venezuelan coffee at their service stations. Post-air update: this is currently a pilot program in Chicago, Boston, and Philadelphia, and Citgo will expand it if there is interest.
• AIPAC-backed Congressional resolution calling for blockade of Iran losing steam. Four original sponsors have now revoked their support.
• Ultimatum on ‘Freeze for Freeze’ proposal coming up this weekend.
• Possibilities of a US ‘interests section’ in Iran.
• Prof. Francis Boyle of Illinois says Iran should sue the USA in the International Court of Justice. We discuss the positive normative and diplomatic aspects of such a move. A video interview with Prof. Boyle is available on YouTube.
• US still negotiating ’security agreement’ with Iraq - have now missed their original deadline. We discuss the issue of ‘permanent’ and ‘enduring’ bases.
• Iraqi government supports Obama’s call for a timetable on withdrawal.
• Increased opposition to calls for more troops being sent to Afghanistan - even Thomas Friedman has criticized Obama’s calls for more troops.

Yesterday’s edition of the show included an extended discussion of  the Petraeus testimony, an update on the Colombian trade agreement, a brief discussion of events in Ecuador, and of former President Carter’s visit to Palestine. Available for download from WRFU or on Pacifica’s Audioport. Starting, of course, with the Interworld Radio news bulletin.

And some advance notice: next week we’ll be interviewing author Allison Hantschel about her book “Special Plans” and neo-con Douglas Feith, whose memoir is due out shortly. Send us an email with any questions you want to ask her.

You can listen to yesterday’s edition on the WRFU site. It’s also available, of course, on Audioport.This week we talked about Iran and Iraq (and interplay between the two), Afghanistan and the IMF, and trade deals in South America. A good show all around, if I say so myself. 

Today we started with the Interworld Radio headlines, as usual, and then played some actuality from yesterday’s vigil at the veterans’ memorial in Urbana, marking 5 years of war in Iraq. Following some short discussion of the vigil, and an aborted start to an excerpt from the Winter Soldier event, we cut to an interview being conducted with Bob, live on WRFU, by broadcasters from Radio Adelaide’s Back Story. We closed out the show with the compilation from Winter Soldier (compiled by Pacifica) and a discussion of the role of such events and of independent media in providing coverage.

Thursday’s show went up on Audioport yesterday, and I’m in the (rather slow) process of adding it to Radio4All - updates as I have them.

This week we talked about the spying in Bolivia, FISA and telecoms immunity, the digital television switchover, the Smithfield SLAPP suit against Jobs with Justice, and much more.

Update:  the show is now up on Radio4All.