The “Golden Voice of the Great Southwest”: Legendary Folk Musician, Activist Utah Phillips, 1935-2008
26 May 2008
Utah Phillips, the legendary folk musician and peace and labor activist, has died at the age of 73. Over the span of nearly four decades, Utah Phillips worked in what he referred to as “the Trade,” performing tirelessly throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. The son of labor organizers, Phillips was a lifelong member of the Industrial Workers of the World, known as the Wobblies. As a teenager, he ran away from home and started living as a hobo who rode the rails and wrote songs about his experiences. In 1956, he joined the Army and served in the Korean War, an experience he would later refer to as the turning point of his life. In 1968, he ran for the U.S. Senate on the Peace and Freedom Party ticket. For the past 21 years he lived in Nevada City where he started a nationally syndicated folk-music radio show. He also helped found the Hospitality House homeless shelter and the Peace and Justice Center. We spend the hour with an interview with Phillips from January 2004.

Headlines for May 27, 2008
26 May 2008
IAEA Criticizes Iran on Nuclear Disclosure, Carter: Israel Has 150 Nukes, Pentagon, House to Investigate Propaganda Program, Top Military Commander Warns Troops on Political Speech, Officers Won?t Be Charged in Marine Killings of Afghan Civilians, South American Leaders Form Regional Bloc, Leader of Colombian Rebel Group FARC Dies, Chile Cracks Down on Ex-Dictatorship Forces, Oaxacan Teachers Press Strike With New Protest, Castro Criticizes Obama on Embargo Pledge, Harsh Sentences for Immigrant Workers Jailed in Iowa Crackdown, UN: Burmese Junta Blocking Relief Effort, China Could See Mass Evacuation to Evade Flooding, House Arrest Extended for Burmese Pro-Democracy Leader Suu Kyi, South Koreans Protest Easing of U.S. Beef Ban, Director Sydney Pollack Dies at 73

Memorial Day Special…Winter Soldier on the Hill: War Vets Testify Before Congress
25 May 2008
War veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan came to Capitol Hill this month to testify before Congress and give an eyewitness account about the horrors of war. Like the Winter Soldier hearings in March, when more than 200 service members gathered for four days in Silver Spring, Maryland to give their eyewitness accounts of the injustices occurring in Iraq and Afghanistan, “Winter Soldier on the Hill” was designed to drive home the human cost of the war and occupation—this time, to the very people in charge of doing something about it.

“War, Inc.”: John Cusack’s New Film Satirizes the Corruption, Profiteering and Hubris Behind the Iraq War
22 May 2008
John Cusack joins us to talk about “War, Inc.”, his new film taking on issues few in Hollywood today would dare to: war profiteering, mercenaries, political corruption and embedded journalism. A political satire, the film stars Cusack as Brand Hauser, a hit-man for hire who is deployed to the fictional country of Turaqistan to kill a Middle Eastern oil baron. Hauser’s employer is Tamerlane, a secretive for-profit military corporation headed by a former US vice president played by Dan Aykroyd. We also speak to Democracy Now! correspondent Jeremy Scahill, author of the bestselling book “Blackwater: The Rise of the World?s Most Powerful Mercenary Army.”

Juan Gonzalez on the Puerto Rico Primaries and a NYC Middle School’s Student Uprising Against Standardized Testing
22 May 2008
Juan Gonzalez reports on Puerto Rico’s contentious primary, where voters can choose a presidential candidate but can’t vote for them in the general election. And he details a remarkable boycott at a South Bronx middle school, where more than 160 students recently refused to take a three-hour standardized test. [includes rush transcript]

Johns Hopkins University Responds to Allegations Toxic Sludge Tested as Lead Poisoning Fix in Poor Black Neighborhoods
22 May 2008
Lawmakers and the NAACP last month called for an investigation into reports that federally funded scientific experiments in 2000 spread sewage sludge on the yards in poor black neighborhoods to test if it could fight lead poisoning in children. The calls came after the Associated Press ran a story on the issue. We host a debate between Dr. Michael Klag, Dean of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Dr. Caroline Snyder, Professor Emeritus at the Rochester Institute of Technology. [includes rush transcript]

Headlines for May 23, 2008
22 May 2008
Senate OKs $165B War Funding Measure, Audit: Pentagon Mishandled $8B in Iraq Spending, Mourners Bury Victims of Latest US Air Strike in Iraq, 2 Iraqi Journalists Killed in Separate Attacks, Protesters Disrupt Petraeus Testimony, Bush: US Occupation Needed to Thwart Iranian “Ambitions to Dominate” Mideast, Cuba Demands White House Answers on Opposition Funding, UN Experts: Food Crisis Violates Basic Human Rights, 3 Killed in Afghan Protest over US Desecration of Koran, UN: Burma Junta OKs Foreign Aid Workers, McCain Repudiates Hagee over Hitler Comments, Israel Arrests Outspoken Academic Norman Finkelstein

Mary Tillman, Mother of Slain Army Ranger and former NFL Star Pat Tillman, on Her Four-Year Quest to Expose the Military Cover-Up of Her Son?s Death by Members of His Own Unit
21 May 2008
Pat Tillman left behind a lucrative NFL contract to enlist in the military after 9/11. On April 22, 2004, Tillman was killed while serving in Afghanistan. He died, the military said, while charging up a hill toward the enemy to protect his fellow Army Rangers. But that wasn’t the real story. Tillman was killed by his own men. What?s more, the military knew that within hours but waited five weeks before admitting it. Four years and several probes later, Pat Tillman?s family, led by his mother Mary, are still searching for answers about what really happened. Mary Tillman has just published a book based on her review of uncensored government documents and her four-year effort to cut through misleading official accounts of how her son died. It?s called Boots on the Ground by Dusk: My Tribute to Pat Tillman. [includes rush transcript]

Headlines for May 22, 2008
21 May 2008
8 Iraqi Civilians Killed in US Attack, Iraq Boosts Purchases of US Arms, US Defends Imprisonment of Iraqi Youths, Lebanese Cabinet, Hezbollah Reach Unity Deal, Israel, Syria Hold Indirect Peace Talks, McCain to Meet Potential VP Candidates, Clinton, Obama Campaign in Florida, Clerk Error Threatens House Override of Farm Bill Veto, Admin Faces Questioning on Treatment of Immigration Prisoners, Gitmo Prisoner Recounts Torture Ordeal in House Testimony, Appeals Court Rejects ?Don?t Ask, Don?t Tell?

Former Chief UN Weapons Inspector Hans Blix on the US Rush to War in Iraq, the Threat of an Attack on Iran, and the Need for a Global Nuclear Ban to Avoid Further Catastrophe
20 May 2008
The Bush administration?s claims of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq formed the key justification for the war to Congress, the American people and the international community. As the former chief United Nations weapons inspector in Iraq, Hans Blix was at the center of the storm. From March 2000 to June 2003, Blix oversaw the UN Monitoring, Verification, and Inspection Commission’s 700 inspections at 500 sites in the run-up to the invasion. Blix is currently the chair of the Swedish government’s Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission. His latest book, just published, is Why Nuclear Disarmament Matters. Blix joins us for the hour from Stockholm, Sweden. [includes rush transcript]

Headlines for May 21, 2008
20 May 2008
Obama: Democratic Nomination ?Within Reach?, Sen. Kennedy Diagnosed with Malignant Brain Tumor, Iran Renews Diplomatic Overture on Nukes, Mideast Conflict, U.S. Denies Israeli Report of Iran Attack Plans, Bush Apologizes to Iraq over Koran Desecration, Reuters Joins Call for Probe of ?03 U.S. Attack on Palestine Hotel, Audit: White House Ignored FBI Warnings of Torture at Gitmo, Foreign Jails, Burmese Junta OKs UN Aid Flights, NYPD Charges 7 Officers in Sean Bell Killing

US Skips International Conference to Ban Cluster Bombs
19 May 2008
Representatives of more than 100 governments are gathering in Dublin, Ireland for two weeks of talks aimed at finalizing a global treaty to ban the use of cluster bombs. But the United States, historically the world?s largest producer, stockpiler, and user of cluster bombs, won?t be at the negotiations. Other major producers of cluster bombs—Russia, China, Israel, India and Pakistan—also stayed away from the talks. [includes rush transcript]

“Meet Gus Puryear: Bush’s Latest Villainous Nominee for a Lifetime Judgeship”
19 May 2008
In 2004, Estelle Richardson’s lifeless and battered body was found on the floor of a Corrections Corp. of America prison cell. Four years later, that unsolved homicide has come back to haunt Republican stalwart “Gus” Puryear, the nation’s top private prison litigator and Bush nominee for US District Court. We talk to journalist Silja Talvi.

“A Jihad for Love”: New Film Explores Challenges Facing Gay Muslims Worldwide
19 May 2008
Muslim gay filmmaker Parvez Sharma spent five-and-a-half years documenting the lives of gay and lesbian Muslims in twelve countries. His subjects include a gay imam in South Africa, an Egyptian who fled to France after his imprisonment and torture, and a lesbian couple in Turkey. [includes rush transcript]

As US Threatens Iran Over Enriching Uranium, Bush Promises to Give Enriched Uranium to Saudi Arabia
19 May 2008
The Bush administration has pledged to support Saudi Arabia?s nuclear power program, including supplying enriched uranium for nuclear reactors. The agreement came out of President Bush’s visit to the Saudi kingdom last week, during which Bush also pledged new US assistance in guarding Saudi oil reserves. [includes rush transcript]

Headlines for May 20, 2008
19 May 2008
Sen. Obama Projected to Win Majority of Pledged Delegates, Clinton Fundraiser Accused Of Trying To Buy Support of Superdelegates, Pentagon Announces Deployment of 42,000 Troops, U.S.-Backed Iraqi Troops Raid Sadr City, Probe Called for In 2003 U.S. Shelling of the Palestine Hotel in Iraq, Feith Admits “Terrible Mistakes” Made Ahead of Iraq War, UNICEF: 6 Million Children in Ethiopia At Risk of Malnutrition, Death Toll From Chinese Earthquake Tops 40,000, Burma to Let Southeast Asia Nations Coordinate Relief Assistance, U.S. Accused Of Violating Venezuelan Airspace, Cuba Accuses U.S. Diplomat of Passing Funds to Opposition Groups, Hundreds Protest Iowa Immigration Raid, Undocumented Immigrants To Be Barred from Texas Hurricane Evacuation Plans, NY Post Reporter Fired After Suing NYPD, Four Philadelphia Officers Fired After Beating

Malcolm X, May 19, 1925 ? February 21, 1965
18 May 2008
We end today’s program with a tribute to Malcolm X. He was born eighty-three years ago today on May 19th, 1925. He was assassinated on February 21, 1965, as he spoke before a packed audience in Harlem?s Audubon Ballroom. He was just thirty-nine years old. This is an excerpt of a speech Malcolm X gave at the Audubon Ballroom about half a year earlier. It’s called “By Any Means Necessary.” [includes rush transcript]

Clive Stafford Smith: US Holding 27,000 in Secret Overseas Prisons; Transporting Prisoners to Iraqi Jails to Avoid Media & Legal Scrutiny
18 May 2008
“There is a huge number of [secret prisoners] being held in Iraq, and one of the intriguing aspects of this that doesn’t get much reporting is that the US is bringing people into Iraq from elsewhere to hold them there, simply because that keeps [the media and lawyers] away from the prisoners so they can’t get any sort of legal rights,” reports British attorney Clive Stafford Smith. [includes rush transcript]

Spies for Hire: Carlyle Group to Become Owner of “One of America’s Largest Private Intelligence Armies”
18 May 2008
The secretive investment fund the Carlyle Group is in the process of buying part of Booz Allen Hamiliton, the major military and intelligence contractor. We speak with investigative journalist Tim Shorrock, author of the new book Spies for Hire: The Secret World of Intelligence Outsourcing. [includes rush transcript]

Headlines for May 19, 2008
18 May 2008
China Declares Three Days of National Mourning, Save the Children: 30,000 Burmese Children Could Starve to Death, Sen. Obama to Declare Himself the Democratic Nominee, Obama Defends Stance on Diplomacy & Iran, Five McCain Advisers Resign Over Ties to Lobbyists, Huckabee Jokes About Obama Being Shot, US Plans to Build 40-Acre Prison Site in Afghanistan, US Soldier in Iraq Uses Koran for Target Practice, Nearly 1,000 Detained in Mosul, US to Help Saudi Arabia Build Nuclear Program, Veterans Facility Urged Not to Diagnose Veterans with PTSD, Venezuela Accuses Colombian Troops of Crossing Border, Benjamin Jealous Named Head of NAACP, Sen. Kennedy Remains Hospitalized After Seizure, Jet Blue Forces Passenger to Sit in Airplane’s Bathroom, Palestinians Mark 60th Anniversary of Nakba, Israel Urges UN to Stop Using the Word “Nakba”, Roslyn Zinn, Wife of Howard Zinn, Dies

Israeli Writer-Activist Tikva Honig-Parnass, Who Fought for Israel’s Founding in 1948, on 60 Years of Palestinian Dispossession and Occupation
15 May 2008
We continue our coverage of the 60th anniversary of the Palestinian ?Nakba? and the founding of the state of Israel. We begin with Tikva Honig-Parnass, an Israeli who fought with Jewish paramilitary units and the Israeli army, participating in the military operations that expelled over 750,000 Palestinians. Today, she’s an anti-Zionist leftist writer and activist who has been involved with anti-occupation, women?s, and Mizrahi movements in Israel since the 1960s.

As Israelis Celebrate Independence and Palestinians Mark the “Nakba,” a Debate with Benny Morris, Saree Makdisi and Norman Finkelstein
15 May 2008
Sixty years since the creation of Israel and displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, we host a debate on the legacy of 1948 and the possibility of a just future for both Israelis and Palestinians with three guests: Benny Morris, seen as one of the most important Israeli historians of the 1948 war and after; Saree Makdisi, UCLA professor and author of Palestine Inside Out; and Norman Finkelstein, author of several books, including Image and Reality of the Israel-Palestine Conflict and Beyond Chutzpah. [includes rush transcript – partial]

Headlines for May 16, 2008
15 May 2008
China Earthquake Toll Tops 21,500, House OKs Iraq Withdrawal Measure, McCain Predicts U.S. in Iraq Until 2013, Palestinians Denounce Bush Visit to Israel, Residents: U.S. Attack Kills 18 in Pakistan, U.S.: 2,500 Youths Jailed in Iraq, Afghanistan, Gitmo, CIA Kidnap Trial Begins in Italy, Burger King Fires Exec, Investigator for Targeting Tomato Pickers, HIV-Positive Man Sentenced to 35 Years for Spitting at Officers, Wheelchair-Bound Scholar Dies in U.S. Jail, May 16 is Bike to Work Day, Chiding Obama, Bush Likens Iran Talks to Hitler Appeasement

Palestinian Rap Group DAM Use Hip-Hop to Convey the Frustrations, Hopes of a Dispossessed People
14 May 2008
We turn now to three young Palestinians who use hip-hop to tell their story of the Nakba and what it means to be a Palestinian growing up inside Israel. DAM, or Da Arabian MCs, is the first group of Palestinian rappers and was formed in the late 1990s. All three members were born and grew up in the slums of Lod or Al-Lyd, a mixed town of Arabs and Jews twelve miles from Jerusalem. [includes rush transcript]

As Palestinians Mark 60th Anniversary of Their Dispossession, a Conversation with Palestinian Writer and Doctor Ghada Karmi
14 May 2008
Today is the sixtieth anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel, what Palestinians call the Nakba, or catastrophe, that resulted in the expulsion and dispossession of over 750,000 Palestinians from their cities and villages. Ghada Karmi is a well-known Palestinian writer and medical doctor from Jerusalem who lives in Britain. She has written several books about Palestinian history and her own experience as a refugee, including In Search of Fatima: A Palestinian Story and, most recently, Married to Another Man: Israel’s Dilemma in Palestine. [includes rush transcript – partial]