Back Story

 

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Jewish people throughout the world have an automatic right to Israeli citizenship under Israel’s “Law of Return”. In light of more than seven million Palestinian refugees being denied any right of return to Israel the law is being questioned by prominent Australian Jews.

Antony Loewenstein is a journalist and author of My Israel Question. Antony has recently been involved in the formation of a petition asking Australian Jews to rescind their Right of Return to Israel. He is cofounder of Australian Independent Jewish Voice and you can view his personal website here.

This interview was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 10th of March.

 

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The buying and selling of weapons in international relations is usually presented as a “global arms trade”. This depiction is entirely misleading. The bulk of “arms” (ie: weapons) sales is made by the United States in a one way transaction (not traded).

Frida Berrigan is a Senior Program Associate with the New America Foundation’s Arms and Security Initiative. She coauthored the report Weapons at War 2008 which investigates the politics of weapons exports.

This interview was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 3rd of March.

 

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A civil-society based opposition movement has been growing in response to the planning and execution of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. Concerned Canadian citizens are asking questions about the cost and benefit distribution of the Games and the growing militarisation and clampdown on democratic rights.

Christopher Shaw is a professor at the University of British Columbia and author of Five Ring Circus: Myths and Realities of the Olympic Games. He is a founding member and lead spokesperson for 2010 Watch.

This interview was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 24th of February.

 

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Previously on Back Story we have investigated the failed policy that is the United States “War on Drugs”. We specifically looked at the implications that it has in US foreign policy but the “War” is an equally catastrophic failure for the US domestically.

Jack Cole is a retired detective lieutenant who worked mostly undercover in the Narcotics Bureau of the New Jersey State Police. He is now the executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP).

This interview was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 24th of February.

 

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When issues of international relations are presented in the media, especially international conflicts, they are often analysed through over simplified framing devices. For instance conflicts are often presented in isolation of the surrounding political events. Consider the term “ethnic violence” which is devoid of a political subtext other than just people killing each other. Because of the nature of the media and an over reliance on domestic government information, especially during a war, war journalism is often just propaganda used by military power to ensure public backing in conflicts.

Back Story spoke to Associate Professor Jake Lynch, Director of the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Sydney about these issues. Casey Hribar started by asking him what methods were used by the media to frame conflicts that can create a distorted viewpoint.

This interview was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 17th of February.

 

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On the 31st of December last year some 1300 activists from all over the world attempted to cross the Egyptian-Gaza border to mark the first anniversary of the Israeli attack and invasion of the Gaza Strip in December 2008. Organised as the Gaza Freedom March, the aim of the activists was to raise awareness of the continuing siege and ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza and to show solidarity with the people of Gaza.

Ali Abunimah is an analyst and the co-founder of Electronic Intifada, a non-profit, independent, online publication focussed on the Israeli Palestinian conflict. He is author of One Country: A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse. Ali was in Cairo with the Gaze Freedom March and Back Story spoke to him about the events.

This interview was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 17th of February.

 

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Given the legal development of corporations as persons and of possessing rights in domestic legal structures, how has this changed the relation between corporations and international criminal codes?

Dr Joanna Kyriakakis is a Lecturer of Law at Monash University. Her research has examined the direct application of international criminal law to companies and the possibility of extending the jurisdiction of the international criminal court to include companies, as well as individuals.

Casey Hribar started by asking her why Australia had ratified the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in 2002.

This interview was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 10th of February.

 

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With approximately 110,000 troops still stationed in Iraq as well as continually growing mega-military bases and the spending of billions of dollars, the US still appears to be no closer to harnessing the Iraqi oil fields or bringing any semblance of order to the country. Given the time and energy spent on this occupation, such a failure of the US imperial project is remarkable and worth investigating.

Michael Shwartz is a professor of sociology at Stony Brook State University and is author of War Without End: The Iraq War in Context. He is a regular contributor to TomDispatch.

Back Story first asked Michael to elaborate on the claims that Iraq has been left in environmental ruin.

This talk was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 10th of February.

 

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Back Story spoke to Bobby Sandaralingham, a representative of the Australian Tamil Congress, before the recent elections in Sri Lanka on the 26th of January and asked him to characterise the political dilemma the Tamil people were facing at the election.

Since the elections there have been a number of serious issues raised. The election saw the re-election of the incumbent president, Mahinda Rajapaksa who has since dissolved the Sri Lanka parliament. There has been disappearance and deportation of reporters and a large number of post election violence incidences.

This interview was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 3rd of February.

 

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The political aspirations of the Tamil people was brought to a decisive end in 2009 when the Sri Lankan military effectively ended the civil war after a 30-month-long military campaign against the Tamil Tigers. With thousands of Tamil civilians killed in the conflict there are continuing questions raised about human rights abuses committed by the Sri Lankan military.

Backstory spoke to Antony Gration, a representative of the Australian Tamil Congress, to get the historical context of the Tamil communities in Sri Lanka and started by asking him to give us a bit of insight into what life was like for the Tamils under colonialism from the Portugese, Dutch and the British.

This interview was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 3rd of February.

 

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Ellen Cantarow is a Boston-based journalist whose work has appeared at Counterpunch, ZNet and TomDispatch among others. She has recently written a series of essays on Palestinian non-violent resistance which can be found here. Her interview with Jamal Juma’, leader of Stop the Wall campaign, can be found here.

This interview was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 6th of January.

 

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The Climate talks in Copenhagen saw mass civil society protests and action on the streets. Demonstrators from all over the world met in Copenhagen to call for immediate necessary and just action on Climate Change. Running tandem to the official Copenhagen Climate program were peoples forums where delegations from third world countries and civil society groups could raise awareness of alternatives to the corporate dominated official outcome.

Simon Butler is a Sydney based analyst and contributor to Green Left Weekly.

This interview was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 30th of December.

 

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By any measure the conclusion of the official Copenhagen Climate Talks was a complete failure. A non-legally-binding three page document was produced at the exclusion of global south and civil society input.

Back Story spoke to David Spratt about the official Copenhagen Accord. David is a Melbourne based analyst for Carbon Equity and author of Climate Code Red: The Case for Emergency Action. His personal blog is accessible here.

This interview was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 30th of December.

 

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Now supplying 25% of imported oil to the United States, Africa has quickly increased in strategic importance to the US. This has lead to an escalation of US military and political presence in the region, a policy formally established with AFRICOM, the United States African Command.

Daniel Volman is the Director of the African Security research Program in Washington, D.C. and a member of the board of directors of the Association of Concerned Africa Scholars.

This interview was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 23rd of December.

 

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The United States “War on Drugs” has been a disaster if we consider the level of illegal drug use domestically in the US. It is a policy position that tries to find a solution to a domestic problem by looking internationally and has seen continuity across all US Administrations since the inception of the “war” in the 1980’s. One of the tactics that is used is the targeting of so called “source countries” where base ingredients of illicit substances are grown, often intervening in the countries militarily and politically.

James Brittain is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada and the author of Revolutionary Social Change in Colombia: The Origin and direction of the FARC-EP.

Back Story spoke to James about the policy of the US international War on Drugs, specifically in Colombia and the South American region.

This interview was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 16th of December.

 

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While the United Nations plays an important role in the international community it is often found lacking in the face of countries whose position within the UN’s power structure allows them to act unimpeded by decisions made by the body.

Denis Halliday spent a career at the United Nations in development and humanitarian assistance related posts. In 1997 he was appointed United Nations Assistant Secretary General and Head of the Humanitarian Program in Iraq. One year later, Halliday announced his resignation from the United Nations over the economic sanctions imposed on Iraq and the failure, as he saw it, of the UN effort to bring humanitarian aid to the country.

Back Story spoke with Denis about his experience at the United Nations, his humanitarian work and his campaign to end the sanctions on Iraq both from within and outside the UN system.

This interview was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 16th of December.

 

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This interview was conducted by Catherine Zengerer for Your Rights at Night, the SA Unions access program that focuses on activist media, work rights and social justice issues and is broadcast 6pm Thursdays on Radio Adelaide.

Catherine spoke to author and historian Humphrey McQueen who was in Adelaide to run a seminar at the Australian Education Union called “Australian Worker’s Paradise: Does it Exist?” on October 29th 2009. You can see his personal website here. Catherine started by asking Humphrey whether an Australian worker’s paradise ever existed.

This interview was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 9th of December.

 

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Mass civil actions have changed the course of history, notably the blocking of the World Trade Organization’s agenda in Seattle in 1999 an the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

In the lead up to the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference it is clear that a necessary and just outcome will only be achieved through world wide civil-society protests working in solidarity with developing and third world nations that are badly effected by climate change. We will all be worse off under a poor agreement that fails to address issues of global justice in relation to climate change, the extent of emissions targets that need to be set and a series of mechanisms to reach those targets.

Rebecca Solnit is the author of A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities that Arise in Disaster and co-author with her brother David of The Battle of the Story of the Battle of Seattle, a short anthology looking at how that watershed event has been misrepresented and what we can learn from it.

Sean Robinson started by asking Rebecca to take us back to 1999 Seattle and what the World Trade Organization was hoping to accomplish at the conference.

This interview was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 2nd of December.

 

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With the fall of the Berlin Wall 20 years ago we are now subject to interpretations of what the event meant and what it means for us today. Notable comparisons that have been drawn include contemporary economic barriers and other more material walls, infamously in the occupied Palestinian territories or the proposed US/Mexico wall.

Ramesh Jaura is the Chief Editor of Global Perspectives, a monthly magazine for international co-operation published by Global Cooperation Council and IPS-Inter Press Service Europe in Germany. He is also global editor of IDN-InDepthNews, an intelligent news analysis service on issues that impact the world.

This interview was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 11th of November.

 

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The major issues in the lead up to the Copenhagen climate change summit are the ecological debt that the global north owes the global south, the extent of emissions targets to be set and whether carbon trading can work as a mechanism to reach those targets.

None of these issues will be adequately addressed without pressure from within the summit from climate change effected third world countries and civil society groups from both the north and south pressuring governments into significant action.

Patrick Bond is the director of the Centre for Civil Society in Durban, South Africa.

Sean Robinson started by asking Patrick to give us an indication of how climate change is so devastating to the global south.

This interview was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 4th of November.

 

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September 17th saw the Obama administration abandoning plans to station interceptor missile systems in Poland and the Czech Republic. However the proposed system, which started under Reagan with STAR WARS, has not been scrapped but rather expanded to cover other regions of the world that the US has a strong strategic interest in.

Rick Rozoff is an analyst and manger of the email list Stop NATO International.

Julia Terreu started by asking Rick to give us some background on what a “missile defence system” is.

This interview was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 28th of October.

 

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Our societal notions of surveillance and privacy have shifted. The level of control that people have over their private information and how it is used has been reduced by the prevalence of social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace.

Miyase Christensen is associate professor of media and communication studies at Karlstad University, Sweden, and is conducting research in a project examining citizen perceptions of surveillance and social control.

Sean Robinson spoke to Miyase and started by asking her what constitutes “new forms” of surveillance.

This interview was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 28th of October.

 

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Last December saw the brutal Israeli military attack on Gaza that was responsible for the deaths of thousands of Palestinian civilians.

The recent release of the Goldstone Report by the United Nations Human Rights Council was met with strong opposition from Israel while the Palestinian Authority initially made controversial moves to stall the referral of the report to the International Criminal Court.

The report outlines a program of legal recommendations calling for international prosecution of members of the Israeli Defence Force and Palestinian militants on charges of war crimes.

Ali Abunimah is an analyst and the co-founder of Electronic Intifada, an non-profit, independent, online publication focussed on the Israeli Palestinian conflict.

Julia Terreu first asked Ali to outline the findings and significance of the Goldstone Report.

The video of the protests at the Chicago University speech made by former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that was mentioned in the interview can be seen here: YouTube.

This interview was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 21st of October.

 

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As the world heats up and geopolitical influences shift owing to control of dwindling energy resources, the world economy’s dependence on fossil fuel is ultimately leading both to armed conflict and environmental disaster.

Michael Klare is a Professor of Peace and World Security Studies at Hampshire College and the author of Rising Powers, Shrinking Planet: The New Geopolitics of Energy.

Julia Terreu started by asking Michael about the current state of the world’s oil usage and the projections concerning future oil production.

This interview was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 14th of October.

 

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As the world struggles with both the global financial crisis and the looming climate crisis, a new sense of urgency has entered the talks between the leaders of our main economies and the leaders of developing nations in the lead up to the Copenhagen Climate talks scheduled for early December.

But while our heads of state have managed to co-operate on an unprecedented scale to address our economic problems, the same can’t be said for our environment.

Tony Kevin is a former Australian Ambassador to Poland and Cambodia and author of a new book Crunch Time - using and abusing Keynes to fight the twin crises of our era.

This interview was conducted by Catherine Zengerer for The Wire, our news and current affairs program here at Radio Adelaide. A shorter version was broadcast on The Wire on the 24th of September. We bring you the extend interview from that session with thanks to Catherine Zengerer.

Catherine started by asking Tony about whether he thinks there is a chance that we will be able to make the necessary changes in time.

This talk was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 14th of October.

 

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Any solution to the world’s ever increasing energy requirements must be climate change friendly.

While many activists and scientists insist that renewable energies such as wind, solar and hydro electric can solve the world’s energy needs and avoid a climate catastrophe, opponents point to fourth generation nuclear power as a better solution.

Professor Barry Brook holds the Sir Hubert Wilkins Chair of Climate Change at the University of Adelaide and is an advocate of fourth generation nuclear power. Barry’s personal website is Brave New Climate.

Sean Robinson spoke to Barry and asked him to give an over view of what “fourth generation” means and how it differs from contemporary nuclear reactors.

This interview was conducted and broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 7th of October.

 

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Saree Makdisi was in Adelaide for the annual Edward Said Memorial lecture held at Adelaide University on the 19th of September. He is a professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of California in Los Angeles, UCLA and author of Palestine Inside Out: Everyday Occupation. The topic of his presentation was “From Occupation to Reconciliation”.

Julia Terreu spoke to Professor Makdisi earlier that day and started by asking him about his preference concerning the viability of the one or two states solutions for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

This interview was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 30th of September.

 

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With the coup in Honduras three months ago and the proposal for new US military installations in Colombia, the greater militarisation of South America seems to be an indication of a current right-wing push in the region.

Miguel Tinker Salas is an analyst and professor of Chicano and Latin American Studies at Pomona College in California. His latest book is The Enduring Legacy: Oil, Culture, and Society in Venezuela

Julia Terreu started by asking Miguel about the recent developments in the region.

This interview was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 23rd of September.

 

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The recent Colombian decision to allow the installation of US military bases in the country has instigated a propaganda war between Colombian president Alvaro Uribe and Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez.

The way that this and other issues of US presence in the region are framed by Latin American leaders gives an insight into the nature of the independent ALBA bloc and the power of the rhetoric used both internationally and domestically.

Nikolas Kozloff is an analyst and expert on South American Politics. He contributes articles to Counterpunch, venezuelanalysis.com, Z Net, and his own personal blog. His latest book is Revolution! South America and the Rise of the New Left.

Julia Terreu started by asking Nikolas about the role of Simon Bolivar in Latin American political discourse.

This interview was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 23rd of September.

 

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The war in Afghanistan is always presented in a positive light in the mass media and so have the recent elections despite the fact that they were held under the United States occupation of the country. The Afghani elections have been marred by allegations of mass voter fraud and corruption.

Ramzy Baroud is an analyst and author of several books including the upcoming “My Father was a Freedom Fighter: Gaza’s Untold Story”. His work has been published in many newspapers and journals and he is the editor of Palestinian Chronicle.

Julia Terreu started by asking Ramzy whether the media’s cheerleading of the US involvement in Afghanistan is typified by the way in which the use of unmanned drones are given such a positive spin.

This talk was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 16th of September.

 

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It has been four years since Hurricane Katrina lashed New Orleans. The poor effort to bring relief to the city in the wake of the tragedy are well known but after four years you might expect to see some real difference being made in a country with an economy large enough to fight two wars simultaneously. The sad news is that homelessness in New Orleans is still a major problem and some 70 000 homes lay totally abandoned.

Jordan Flaherty is a union organiser and editor for Turn Left Magazine.

Julia Terreu first asked Jordan about the general condition of the city four years after Katrina.

This talk was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 16th of September.

 

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Much like Tibet, the conflict in the Western region of Sudan is a highly publicised and fashionable issue. The conflict in Darfur is usually presented in the media as Arab on Black violence, or an apolitical “ethnic violence” which serves a convenient political narrative in the west. Recently, Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir was indicted by the International Criminal Court on counts of war crimes. This is the first time in history that the ICC has indicted a sitting head of state and the exact repercussions of this in the international community are still unknown.

Hussein Yusuf is a PhD student at the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University and Contributor for Foreign Policy in Focus in Washington DC.

Julia Terreu started by asking Hussein about the origins of the conflict and whether he could give us a brief overview of its history.

This talk was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 2nd of September.

 

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This year Climate camps are happening all across the country and next month will see South Australians taking mass action at the destination of the world’s largest coal train: Port Augusta.

The Climate Camp is designed to engage anyone interested is the issues of climate change in acts of education, direct action, sustainable living and building a people’s movement to effectively tackle climate change.

Julia spoke to Brendan De Paor-Moore and Riley Ashton, two of the organisers of te Climate Camp. You can see the Climate Camp website here.

This talk was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 26th of August.

 

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As part of the activities for Israeli Apartheid Awareness week at the University of Adelaide, Action for Palestine was pleased to host Avigail Abarbanel to speak about Apartheid in Israel.

Avigail Abarbanel is a professional psychotherapist who was born in Israel and served for two years in the IDF. Her experience has greatly shaped her political views and she has been active in many campaigns against military injustice and human rights abuses in the Middle East and Australia. You can find her personal website here.

This interview was conducted by Catherine Zengerer for The Wire, our news and current affairs program here at Radio Adelaide. We bring you the extend interview from that session with thanks to Catherine Zengerer.

This talk was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 19th of August.

 

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“Avaaz”, which means “voice” in many Asian, Middle Eastern and Eastern European languages is the name of the world’s largest global online civic advocacy organisation. The aim of Avaaz is to channel progressive international sentiment to oppose policies shaped by political elites and multinational corporations.

Ben Wikler is a campaign director for Avaaz.org where he oversees the coordination of activiam on climate change, global health and other issues.

This interview was conducted by Catherine Zengerer for The Wire, our news and current affairs program here at Radio Adelaide. We bring you the extend interview from that session with thanks to Catherine Zengerer.

This talk was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 19th of August.

 

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The United States has been covertly intervening in Afghanistan since 1979. With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the events of September 11 we have seen a complete military occupation of the country for the last 8 years. So far, the Obama Administration has continued the previous Bush policy in Afghanistan, recently sending in more troops and expanding the war into Pakistan.

Malalai Joya is a female Member of Parliament and women’s rights activist in Afghanistan. She was recently in Australia to promote her book Raising My Voice and her message that Australia and its allies should not be fooled by Afghanistan’s claims to have become a democracy or the US insistence that this is their primary motive in their intervention. You can see her personal website here.

This interview was conducted by Catherine Zengerer for The Wire, our news and current affairs program here at Radio Adelaide. A shorter version was broadcast on The Wire on the 8th of July. We bring you the extend interview from that session with thanks to Catherine Zengerer.

Catherine started by asking Malalai about her background as an activist in Afghanistan.

This talk was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 22th of July.

 

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Most of the world and in particular the Middle East awaited the Obama speech held at Cairo University on the 3rd of June, labelled as it was by the Obama administration as “a new beginning for the Middle East and the United States”. One of the most important issues that Obama was to address was the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.

Julia spoke to Ali Abunimah, an analyst and the co-founder of Electronic Intifada, an non-profit, independent, online publication focussed on Israeli/Palestinian issues. Julia started by asking Ali about the reaction to Obama’s speech.

This talk was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 22nd of July.

 

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June 30th saw the “withdrawal” of US troops from Iraqi cities while the Obama administration has promised a complete withdrawal of US troops in Iraq by 2011. What are the particulars of this policy and what does this tell us about how the new administration is addressing the Iraq question.

Michael Shwartz is a professor of sociology at Stony Brook State University and is author of War Without End: The Iraq War in Context. He is a regular contributor to TomDispatch.

Julia started by asking Michael about the patronising language used by the US administration and mass media and whether this is indicative of the policies being implemented in Iraq.

This talk was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 22nd of July.

 

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The continuing situation in Iran has vast repercussions for the region and the world. It is still not completely clear how US and Israeli policy will shift towards Iran, whether the US is still open to talks or we will see an escalation in animosity. And as for the Iranian people, do the recent events open up a political space that will enable them to push for greater freedoms and how will this sit with the continuing proponents of the Islamic Revolution?

Pepe Escobar is a correspondent for Asia Times and an analyst for The Real News Network. He has made frequent visits to Iran and is the author of Globalistan.

Julia started by asking Pepe whether he could outline the conflict at the very top of the regime.

This talk was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 8th of July.

 

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The fall of communism in the Soviet Union is one of the most politically significant events in the last twenty years. This event has been used as proof positive that socialism is an unworkable system that inevitably leads to totalitarianism and oppression. Capitalism, we are told, now stands alone as the only viable economic system in the market place of ideas.

Sam King is regular contributor to Direct Action.

Craig started by asking Sam how much influence the fall of the Soviet Union had on the world debate between capitalism and socialism and the alleged viability of either system.

This talk was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 8th of July.

 

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The long standing blockade of the island nation of Cuba is just one in a series of measures the US has used to try to bring the socialist revolution to it’s knees thereby proving the superiority of the free market system.

Recently pressure has been mounting on President Obama to end the blockade on Cuba and bring some sort of normality to relations between the two nations.

Marcel Cameron is an analyst and contributor to the monthly newspaper Direct Action. Marcel has visited Cuba several times and has studied the revolution for many years. Julia also took this opportunity to talk to Marcel about the recent coup attempt in Honduras.

Julia started by asking Marcel what the official stated aim of the US were when initiating this blockade.

This talk was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 1st of July.

 

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In 2002 a military coup occurred in Venezuela to depose the left wing government of Hugo Chavez. Later it was discovered that the United States, clearly backing the coup ideologically, was also involved in it’s financing.

Just recently documents have come to light that show that the US has been spending millions of dollars a year on programs in Bolivia to undermine the government of indigenous president Evo Morales.

Eva Golinger was instrumental in uncovering the US connection with the 2002 coup against Chavez and was one of those who discovered the documents concerning US involvement in Bolivia.

Julia spoke to Eva earlier this week and started by asking her about the US attitude towards the Morales government.

This talk was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 24th of June.

 

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The bankruptcy of huge corporations like General Motors in the US is a sure sign that the global financial crisis has some real teeth.

President Obama’s bailout of the financial sector and some large manufacturers has been reported in such a way as to hide the harsh consequences imposed on the American working class as a result of these bankruptcies.

Julia spoke to Greg Palast, a freelance journalist from the US who has been keeping a keen eye on the way autoworkers have been treated in the wake of GM’s collapse. You can see Greg’s personal website here . She started by asking Greg about the extent of the situation, how many workers were involved and what happened to GM’s assets.

This talk was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 17th of June.

 

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Iceland was recently hit hard by the global financial crisis, suffering the collapse of all of its major banks whose combined debt was many times greater than the country’s GDP. During the initial stage of the economic crisis there was great political unrest culminating in a number of large protests in the country’s capital, Reykjavik. Emergency elections were held giving the Social Democrat/Left Green coalition 34 seats in the 63-seat parliament.

Julia spoke to Jordan Shilton, a commentator at World Socialist Web Site about the recent political and economic situation. She started by asking Jordan about how the policies of the new coalition compare to the previous government.

This talk was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 10th of June.

 

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Recently a discussion has surfaced about whether population control schemes could feature in the policy aims of the Australian Climate Change movement.

Simon Butler is an analyst and contributor to Green Left Weekly who argues that the proponents of population control schemes completely miss the underlying causes of climate change.

Julia started by asking Simon about the history of such schemes and the lessons we can learn about their previous implementations.

This talk was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 10th of June.

 

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“Taxation is theft” or the equivalent is echoed around the American mass media as if it were a founding principle of the nation. However, this is completely apt when it comes to the Obama administration’s bailout policy.

Andy Kroll is an analyst and regular contributer to Tom Dispatch who has written about the way taxpayers are being deceived.

Julia started by asking Andy just how big the bailout has blown out to.

This talk was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 10th of June.

 

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Global military spending annually amounts to $1.2 trillion.

Military spending has been continuously on the rise. Leading the way is the US who accounts for nearly half of the world’s total, distantly followed by the UK, China, France and Japan each with 4 to 5% share.

Julia spoke to Anup Shah who is a political, economic and environmental commentator who runs the website Global Issues

This talk was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 3rd of June.

 

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Despite the uncertainty in the global economy today, China has no external debt, billions of dollars on US assets and three of the top five banks on the world.

Catching up with the United States has long been China’s aspiration and Beijing is putting a huge amount of energy, money and manpower into doing just that.

China is aiming to become a superpower in every sense: In culture, economics and technology.

Julia interviewed Dilip Hiro, a contributing journalist to The New York Times, The Guardian and The Washington Post about the rise of China and the perception of its rise in the west.

This talk was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 3rd of June.

 

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Michael Tubbs is a former lawyer and organiser for the Communist Party of Australia who has recently self published “ASIO: The Enemy Within”. During his professional and personal life, Michael has repeatedly come into contact with ASIO. He has broad familiarity with its operations and the infamous “ASIO file”, having one himself as well as legally representing defendants in the ASIO Appeals Tribunals.Tubbs brings 30 years of research and experience to his analysis of our own secret police force.

This wealth of information available to Tubbs puts him in the unique position to assess ASIO, he uses a large cross section of ASIO files kept on his friends and associates to clearly demonstrate the scope of ASIO’s intrusive and extensive spying program. Rather than focussing on threats to Australia’s “national security”, ASIO has been focussed on domestic spying of what it considers to be anyone from the “centre-left” politically, making it no more than an extreme ideological police force.

Tubbs’ book charts the growth of ASIO and its authority, especially recent increases to its power, under the rubric of the “War on Terror”, which has placed ASIO dangerously beyond political and judicial control.

Copies of his book are available from
Search Foundation
Level 3, Suite 3B
110 Kippax St, Surry Hills 2010
Ph 9211 4164, Fax 9211 1407

Julia started by asking Michael about the known extent of the size of ASIO’s operations.

This talk was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 27th of May.

 

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In April of this year, after ten years of “people’s war”, the Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M) was swept into power with a clear democratic mandate to make changes to the country’s socio-economic structure.

May saw the Maoists leave government in frustration after their proposed changes were systematically impeded by established elite power structures backed by foreign interests.

Julia spoke to Ben about the circumstances surrounding the Maoist’s decision and the effect of this on the Nepalese political landscape. Julia started by asking Ben for some background on the Maoist movement.

Ben Peterson is a Resistance member reporting on the political situation in Nepal for Green Left Weekly. You can read Ben’s blog here.

This talk was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 27th of May.

 

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John Feffer talks about the recent and ongoing pirate attacks on commercial shipping routes off the coast of Somalia. The mass media often equated these actions to that of terrorists so is the response from the United States going to fall under the “War on Terror”?

Julia started by asking John about whether he though the pirates had any specific ideology.

John Feffer is editor of Foreign Policy in Focus.

This talk was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 13th of May.

 

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Mike spoke about the continuing turmoil in the Israeli and Palestinian territories and the upcoming Palestinian day of commemoration, Al Nakba.

Mike Khasam is a representative from the Australian Friends of Palestine.

This talk was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 13th of May.

 

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Michael Klare discusses the escalation of violence during the Global Financial Crisis, in particular the Mexican drug trade and recent pirate attacks off the coast of Somalia.

Michael Klare is a Professor of Peace and World Security at Hampshire College Massachusetts.

This talk was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 6th of May.

 

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Julia spoke to Professor Ira Chernus about the ongoing United States policy of a “war on terror”. What this term means, it’s use and future use, along with the accompanying policy is discussed in light of Obama administration moves away from such rhetoric. But what affect does this have on policy?

Ira Chernus is a Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Colorado and author of Monsters to Destroy - The Nonconservative War on Terror.

You can see his homepage here.

This talk was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 6th of May.

 

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University of Adelaide Geology Professor Ian Plimer has recently published “Heaven and Earth”, a book “aimed at the average punter” in which he refutes the notion that climate change is happening by the hands of humanity.

The book has received extensive mass media coverage including three positive pieces in The Australian newspaper. Barry Brook, a colleague of Professor Plimer’s, challenges his arguments and questions the evidence Plimer uses in his book. Brook has appeared to a much lesser extent in the mass media.

Craig Nielsen took this opportunity to talk to Professor Brook about Plimer’s book and the general state of the “climate debate” in academia and the mass media.

Barry Brook holds the Foundation Sir Hubert Wilkins Chair of Climate Change and is Director of Climate Science at The Environment Institute, University of Adelaide. You can check out Barry’s blog Brave New Climate for his review of Plimer’s book, ongoing discussion and media links.

This talk was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 29th of April.

 

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Freelance journalist Musafa Qadri talks about U.S. President Obama’s new strategy concerning the war in Afghanistan and the role Pakistan is to play in that conflict. How have things changed with the new administration?

This talk was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 15th of April

 

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Journalist Kim Bullimore is an International Womens’ Peace Service member who has extensive experience in Gaza. 

Julia spoke to Kim concerning the aftermath of the Israeli invasion of Gaza in late 2008.

This talk was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 15th of April

 

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Angus is the editor of climateandcapitalism.com and founder of the Eco-socialist International Network.
He is also associate editor of Socialist Voice and the director of the Socialist History Project.

Ian was on tour in Australia in the run up to the World at a Crossroads conference to be held in Sydney on the Easter weekend.

Ian’s talk addressed the link between our capitalist economic system and the degradation of our environment. This talk was recorded at the Adelaide South West Community Centre on Sunday the 5th of April.

This talk was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 8th of April

 

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Political analyst Sameer Dossani talks about the global financial crisis and the myths surrounding it’s cause and U.S. capitalism. He discusses what will be the likely attempts to recover from the crisis and lessons to be learnt from countries following policies different to that proposed by the World Bank and the I.M.F.

This interview was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 18th of March

 

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Founder of Axis of Logic , Les Blough talks about the attitude of Cubans towards the Obama administration. U.S. President Obama’s desire to “bring Cuba in from the cold” is discussed by Les from a Cuban perspective.

This interview was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 25th of March

 

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Tom Englehardt is the co-founder of TomDispatch.com a network of scholars and academics critical of the imperialist endeavours of the U.S. He discusses the “Language of Empire” as it used by the U.S. administration and media to describe, obscure and justify U.S. imperialism.

Julia started by asking Tom about the implication of US Defence Secretary Robert Gates’ uses of the term “putting an Afghan face on the war in Afghanistan” in regards to the imperialist motivations of the US.

This interview was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 25th of March

 

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The fourth speaker at the Climate Emergency - No More Business As Usual Conference in Adelaide on the tenth and eleventh of October 2008 was Barry Brook, who is the Director of the Research Institute for Climate Change and Sustainability, and is co-author of the books Southeast Asian Biodiversity in Crisis and Tropical Conservation Biology.

 

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Could the European Union play a more constructive role in justly resolving the Israeli/Palestinian conflict than the United States of America has thus far?

Julia Terreu spoke to Ramzy Baroud, who is Editor-In-Chief of Palestine Chronicle.

 

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How should Australia make itself both ecologically and economically sustainable and tackle climate change?

Doctor Mark Diesendorf spoke at the Climate Emergency - No More Business As Usual Conference in Adelaide on the tenth and eleventh of October, 2008. Diesendorf is a senior lecturer at teh Institute Of Environmental Studies at the University of New South Wales. He formerly was Vice-President of the Australia & New Zealand Society For Ecological Economics, was the Foundation Director of the Institute For Sustainable Futures at the University Of Technology in Sydney, and Adjunct Professor of Sustainability Policy at Murdoch University. He also co-founded and is formerly the Vice-President of the Sustainable Energy Industries Council of Australia. Diesendorf is the author of the book Greenhouse Solutions With Sustainable Energy and is co-editor fo the book Human Economy - Ideas For An Ecologically Sustainable Future.

 

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In December 2007 Peru and the United States of America signed a Free Trade Agreement. This Agreement has been accused of weakining Peruvian environmental and labour standards, and has sparked protests.

Julia Terreu spoke to Mary Tharin, who is a Research Associate for Council Of Hemispheric Affairs.

 

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What is the current situation regarding Palestinians and Israelis? How close are they to a just peace?

Julia Terreu spoke to Sara Roy, who is an Associate at Harvard Univeristy’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies.

 

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How should Australia deal with the issue of human-caused climate change?

On the tenth and eleventh of October 2008  in Adelaide a public conference was held called Climate Emergency - No More Business As Usual. One of the speakers at the conference was David Spratt. Spratt is a businessperson, climate policy analyst and is a co-founder of Carbon Equity, which is an organisation advocating personal carbon allowances as the fairest means of rapidly combating climate change. He is also, along with Philip Sutton, co-author of the book Climate Code Red - The Case For Emergency Action.

 

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The right to housing is enshrined in the Belgian constitution. However, homelessness remains a continuing problem in Belgium. Why is this so? Also, what can be done about it?

Julia Terreu spoke to Dave Cronin from Inter Press Service.

 

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What kind of government does Cuba have?

Julia Terreu spoke to Marcel Cameron from Direct Action.

 

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In 2003 the United Nations Security Council announced a multinational military presence in Iraq in cooperation with Iraqi forces while Iraq makes the transition to democracy. In 2007 the Iraq government unsuccessfully opposed the extension of this multinational military presence. A Status Of Forces Agreement - or SOFA for short - is an agreement between the United States of America and the countries where American military bases reside. Currently a Status Of Forces Agreement is being negotiated between the American and Iraqi governments to replace the Untied Nations multinational military presence.

Julia Terreu spoke to Frida Berrigan, who is the Senior Program Associate of the Arms & Security Initiative at the New America Foundation.

 

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The neo-liberal free market economic policies that were formulated and encouraged by economists Milton Friedman and a group known as “The Chicago Boys” are now being challenged by a new wave of independent thinkers both in South America and in the West. One famous, Nobel Prize-winning American economist who has criticised neo-liberal free market economics is Joseph Stiglitz. In 2008 newly elected Paraguayan president, the ex-bishop Fernando Lugo, invited Joseph Stiglitz to Paraguay to discuss neo-liberaism, and Stiglitz was able to propose a post-Washington Consensus on economics.

Julia Terreu spoke to Research Fellow at Council Of Hemispheric Affairs Gustavo Setrini\.

 

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The Bangsomoro people are a Muslim community who live in the south of The Philippines. Currently a rebel group calling itself the Moro Islamic Liberation Front is fighting for autonomy for the Bangsomoro.

Julia Terreu spoke to Peter Sales, who is a senior lecturer of History and Politics at the University of Woollongong and is also a Research Associate at the University of The Philippines.

 

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Recently the governments of Bolivia expelled the American ambassador to Bolivia. Not long after that the Venezuelan government expelled the American ambassador to Venezuela. Is this a sign of growing solidarity between Latin American nations?

Julia Terreu spoke to German sociologist Heinz Dietrich, who is based in Mexico and who often contributes to Venezuela Analysis.

 

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Israel has testy relations with its neighbours Lebanon and Syria, and occupies the Shebaa Farms and Golan Heights from them respectively.  is there a chance for a just peace between the three nations?

Julia Terreu spoke with Alain Gresh, who is an analyst for Le Monde Diplomatique.

 

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An arms trade fair, named the Asia Pacific Defense & Security Exhibition, was scheduled to be held in Adelaide from the eleventh to the thirteenth of November 2008. However, it was cancelled due to protests.

Julia Terreu spoke to comedian/musician/singer/songwriter/activist Soursob Bob, who was one of the people opposed to the Asia Pacific Defense & Security Exhibition.

 

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Recently the Argentine government introduced tax reform legislation intended to distribute resources more equitably.

Julia Terreu spoke with Michael Cohen, who is Professor of International Affairs at The New School and is Director of its Observatory on Latin America.

 

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The nation of Armenia became independent after the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics collapsed in 1991. What is the situation in Armenia today? Also, what are Armenia’s relations like with other countries?

Julia Terreu spoke with Muriel Mirak-Weissbach, who is an analyst and a frequent contributor to Global Research.

 

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There is a growing unrest among workers’ in China, who are thus organising for their rights, even though there is only one union that is legal in China. How effective are these industrial actions? How effective can they be? What challenges do they face?

Julia Terreu spoke with retired American air transport union President Carl Finamore.

 

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In 2008 Argentine President Christina Fernandez de Kirchner attempted to bring reforms to the way resources are distributed in Argentina. Thus, she angered wealthy Argentine land-owners, who halted the reform process.

Julia Terreu spoke with Michael Cohen, who is Professor of International Affairs at The New School and is the Director of its Observatory on Latin America.

 

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What is the background of the recent war between Georgia and Russia over the Georgian province of Ossetia? Has the Western media’s portrayal of it been accurate and fair?

Julia Terreu spoke with Michael Klare, who is a Professor of Peace & World Security Studies at Hampshire College. He is also a columnist for Foreign Policy In Focus, and author of the book Rising Powers, Shrinking Planet: The New Geopolitics of Energy. 

 

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The Indian province of Kashmir has been the scene of lethal violence over many years. What is the latest situation regarding this conflict? What effects could it have?

Angana Chatterji is the Associate Professor of Social & Cultural Anthroplogy at the California Institute of Integral Studies. She also works for the International Peoples’ Tribunal for Human Rights and Justice in Indian-Administered Kashmir.

 

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The recent release of hostages held by the Colombian rebel group FARC received widespread media coverage, and was a publicity victory for Colombian President Alvaro Uribe.

What kind of government does Alvaro Uribe lead? What does he stand for? What are his policies?

Julia Terreu spoke to Rodrigo Acuna, who is a Research Assistant in Spanish Studies at MacQuarie University in Sydney, Australia.

 

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On Sunday the tenth of August 2008 the people of Boliva held a referendum. A victory for the “yes” vote would mean the democratically-elected President of Bolivia Evo Morales would be allowed to continue his term in office. A victory for the “no” vote would mean Bolivia would call another Presidential election and Evo Morales would have to run as a candidate again if he wanted to be President. The “yes” vote was victorious, winning 63.5 per cent of the votes.

What do Evo Morales and his party stand for? What have their policies been so far? What problems do they face?

JuliaTerreu spoke to Chris Sweeney, who is a Research Assistant for Council on Hemispheric Affairs.

 

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While the dictatorship of Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe has received condemnation from Western governments for its human rights violations, other African dictatorships receive less or no condemnation from those same Western governments.

Julia Terreu spoke with Stephen Zunes, who is a professor of Politics and International Studies at San Francisco University, the author of the book Tinderbox: U.S. Middle East Policy & The Roots Of Terrorism and the editor of the book Nonviolent Social Movements.

 

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What are the causes of world hunger today?

Julia Terreu spoke with Anup Shah from Global Issues.

 

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The Afghan Mobile Mini Circus for Children is a charitable organisation that educates children in Afghanistan in performing arts. Mark Lavis, a Canberra University student, recently unicycled from Canberra to Adelaide to reaise money for the Afghan Mobile Mini Circus for Children.

Julia Terreu spoke to Mark Lavis.

 

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Recently the East Timorese/Indonesian Truth & Friendship Commission released its report on the human rights violations in 1999 in East Timor during the run-up to the independence referendum. What does this report reveal? What was Australia’s role in the 1999 violence?

Julia Terreu spoke to Bruce Haigh, who is a retired Australian diplomat and the author of the books The Great Australian Blight and Pillars Of Fear.

 

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Is the U.S.A. government’s strategy in Iraq effective in enabling safety and security?

Julia Terreu spoke to editor of Political Affairs magazine Joel Wendland.

colm-bryce.mp3

 

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In 2006 a group of Northern Irish peace activists disrupted the operations of military contractor Raytheon by breaking into one of its offices and destroying some equipment. The activists, who came to be known collectively as the Raytheon 9, were tried and found not guilty, the court finding that they had acted legally by preventing war crimes.

Julia Terreu spoke with one of the Raytheon 9, Colm Bryce.

g8.mp3

 

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The G8 Summit was held recently in Hokkaido, Japan, where the richest nations of the world discussed possible solutions to the problem of climate change. How do the solutions recommended at the G8 Summit compared with those recommended by the United Nations? 

Julia Terreu spoke with Waldon Bello, who is a columnist for Foreign Policy In Focus, a senior analyst at Focus On The Global South and a professor of sociology at the University of the Philippines.

 

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Poverty is endemic in Africa despite the involvement of numerous international organisations to eradicate it. Who and what is responsible for the the continuation of poverty in Africa?

Julia Terreu spoke to Sameer Dossani, who is a contributor to Foreign Policy In Focus and is a director of 50 Years Is Enough. 

 

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There is mounting pressure on Japan to change its constitution and become part of increasingly Militarised US allies.

Julia Terreu spoke with Gavan McCormack a coordinator of Japan Focus and the writer of Client State: Japan in the American Embrace.

 

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What are we likely to see from the Australian Rudd Goverment when engaging the new USA president, be it Barack Obama or John McCain?

Julia Terreu spoke with Michael Fullilove the director of the Global Issues Program at the Lowy Institute, currently he is a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institute based in Washington DC.

 

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On the eighteenth of June, 2008 the Egyptian government brokered a truce between the Israeli government and Hamas. How is this truce holding up? And what has been the situation in Gaza since the truce was called?

Julia Terreu spoke to journalist and International Womens’ Peace Service member Kim Bullimore, who is currently stationed in Gaza.  

 

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How do different Christian demoninations in the United States of America relate to the nation of Israel?

Julia Terreu spoke to Ramzy Baroud from Palestine Chronicle.

 

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The American government is conducting a massive surveillance operation called “Maincorp”, which targets American civilians.

Julia Terreu spoke with freelance journalist Christopher Ketcham.

 

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Julia Terreu spoke with Chris Carlson a constributer to Venezuela Analysis about the Interpol report and its findings.

 

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Julia Terreu and Paris Dean spoke with Murial Mirak-Weissbach, a frequent contributer to Global Research

 

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Guantanamo Bay is a U.S.A. military base currently being used as a gaol for people the U.S.A. considers terrorism suspects and enemy combatants. How did the U.S.A. acquire this territory? What is the history behind it? 

Julia Terreu and Paris Dean spoke to Freeda Berringer, the senior program associate at the Arms and Security Project of the New America Foundation and is a columnist for Foreign Policy In Focus.

 

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The bio-tech industry, which engineers genetically-modified foods, is promoting itself as an industry combatting climate change. Julia Terreu spoke to Hope Shand, who is a research director for the ETC Group.

 

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“The Erased” are the eighteen thousand residents of Slovenia whom in 1992 the Slovenian government stripped of their citizenship. Julia Terreu spoke to John Feffer from Foreign Policy In Focus.

 

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In February, 2008 Pakistan held its first elections after protests and political unrest followed the sacking of the Judiciary and the Chief Justice Iftinkar Chaudery. The election resulted in a coalition between the Pakistani Peoples’ Party and the Pakistani Muslim League. Many Pakistanis believed the coalition would bring more democracy, stability and the reinstatement of Chaudery as Chief Justice. But has the Pakistani government done these things?

 Julia Terreu and Paris Dean spoke to Farooq Tariq from the Labor Party of Pakistan.

 

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A debate is under way in the United States of America as to whether the Iraqi or American government should pay for the reconstruction of Iraq. We spoke to Erik Leaver, who is the Outreach Director for Foreign Policy In Focus.

 

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Palm oil is extracted from the fruit of the African palm oil tree (Elaeis guineensis). It is an ingredient in many products and can be used as a feedstock for biofuel. However, in South East Asia, to make way for palm oil plantations, rainforests are being cleared and indigenous people are being forcibly evicted from their lands. Also, toxic, pollutive pesticides are used on the palm oil crops. We spoke to Martin Pritchard from Palm Oil Action Group and Friends Of The Earth.

 

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The war on Iraq has seen the displacement of thousands of Iraqi citizens into to the surrounding countries. Women are particularly vulnerable and The United Nations High Commissioner has seen a pattern of Iraqi women turning to prostitution.

Julia Terreu spoke to freelance journalist Rana Al Aube, who focused on the issue of Iraqi refugees in Syria.

 

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ECPAT is an organisation dedicated to combatting the commercial sexual exploitation of children, such as child pornography, child sex tourism, child prostitution and child sex slavery. The Australian branch of ECPAT is also known as Childwise.

 Matt Buckley spoke to Bernadette McEnamin, the founder and CEO of Childwise.

 

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Luis Posada Carriles is wanted in Venezuela and Cuba for terrorism. However, currently he is living in the United States of America, and the U.S.A. government refuses to extradite him.

We spoke to Carol Williams, the Caribbean bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times.

 

 Palestinian Arab Israelis Face Eviction: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The Israeli public housing company Amidar is attempting to evict 497 Palestinian Arab Israelis from their homes.

We spoke to Muhammed Zeidan from the Arab Association for Human Rights

 

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The Howard govenrment’s intervention into Australian Aboriginal communities in the Northern Terretory marks as yet another intervention which has failed the Aboriginal inhabitants of this nation. The Northern Terretory intervention has been inherited by the  new Federal Government in office , headed by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. Are we likely to see new developments?

We spoke with Jon Altman, the director of the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research at the Australian National University.

 

 US Contractors L-3/Titan: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The private contracting of intelligence work is now firlmy entrenched in the hands of various private contractors based in the US. L-3/Titan is one of those companies that is involved in Intelligence service to the US Military establishment.

We spoke with Pratab Chaterjee from corp-watch, who has completed a mojor report on L-3/Titan. 

 

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The National Womens Working Centre in Australia has been threatened by the Federal Government cutting back its funding, which would mean the closing down of the National body.

Catherine Zengerer, a Radio Adelaide Journalist spoke to Sandra Dann, the director of the South Australian wing of the Womens Working centre.

 

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Western Sahara is a territory on the north-west coast of Africa that has been annexed by Morocco since 1975. We spoke to Kamal Fadel from the Australia Western Sahara Association.

 

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The growing population of undocumented immigrants in the USA is astonishing, the consequences of this  has meant that many immigrants face exploitation and discrimination. 

 We spoke with Ana Avendaño an Associate general Council and Director, Immigrant Worker program of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Oranisations (AFL-CIO).

 

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Tibet is a country that has been annexed by China since 1951. The Chinese Government has transmigrated members of its own population to Tibet and has suppressed Tibetan culture, language and dissent.

We spoke with Matt Wade, Dharamsala correspondent with several Australian newspapers.

 

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The Headscarf has become a polorising issue for all political parties in Turkey and is proving to be a  divisive instrument of both the right and the left of the political spectrum.

To talk to us about the debates in Turkey is professor of global and international studies  at the University of California-Santa Barbara, she also writes for Middle East Report.

 

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China is the world’s most populous nation with the world’s fastest-growing economy. Is the growth of the Chinese economy having a positive effect on the Chinese population and environment? 

We spoke with Professor Mobo Gao, who is Chair of Chinese Studies and Director of the Confucius Institute at the Centre for Asian Studies at the University of Adelaide.

 

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Diego Garcia is one of the Chagos Islands, and is the site of a strategically-located United States military base. In order to establish the base, the Chagos Islanders were forcibly expelled by the British Government and have since been struggling for the right to return.

We spoke the American University’s Assistant Professor of Anthropology David Vine, who is working on a book - Island Of Shame: The Secret History Of Exile And Empire On Diego Garcia. The book is due out in March/April 2009.

 

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With an impending election in 2009, the Bachelet govenrment is facing a population which has become disillusioned with the progress of its social policy and its shift to the right.

We spoke with Rodrigo Acuna, a freelance journalist based in Sydney who epecialises in Latin American politics.

 

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Drew Hutton is a long time social activist.  He began protesting the Vietnam War during the Bjelke-Peterson years in Queensland and has maintained his activisim since.  Now, he’s most heavily involved in environmental issues and is a member of both the State and Federal Green Party.

 We spoke with him on his recent visit to Adelaide.

 

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Cuba has been classified by the World Wild Life fund as the only sustainable nation in the world, since the fall of the soviet union Cuba had to instigate radical change in order to meet the needs of their population. How did Cuba become the only current sustainbale nation in the world?

With spoke with  Roberto Perez a Cuban biologist and Permaculturalist who is one of the leaders of the Cuban Example.

 

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Jose Luis Rodrigues Zapatero, the leader of the Spanish SocialistWorkers Party (PSOE) was returned to power in the elections held 9th of march 2008. However neither the Socialist party of Zapatero nor the opposition Popular Party (PP) were able to win a clear majority. What was the  platform the socialist party took to Spanish citizens? and what is likely to face the Zapatero government  in the coming years?

To give us context on the Spanish elections we spoke with Pablo Ouziel who is an activist,  freelance writer and sociologist based in Spain. He  has written for diverse media including Znet, Palestine Chronicle, Thomas Paine¹s Corner and Atlantic Free Press.

 

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Hugo Chavez has dramatically impacted the population in Venezuala through his program ‘Socialism in the 21st Century’ and his criticism of neo-liberalism and US foreign policy in Latin America.

We spoke with Frederico Fuentes, an Australian journalist who writes for the Green Left Weekly and Venezuala Analysis.

 

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The recent Colombian military incursion into Ecuador has set of a round of diplomatic acrobatics, with the Latin Group Summit unanimously denouncing the move as a violation of national sovereignty. Hugo Chavez and Venezuela played a key role in solving the crisis, deploying tanks to the Colombian-Venezuela border.

We spoke to Robert Naiman, a Senior Policy Analyst and National Coordinator at Just Foreign Policy. Naiman has worked as a policy analyst and researcher at the Center for Economic and Policy Research and Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch. He has masters degrees in economics and mathematics from the University of Illinois and has studied and worked in the Middle East. Naiman edits the Just Foreign Policy daily news summary and writes a blog on Huffington Post.

 

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Kim Bullemoore is a volunteer for the International Womens Peace Service and a journalist for Green Left Weekly. Here, she speaks to the Backstory team about the situation in Gaza and the West Bank.

 

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60 years ago the state of Israel was carved out of the middle-east by colonial powers delivering the Zionist movement their god-given homeland. In the process, many thousands of Arabs were pushed aside to make way for Israeli settlers.  Prime Minister Kevin Rudd motioned to celebrate the state of Israel this week in Parliament, but to the dissatisfaction of many groups and individuals, he failed to mention the plight of Palestinians, or Israel’s consistent disregard for both human rights and international law. 

We spoke to Paul Heywood-Smith who is chairperson of the Friends of Palestine Association about why he thinks the speech was both unnecessary and insensitive.

 

 Kosovo: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Kosovars just voted for independence from Serbia. But, not everyone thinks that’s a good idea.

We spoke with Kim Bytyci and George Szamuely.

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Following the splintering of the military, East Timorese politics has been turbulent to say the least. We have recently witnessed two unsuccessful assasination attempts on both Jose Ramos Horta and Xanana Gusmão, raising serious questions about the future for our neighbor in the pacific.

Paris Dean and Jake Wishart spoke to regular columnist and veteran journalist Mike Aarons, author of ‘East Timor: A Western Tragedy.’

 

 Solomon Islands: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) force has been in place since 2003. Sent to quell violence erupting ver issues of independence and land rights between the islands of Guadalcanal and Malaita, the RAMSI force has had an unsettled tenure. With a new federal government in Australia are we likely to see any difference in the way the RAMSI force operates.

We spoke with Tim Anderson, lecturer at the School of Political Economy, Sydney University and a member of the Committee of Management of AID/WATCH.

 

 The Solomon Islands: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Arch enemy number one for the US government, Fidel Castro, hasstepped down as the leader of Cuba and handed over to his Vice President and brother, Raúl. So, what for Cuba now?

We spoke with Saul Landau,scholar, author, commentator, and filmmaker on US foreign and domestic policy issues.

 

 White Power: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The National Party was the governing party of South Africa from June 4, 1948 until May 9, 1994, and was disbanded in 2005. Its policies included apartheid, the establishment of a republic, and the promotion of Afrikaner culture

We spoke with Christi van der Westhuizen - an editor with Inter Press Service and an honorary research fellow with the School of Politics, University of KwaZulu-Natal - about her new book on the rise and fall of the National Party.

 

 North Asian arms race: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

With all the focus on the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan not as much attention is paid to the enormous build up of arms and the political manoeuvrings that are occurring in Northern Asia. The US, China, Russia, North and South Korea, and Japan have all been involved in brokering a deal between the US and North Korea to end the stand-off between these two nations.

We spoke with John Feffer, co-director of Foreign Policy In Focus at the International Relations Center about the relations between the countries and its impact on the region.

 

 Sorry: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This week, Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, opened the Australian Parliament with a formal statement saying sorry to the members of the Stolen Generation.

We spoke with Mary Hooker, one of the Stolen Generation and member of the Stolen Generation Commmission in NSW.

 

 Japan and China: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Japan and China have a long history of conflict. In the 970s the two countries normalised relations but, there still is a lot f bad feeling between the two nations which continues to frustrate closer ties.

We spoke with Professor Mel Gurtov, Professor of Political Science and International Studies at the Hatfield School of Government, Portland State University and Editor-in-Chief of Asian Perspective, on his ideas fro reconciling the two great Asian nations.

 

 Lebanese politics: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Since the term of President Emile Lahoud came to an end, the Lebanese Parliament has attempted to meet 13 times to choose the next President but every time negotiations have broken down. This despite the two major factions in the Parliament both happy with the suggested candidate.

We spoke with Timor Goksel, for 25 years the spokesman for United Nations Interiom Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and now lecturing in politics at the American University of Beirut.

 

 US presidential nominees: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The protracted nomination process for the US Presidential candidates for the next election is dragging on at present. It’s about halfway through and the numbers are finally beginning to thin - John McCain appears to have the Republican nomination sown up but Hilllary Clinaton and Barack Obama are slugging it out to become the Domocrat nominee.

We spoke with Professor Stepehen Zunes, Professor of Politics and International Studies at San Francisco University. He has served as a US political analyst for local, national, and international radio and television, and is a columnist for the National Catholic Reporter and CommonDreams.org.

 

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On the 27th January, former President of Indonesia, Suharto, passed away. We spoke with Professor Tim Lindsey, Director of the Asian Law Centre & Associate Dean (International) in the Faculty of Law at the University of Melbourne, about the Suharto legacy.

 

 Gaza: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

After some months of covert work, members of Hamas managed to pull donw the wall between Gaza and Egypt and thousands of Gazans flooded across the border to stock up on the essentials denied to them by the constant Israeli blockade of Gaza.

We spoke with Jeff Halper, founder of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) a non-violent, direct-action group originally established to oppose and resist Israeli demolition of Palestinian homes in the Occupied Territories.

 

 Kenya: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Violence has erupted in Kenya following Presidential elections in December. People took to the streets claiming the election counting was rigged. Over six hundred people were killed as the government cracked down on the protests.

We spoke with Professor Horace G. Campbell, Professor of African American Studies and Political Science at Syracuse University in Syracuse New York. Professor Campbell is the author of several books, his laste being “Reclaiming Zimbabwe: The Exhaustion of the Patriarchal Model of Liberation”