July 29, 2009, 11:38 am
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.
July 26, 2009, 2:14 am
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.
July 26, 2009, 1:51 am
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.
July 10, 2009, 9:33 am
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.
July 10, 2009, 9:24 am
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.
July 4, 2009, 12:53 am
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.
