September 24, 2009, 11:18 am
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.
September 24, 2009, 11:18 am
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.
September 17, 2009, 9:02 am
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.
September 17, 2009, 8:54 am
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.
September 3, 2009, 10:23 am
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.
