The Peter B Collins Show » Podcast Info

Info on Podcast #109

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 23:09:14 +0000

Voices for Justice for the Palestinians, Part 2. This is the final episode of interviews from the Sabeel Conference March 5-6 in Marin County, California. Powerful voices who decry Israel’s brutal domination of the West Bank and lockdown of Gaza.
–Dr. Mads Gilbert, a medical doctor from Norway who has provided health care in Gaza for many years, describes the death, injuries and destruction caused by Israel’s massive assault on Gaza at the end of 2008 and the disproportionate impact on women and children;
–Mark Braverman, an American Jew and former Zionist, talks about his views of the occupation and the way Israel uses its power and influence to continue massive human rights violations. His new book is Fatal Embrace. Christians, Jews and the Search for Peace in the Holy Land;
–Dr. Jeff Halper, an American who moved to Israel and founded the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions talks about the dominant framing and language of the conflict, which heavily favors Israel;
–Paul Larudee, founder of the Free Palestine Movement and leader of the successful sea-based challenges to Israel’s blockade of Gaza, talks about new ways to challenge the blockade this year;
–Ms Neha Masri, an American Muslim who was born in Jerusalem, describes in her own vivid way the humiliating experience of being treated as a Palestinian at Israeli checkpoints.
Please share this podcast with friends, especially those who are staunchly pro-Israel.
My sincere thanks to the conference organizers, and Tom McAfee, Hassan Fouda and Dr. Walt Davis.

Info on Podcast #108

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:31:51 +0000

Voices for justice for the Palestinians. Part 1 of a 2 part series of interviews from activists who participated in the Sabeel Conference held March 5 and 6 in Marin County, California. Sabeel means “The Way” in Arabic, and this conference brought a range of participants from around the world. PBC opens the program with an update on concessions from Palestinian leaders, agreeing to hold indirect talks with Israel; just 24 hours later, VP Joe Biden arrived in Israel to a defiant announcement: Israel says it will build 1600 more housing units in E. Jerusalem, ignoring demands from the Obama administration to stop the illegal construction. This podcast features:
–Prof. Hisham Ahmed of St. Mary’s College, who was born in a refugee camp and became a Fulbright scholar;
–Rev. Don Wagner of North Park U in Chicago, an expert on Christian Zionists;
–Sama Adnan, founder of NewPolicy.org, which has started a political action committee to support Congress members who have a balanced position on Israel-Palestine issues;
–Omar Barghouti, a founding member of the Palestinian Civil Society Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign against Israel;
–Anna Baltzer, an American Jew and articulate advocate for the rights of the Palestinians.
Part 2 will be released in the next day or two.

Info on Podcast 107

admin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 01:13:24 +0000

Air America and liberal talk radio. Former Air America host Jon Elliott joins PBC to discuss the Obama administration’s recent discovery that conservative talk radio is a major obstacle to its agenda. We talk about the promising launch of Air America in 2004, and how the ever-changing lineup of managers and investors bungled the effort in many different ways. We also talk about the failure of Democrats and left institutions to support the separate efforts of Elliott and Collins to build and sustain a progressive media infrastructure, including talk radio. Hear how all the progressives who covered the Denver DNC convention were hidden under the escalators, while Fox was given the choice location. We reveal some inside stories that have never been made public before, and talk about how Air America’s failures have damaged the prospects for progressive talk, present and future. Be sure to listen to the end, you could win a prize and help Mr. Elliott decide what to do next.

Info on Podcast #106

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 19:58:33 +0000

Dr. Justin Frank puts Obama on the couch; Dr. Bill Perry on nuclear disarmament; Gary Chew on the Oscars. Dr. Frank wrote Bush On The Couch a few years ago, and is in the process of writing Obama On The Couch. He offers some interesting thoughts about Obama’s excessive need for bipartisan approval, how intentional his manipulation of voters was during the campaign, and the contradictions of his decision making regarding escalation in Afghanistan. Dr. Bill Perry was Defense Secretary from 1994-98, and PBC talked with him at an event in San Francisco hosted by the Ploughshares Fund where they previewed a new documentary about the “tipping point” in nuclear disarmament. Perry, along with Reagan’s Secretary of State George Schultz, former Sen. Sam Nunn and Nixon Secretary of State Henry Kissinger (!) are working together on disarmament efforts. Gary Chew, who is not a doctor, joins me to talk about this year’s Oscar nominees.

Info on Podcast # 105

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 01:15:23 +0000

Roots of CIA torture and mind control tactics; Gary Chew reviews The Ghost Writer. Dr. Jeffrey Kaye, a psychologist, and author H. P. Albarelli, Jr. talk about the upcoming trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed–who we know was tortured–and the history of CIA torture and mind control programs, including the infamous Project MK-Ultra and the use of LSD. We talk about an article they wrote for Truthout.org, available here. Kaye is a longtime critic of Bush-era policies of rendition and torture, and Albarelli’s powerful new book exposes the history back to the early 1950’s A Terrible Mistake: The Murder of Frank Olson and the CIA’s Secret Cold War Experiments. Albarelli’s book is chilling and fascinating, and shows that the US has been operating on “the dark side”, as Cheney called it, for decades. He describes the importance of the Olson case, and the large numbers of people–including children–who were slipped LSD by the CIA. Gary Chew reviews Roman Polanski’s new film, about a British ex-Prime Minister accused of torture, The Ghost Writer

Info on Podcast #104

admin — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 21:42:16 +0000

Govt. murder of Fred Hampton. Author Jeffrey Haas talks about his new book, The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther. Haas was an attorney for the charismatic Hampton, chairman of the Black Panther Party in Chicago, at the time of the police raid in 1969. Stonewalled for years by the FBI and Chicago leaders, Haas ultimately proved that the hit on Hampton and Mark Clark was part of the FBI’s Cointelpro program, with instructions from J. Edgar Hoover to disrupt black nationalist groups and “prevent the rise of a new black messiah” following Dr. King’s assassination in 1968. Haas and his underpaid colleagues at the People’s Law Office took on the FBI, the Daley Machine, and an incredibly biased judge–it took more than 10 years to win a $1.85 million settlement for the survivors and Hampton’s family. In doing so, they exposed the darkest aspects of the American system of “justice”. PBC was hosting a talk show in Chicago as the legal battle unfolded, and has personal insights about the times and some of the players. The book is fascinating, and highly recommended. Get more info here. The story is important history, and informs the resurgence of a police state in the US, where the Patriot Act was just renewed, the FBI admits wide abuse of “national security letters” and massive surveillance of our phones and emails continues under Obama.

Info on Podcast #103

admin — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 20:39:30 +0000

Prof. Beau Grosscup on US air raids in Afghanistan; Robert Cruickshank on California politics. Grosscup is Professor of International Relations at Chico State and author of Strategic Terror: The Politics and Ethics of Aerial Bombardment. We talk about the repeated incidents of Afghan civilians killed by US air attacks, which Grosscup considers “terrorism” and the way that term is re-defined to apply only to our enemies. He also talks about domestic terrorism at Oklahoma City, Ft. Hood and the recent Stack attack on the IRS office in Austin. Cruickshank is policy director at the Courage Campaign and one of many excellent contributors to the progressive politics blog about California, Calitics. We talk about eBay billionaire Meg Whitman’s massive spending to buy the governorship–using Sarah Palin campaign tactics; about Jerry Brown’s slow start on his race; about failed HP CEO Carly Fiorina’s race to unseat Sen. Barbara Boxer and Fiorina’s gutter-level attacks on her GOP opponent Tom Campbell; and about initiative battles over corporate influence, esp. the utility P G & E’s efforts to pass an undemocratic initiative to maintain its monopoly and block community power programs permitted by current law.

Info on Podcast #102

admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 01:12:00 +0000

Brad Friedman updates the ACORN smear, Prof. Marjorie Cohn comments on whitewash of torture memo authors. Friedman, of Bradblog.com, serves up admissions from GOP provocateurs Andy Breitbart and Hannah Giles that Giles and her “undercover journalist” pal James O’Keefe were not, in fact, dressed as whore and pimp when they framed ACORN workers on video. The video was used by Fox and even the New York Times to attack ACORN, and led to shameful action by Congress to strip ACORN funding. So far, the Times has refused to correct its false reporting. Send your email comments to Times Public Editor Clark Hoyt: public@nytimes.com Prof. Cohn teaches at Thomas Jefferson law school in San Diego and is immediate past president of National Lawyers Guild. She deplores the OPR report and the spin of the mainstream media that Yoo and Bybee have been exonerated, and describes how they violated professional standards and twisted their opinions to give BushCo license to torture. Join the effort to discipline Yoo and Bybee here. Cohn is co-author of the new book, Rules of Disengagement, which gives the history of conscientious objectors and legal tips to those who reject service in the current wars.

Info on Podcast #101

admin — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 00:14:00 +0000

Dr. Julien Mercille on Afghanistan. This is another in the Boiling Frogs interview series, co-hosted with Sibel Edmonds. Dr. Julien Mercille discusses the trail of Afghanistan’s drug money, the false impression given by the latest UN report on the effects of Afghanistan’s drug production, and the role of other nations and institutions including western banks. He talks about the predominant view of the US and NATO held by the majority in Afghanistan today, his interview with Malalai Joya, Afghanistan’s youngest Member of Parliament, who is well known for openly challenging the US, NATO, warlords and the Taliban, the current state of progressive movements in Afghanistan, and more. Mercille is a lecturer in US foreign policy at University College Dublin, where he moved after obtaining his PhD from UCLA. He teaches on US history and foreign policy and has published academic articles on Iran, Iraq and the Cold War, and is now researching the “War on Drugs” and Afghanistan. He has also written for various websites and magazines on those topics and others.

Info on Podcast #100

admin — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 23:02:55 +0000

Rape in the US military, clean elections for California. Col. Ann Wright, with 29 years of service in the Army and Army Reserve, offers a chilling account of sexual assault and sexual harrassment in the military–where 30% of women report being raped and 80% subject to harassment. PBC notes that the homophobic opposition to repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell does not even acknowledge the problems caused by out of control heterosexuals in the military. Here is the link to Col. Wright’s recent article that we reference; and here is the link to Penny Coleman’s article. California Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) makes the case for campaign finance reform, and Trent Lange of the fair elections coalition defines the terms of Prop 15 on the June ballot, which would set up a pilot program of publicly funded elections.