The Peace & Justice Report

Last week,Don&Bob interviewed Deborah Sweet on the Peace & Justice Report.Debra Sweet is the Director of World Can’t Wait, initiated in 2005 to “drive out the Bush regime” by repudiating its program, forcing it from office through a mass, independent movement and reversing the direction it had launched. Based in New York City, she leads World Can’t Wait in its continuing efforts to stop the crimes of our government, including the unjust occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan and the torture and detention codes, as well as reversing the fascist direction of U.S. society, from the surveillance state to the criminalization of abortion and immigrants. She has worked with abortion providers for twenty-five years, organizing community support and helping them withstand anti-abortion violence. Since the age of 19, when she confronted Richard Nixon during a face-to-face meeting and told him to stop the war in Vietnam, she has been a leader in the opposition to U.S. wars and invasions. Debra says, “Stop thinking like an American, and start thinking about humanity!”

Roy Bourgeois was on the phone this past Tuesday with us,he spoke from his office outside the gates of Fort Benning in Columbus,Ga where thousands will gather from Nov 18-20 for the annual SOA Vigil where they will take a stand for justice, to close down
the SOA and to resist US militarization. In 1990, Roy Bourgeois founded the School of Americas Watch, an office that does research on the US Army School of the Americas (SOA). Each year the school trains hundreds of soldiers from Latin America in combat skills all paid for by U.S. taxpayers. Since Roy began the SOA WATCH he has spent over four years in US federal prisons for nonviolent protests against the training of Latin American soldiers at Ft. Benning, Georgia. www.soaw.org
Roy also spoke to us about the ongoing struggle within the Catholic Church around the issue of women being ordained priests.

This past Tuesday we featured interviews with Kathy Kelly and Ann Wright.
We also played a recording of Marian Wright Edelman,she spoke at the
dedication of the Martin Luther King Memorial(10/16/11)
Kathy Kelly is an American peace activist, pacifist and author, a three-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee, one of the founding members of Voices in the Wilderness, and currently a co-coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence. She has been described as "probably the most respected leader in the American peace movement".[1] As part of peace team work in several countries, she has traveled to Iraq twenty-six times, notably remaining in combat zones during the early days of both US-Iraq wars. She has been arrested more than sixty times at home and abroad, and written of her experiences among targets of U.S. military bombardment and inmates of US prisons. Ann Wright is a former United States Army colonel and retired official of the U.S. State Department, known for her outspoken opposition to the Iraq War. She received the State Department Award for Heroism in 1997, after helping to evacuate several thousand people during the civil war in Sierra Leone She is most noted for having been one of three State Department officials to publicly resign in direct protest of the March 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Marian Wright Edelman is an American activist for the rights of children. She is president and founder of the Children's Defense Fund.

Earlier this month John interviewed Steve Lendman,Steve is the author
of How Wall Street Fleeces America: Privatized Banking, Government Collusion and Class War. This book provides a powerful tool for showing angry Americans how they've been fleeced, including a plan for constructive change.

John and Bob from the Peace & Justice Report were in Freedom Plaza
covering October2011.On Saturday afternoon Ralph Nader motivated the crowd with a powerful speech detailing the criminal behavior of Corporate
America as well as the power of the people to bring about change
through growing occupations.

This morning we interviewed Lisa Simeone,Lisa is one of the planners of October 2011, during this event
people will NONVIOLENTLY resist the corporate machine to demand that our resources are invested in human needs and environmental protection instead of war and exploitation.Starting on October 6, 2011, thousands of concerned Americans will assemble in Freedom Plaza, in Washington DC to take control of our country and our lives. We will occupy the plaza and hold a People's Assembly where we come up with just and sustainable solutions to the crises we face and demand that these solutions be presented and that the people's needs be addressed. We will plan and engage in creative acts of civil resistance and demand that our inherent rights and freedoms be protected, and that our children have a chance to live in peace,to breathe clean air, and to grow edible natural food.
Lisa is currently the host of three nationally syndicated programs: Soundprint, Chicago Symphony Orchester Series and NPR World of Opera

This show was dedicated to the new booklet by Stephane Hessel, "Indignez Vous!" Hessel’s short work stands as a call to commitment to the youth of the world to stand up and claim their world away from the multi-national corporations which seek to subjugate the working people of the world to the goals of neoliberal capitalism. Johannes Werner from WSLR’s Florida Caribe joined us in the studio and Chris Hedges from Truthdig was with us on the phone. The discussion was lively and positive.

Today, we interviewed Steven Salaita, an associate professor at Virginia Tech, and talked to him about his new book “Israel’s Deal Soul.” Dr. Salaita brings up many controversial subjects in his book but deals with each in an even and well documented manner. He is aware of the nature of the topics he covers but doesn’t hold back the truth of the situation for the Palestinians and their struggles. During the first half of the show we talked with Dr James Petras,the discussion centered around the new booklet by Stephane Hessel, “Indignez Vous!” As a sociologist, Dr. Petras was able to deconstruct the booklet and to show that it lacks documentation and at times, Dr. Petras thought, overstated its position.

This summer Don had a discussion with David & Winonah Myers
The 50th anniversary of the Freedom Rides is being celebrated this
year.A U.S. Supreme Court decision prohibited segregation at interstate public transportation facilities - at airports, train and bus stations - but the law was ignored in the Deep South. People of color were supposed to know their place,no matter what federal judges said.
David and Winonah joined the Freedom Rides as college students,they were
two of nearly 400 freedom riders who had been arrested,many served brief jail sentences and happily got out.Not Winonah Myers, who stubbornly refused bail, refused even to file an appeal. Jailed on June 11, she stayed behind bars until Christmas Day.Of all the Freedom Riders, white or black, she served the longest sentence.

Don and Bob interviewed Cheri Honkala on the 8/16 show,Cheri is considered by many to be the nation's leading advocate for poor people's rights. She is the National Coordinator for the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign. Honkala speaks worldwide about the struggle against poverty in the U.S., and the denial of basic economic human rights.Single mom, formerly homeless, recipient of numerous awards for her leadership in the struggle to end poverty. Mother and son (the actor, Mark Webber,) lived on the streets homeless, using their experience to organize the poor. Playwright of "Taking it Back," a one-person play about her life pregnant and homeless.
Cheri Honkala was one of the keynote speakers at the Democracy Convention(8/24-8/28) in Madison,Wi.
Cheri will talk with us about her keynote address as well as her thoughts on the current state of affairs and its affect on the poor.She will also
talk about her campaign for Sheriff of Philadelphia.Her
campaign has been progressively building since collecting enough signatures to get her name added to the ballot as a Green Party candidate last month.

On July 5th Landon Frim was interviewed on the Peace and Justice Report. Mr. Frim is a doctoral candidate and Instructor in the Dept. of Philosophy at the Stony Brooke Campus of the State University of New York. Landon talked about some of the hard choices that must be addressed by the State of Israel. Mr. Frim's latest article, A Realist's Utopia, published on Counterpunch formed the basis of the discussion. He is also the co-chair of the Faith and Socialism Committee of the Socialist Party USA. Landon spoke at length about how the aims of faith on social issues are the same as those of the Socialist Party

Last month we spoke with Jay Alexander,Founder & President of We Can Take It,Inc which is a grassroots campaign and non-profit organization named after the unofficial motto of the 20th century United States Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). A large scale
government investment in Human Capital.­This government workforce program will provide work, remedial and vocational training
for unemployed and unskilled single young men and women,unemployed war veterans and reservists through conserving the country's natural resources.
We Can Take It, Inc. will advocate this workforce to the United Nations to promote and implement the CCC template around the world under the
direction of UN peacekeepers. Their actions will promote peace and work toward saving our planet's environment.
We ask all American Citizens to TAKE ACTION to contact their
Federal Government Policy Makers and URGE their officials to co-sponsor
HR 494 - the 21st Century U.S. Civilian Conservation Corps Act. (Formally H.R. 4318.)
http://www.wecantakeit.org

We Spoke with Medea Benjamin,she is a co-founder of the feminist "anti-war" group Code Pink which advocates for an end to the Iraq & Afghanistan Wars and the prevention of future wars
The conversatin centered around The National Gathering You Don’t Want to Miss! MOVE OVER AIPAC
CODEPINK: Women for Peace together with over 100 peace and justice groups, including the US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), Jews Say No!, and the Interfaith Peace Builders are organizing Move Over AIPAC, a gathering in Washington, DC from May 21-24, 2011, to expose the AIPAC lobby and build the vision for a new US foreign policy in the Middle East. Timed to coincide with the annual policy meeting of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), activists and concerned citizens from around the country will convene in the nation’s capital to learn about the extraordinary influence AIPAC has on U.S. policy and how to strengthen an alternative that respects the rights of all people in the region. You’re invited to be a part of this important national happening! Register today!
Move Over AIPAC is endorsed by changemakers including: writer Alice Walker, Holocaust survivor Hedy Epstein, The Israel Lobby authors John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, past American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee President Abdeen Jabara, authors Nadia Hijab and Naomi Klein, Jewish Voice for Peace ED Rebecca Vilkomerson, former US Senator James Abourezk, Israeli activist and researcher Dalit Baum, blogger/writer Laila El Haddad, clown doctor Patch Adams, Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb, union organizer Bill Fletcher, analyst Phyllis Bennis, human rights advocate Anna Baltzer, and many more.

Earlier this year we interviewed Ray Arsenault,Ray's most recent publication is Freedom Riders 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice,detailing how the first Freedom Rides developed, from the personal level to the legal maneuvering involved. His narrative touches on elements from the jails of Alabama to the Kennedy White House.
A PBS documentary,Freedom Riders,based on his scholarship is set to premiere on 5/16 at 9/8c,Ray along with 178 participants of the Freedom Rides recently appeared on "The Oprah Show" celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the rides.
Raymond Arsenault is the John Hope Franklin Professor of Southern History and Program Advisor of the Florida Studies Program at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, where he has taught since 1980. A specialist in the political, social, and environmental history of the American South, he has also taught at the University of Minnesota, Brandeis University, and at the Universite d’Angers, in France, where he was a Fulbright Lecturer in 1984-85. From 1980 to 1987, he was the co-director of the Fulbright Commission’s Summer Institute on American Studies at the University of Minnesota; he has served as a consultant for numerous museums and public institutions, including the National Park Service, the National Civil Rights Museum, the Rosa Parks Museum, and the United States Information Agency; and he has lectured on American history and culture in a number of countries, including France, Great Britain, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Norway, Turkey, and Jordan.

Dahr Jamail returns to the Peace & Justice Report,Dahr is an award-winning, unembedded journalist, who has written "Beyond The Green Zone". This book goes past the polished desks of the corporate media and Washington politicians to tell first hand of the reality of life under U.S. occupation. He is also the author " The Will To Resist " which tells the hidden story of American soldiers turning against military occupation.
Dahr reports for Democracy Now!, has appeared on Al-Jazeera, the BBC and NPR, and numerous other stations around the globe. Dahr is also special correspondent for Flashpoints, and is now an Al-Jazeera online correspondent.
Dahr has been covering the BP Gulf disaster extensively over the past year,today we will discuss with him the consequences of the reckless response to the spill,how the people and the Gulf are coping as we approach the first anniversary of this catastrophic event.

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