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Talk Nation Radio for May 30, 2007

Rob Boston of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State

Produced by Dori Smith at Pacifica Affiliate WHUS at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, CT

Total Running Time: 29:07
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On May 23rd the legal director for Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, Ayesha N. Kahn, submitted letters to the Secretary of the Air Force and Acting Secretary of the Army. She pointed out legal problems involved with having evangelical organizations promote a Memorial Day weekend at Stone Mountain Park in Georgia as an official Military event.

Kahn’s letter pointed out that in addition to religious speakers the event promoted hourly flyovers by Air Force Jets, including B-2 stealth bombers, parachute jumps by the U.S. Army’s Silver Wings Parachute Jump Team and speeches from top military and former military officials and evangelical Christian preachers. She added that U.S. military participation in the gathering in Georgia violates the U.S. Constitution and Military officials were advised that they should not endorse or promote a festival arranged by evangelical Christian groups. They responded positively and toned down their participation, stating that the US Military does not officially endorse such events. But what does the marriage between evangelicals and branches of the U.S. Military imply? What are evangelical leaders after and what do they hope to achieve?

We also discuss Memorial Day weekend specials that ran on CNN. Sounding like producers for a televangelist’s hour, the creators of these specials posed a question: Were there dinosaurs on Noah’s Ark? Did dinosaurs swim with humans? The science on evolution was reduced as segments were trimmed to fit into headline news stories about Iraq.
Does such coverage give listeners the impression that creationism as a ‘scientific theory’ is gaining ground in America? Why have major TV networks such as MSNBC, CNN, and FOX covered the Creation Museum in Kentucky so extensively? What if public school officials begin to arrange to send students there? We look at the use of the media and influence over corporations.

Musical intro is produced by Fritz Heede

Talk Nation Radio for May 24, 2007

Laila el-Haddad from Gaza and Nicholas Pelham from Israel

In the Brink: The Middle East Crisis Deepens

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Laila el-Haddad has been reporting on the political violence and Israeli shelling in Gaza. She describes what has been going on as at least partly due to wider policies as the US has been supporting Fatah while isolating the elected leaders of Hamas.

Has Israel society become apathetic? Could the recent crisis mean the end to Gaza? Laila el-Haddad wrote in her blog that not only is there no light at the end of the tunnel, but there is no tunnel.

Nicholas Pelham warned about the consequences of US and Israeli policy toward Hamas in his 2006 story, “The Blowback from Ostracizing Hamas” ABC News Online, 20 July 2006 ABC News Online. He says the International Crisis Group, where he is a Senior Analyst, has been meeting with all of the parties and finding clear diplomatic solutions.

We also look at Lebanon and the increase in instability there as the US continues to try to prop up Fouad Siniora. What are some of the political ramifications of Lebanon’s shelling of a Palestinian refugee camp? We raise questions about a February report from Seymour Hersh as it appeared on Democracy Now and also on Wolf Blitzer’s CNN news program.

Did US support for extremist Sunni organizations as a way to prop up the Siniora Government in Lebanon play a role in the recent events there? The Siniora Government has been targeting a group calling itself Fatah al-Islam which it claims is a tool of Syria . The Government in Damascus denies that this is the case, so does the group, but their flight into a Palestinian refugee camp in Tripoli after an apparent bank robbery may spark wider war unless all of the parties can come to the table for talks.

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Transcripts and discussions about this program are available at http://www.talknationradio.org and http://www.talknation.org
http://www.whus.org to listen live at WHUS FM 91.7 Radio for the People at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, Connecticut.

Talk Nation Radio for May 8, 2007

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Co-produced by Dori Smith and David Morse at WHUS, a Pacifica Affiliate at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, Ct.

Jan Pronk issues a warning that war could break out between North and South Sudan after a referendum vote for separation. ‘The people in the south will vote for autonomy because there is a peace agreement between the North and the South but they don’t trust Khartoum at all because they see what Khartoum is doing in Darfur,’ he explained.

An influx of peacekeeping forces in advance of a peace agreement could serve to exacerbate the situation. He discusses political solutions with Morse. They discuss other actors, the significance of corporate interests and China, as well as the conflict in Chad.

See http://www.talknationradio.org for transcripts and http://www.david-morse.com for information on the books, articles, and interviews of David Morse.