Friday News Roundup - Hour 2
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2011-08-19/friday-news-roundup-hour-2
President Obama and European leaders escalated pressure on Syrian President Assad, calling for him to resign. World stock markets tumbled on fears of a new global recession. Opposition fighters in Libya’s western mountains claimed control of the country’s last functioning oil refinery. Turkey launched a heavy air and artillery assault on Kurdish guerrilla targets in northern Iraq. Insurgents staged an attack on a British Council office in Kabul. And India’s leading anti-corruption campaigner won the right to stage a public hunger strike. A panel of journalists joins Diane for the international hour of The Friday News Roundup.
Guests
David Ignatius
columnist, The Washington Post; contributor to “Post Partisan” blog on washingtonpost.com. His latest book is titled "Bloodmoney: A Novel of Espionage."
Nancy Youssef
Pentagon correspondent, McClatchy newspapers.
Thom Shanker
Pentagon correspondent for The New York Times.
Comments
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World events triggered by world's leader.
Luckily our extensive and well armed and trained(by Blackwater !!!- current contract 'z'(formerly BWA) has well prepared US for the 'new' times(just like the olde tymes).
All the above same for China. Change z nee BWA to PLA.
Mean while we watch the plan unfurl- er- unfold... as we hurl.
Too sick and tired to care anymore... hope fundamentalist neighbors correct AND all burns soon. Be relief from heat and drought and joblessness and hopelessness and- crap- now we are MORE depressed.
And so go the economies of the world.
Not quite desperate and disparate enough yet... soon my pretties... soon... as the governments continue to follow God's plan.
Whether liberty phoenix emerges from cinders NOT our problem. May be no one's(last time India's records remained).
Our leaders- saving the planet by eliminating humans.
Should work. We love a plan carried out by others. Why work when others terrorize- er- terraform for you.
Still think so smart scavenging ICs and such from our 'lost' craft? Voluntary distribution of such devices necessary for our maxi-sized ROI of planet would have been resisted.
Now your young demand IT.
(insert evil unworldy LOL)
We can be sure that Diane and guest will bring up the killings in Israel today as they should...but the Rehm show has been ignoring the killings of Palestinians by Israeli soldiers all year. Ignoring ongoing expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank and illegal housing in occupied East Jerusalem.
The new screener at the Rehm show has instructions not to allow questions about Israel's destructive behavioor. The other day during a conversation allegedly about Syria callers brought up protest in Bahrain, Iran. Diane diverted the conversation herself by repeating unsubstantiated claims about Iran. But later during the show a caller mentioned Israel's role in the region, alleged Mossad involvement in Syria etc and Diane interruped the female caller (who was being respectful) and talked over her the whole time. Diane said "this conversation is about Syria" Yet had as stated earlier allowed callers to divert to Bahrain, Iran and a few other countries. What hypocrisy.
Something is going on at the Rehm show. Blocking quesitons about Israel's destructive behavior. But today Diane and guest will be all over these killings in Israel. Just watch and listen
U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy is promoting a bill to suspend U.S. assistance to three elite Israel Defense Forces units, alleging they are involved in human rights violations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Leahy, a Democrat and senior member of the U.S. Senate, wants assistance withheld from the Israel Navy's Shayetet 13 unit, the undercover Duvdevan unit and the Israel Air Force's Shaldag unit.
Leahy says these units are responsible for harming innocent Palestinian civilians and that no system of investigation is in place to ensure that their members are not committing human rights violations. According to Leahy's proposal, U.S. military assistance to Israel would be subject to the same restrictions that apply to countries such as Egypt, Pakistan and Jordan.
When will you cover this
This week in the congressional blog"The HIll" Josh Robner wrote and article called "Hold Israel accountable with Leahy Law" In that article they explain that “the [Leahy] law applies to U.S. aid to foreign security forces around the globe and is intended to be applied consistently across the spectrum of U.S. military aid abroad. Under the law the State Department is responsible for evaluations and enforcement decisions and over the years Senator Leahy has pressed for faithful and consistent application of the law.”
Can your guest discuss the "Leahy Law"
Hold Israel accountable with Leahy law
By Josh Ruebner, national advocacy director of the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation - 08/17/11 11:52 AM ET
Apologists for Israeli occupation and apartheid claim that advocates for holding Israel accountable for its human rights abuses of Palestinians are “singling Israel out for extra scrutiny” or “holding Israel to a higher standard than other countries.”
Yet, ironically, Israel’s supporters also claim that U.S. military aid to Israel is sacrosanct and, unlike every other governmental program on the chopping block these days, cannot be questioned due to the “special U.S.-Israeli relationship." Dan Carle, a spokesperson for Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), has noted correctly that you cannot have your cake and eat it too.
In response to an article in the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz suggesting that the Vermont Senator will attempt to apply sanctions to certain units of the Israeli military for human rights violations, Carle explained that “the [Leahy] law applies to U.S. aid to foreign security forces around the globe and is intended to be applied consistently across the spectrum of U.S. military aid abroad. Under the law the State Department is responsible for evaluations and enforcement decisions and over the years Senator Leahy has pressed for faithful and consistent application of the law.”
At the Hill
In the Vogue profile, Asma al-Assad encouraged young Syrians and Palestinian refugees to become involved in "active citizenship." Where is she now? I've read that she and her children returned to London a number of months ago.
Is Saudi Arabia being hypocritical criticizing Syria, while it crushed the rebellion in Bahrain ? Thank you for the great show!
Ok there goes David Ignatius repeating unsubstantiated claims about Iran sending Syria significant support. Diane does not question is claims. Just lets him repeat them.
Diane when are you going to ask David Ignatius (others who keep repeating these claims) What are your sources for those claims about Iran?
When are you going to ask instead of allowing so many of your guest to repeat unsubstantiated claims about Iran and their involvement with Iran, as well as repeating unsubstantiated claims about their nuclear program?
When are you going to challenge these claims?
Greece, Spain, Iceland, Germany, France,.. the US?
What is tiny Switzerland doing right or wrong. I never year about fiscal issues with this country(that decided not to be part of the Euro)
So there goes Ignatius again "some of the money going to Syria is coming from Iran" Diane just does not ask Ignatius where he gets that information. Back up those claims. Diane has been allowing unsubstantiated claims about Iran to be repeated on her program with no challenging questions. Nothing. Just allows the case being built against Iran by the Iraq war thugs to be built on her program without asking challenging questions
Diane I have heard you allow other guest including David Ignatius to repeat unsubstantiated claims about Iran. When will you ask him to verify his claims about Iran? Is that really so difficult?
One would think host of MSM shows would have learned something from the unsubstantiated claims that were repeated on MSM outlets before the invasion of Iraq.
What is so difficult about asking people who repeat unsubstantiated claims about Iran to verify their sources for their often repeated claims about Iran.
Diane you are actively allowing your program to build a case against Iran based on unsubstantiated claims. Pathetic
Rick Perry may sound harsh to the left but he relates to the conservative voters. We DO want the Federal Gov out of education, we DO want welfare cut, we DO NOT want our military HEROS and our elderly to pay for Washington's carelessness, we DO want GOD involved in our country, we DO want Washington to change the way the print money and spend it. Just because the politicians in Washington now and the liberals find his comments tough only tells us THEY NEED TO GO!!! and without a cushy retirement and health care plan. Our military guys put thier lives on the line everyday and after 20 years they get partial pay and limited health care. THAT IS NOT what the conservative voters want. I am so glad that GOD is in the business of answering prayer and Washington is on borrowed time. We WILL change things with prayer!! I like your show but most of the time I find it very left of the general public and since this is OUR country......well maybe nuteral would be a better format.
Ok Have to eat these words. Amazing they were not all over the Israeli killings story
Tom's radio voice is awful. He sounds like he's whispering, or maybe, has a sore throat. As his voice is not sharp and clear to begin with, that makes him hard to hear and understand. If you have him on, again, can someone at least turn his mike up? I'm tired of playing with the volume.
Kathleen, you notice the violence in Gaza and on the Sinai border was not mentioned in this show at all. I believe you are correct in that calls are being carefully screened and any comments negative of Israel are cut off or not allowed on.
Public radio may have been threatened with further funding cuts if these kind of comments happen. We know most of the Congress is in the pockets of the Israel lobby, so it would not be surprising if Congress members would threaten funding cuts.
Yep. Over the years the Diane Rehm show has actually allowed relevant and fact based statements and questions about the role of Israel and the US I lobby in the US congress etc in the region. But no longer. I am not sure what happenned to the previous screener Dorie (she really tried to be fair in allowing callers to actually bring this issue up)
Now Diane actually interrupts or talks over when a caller brings up Israel. Last week she did this during the show on Syria. She herself brought up Iran and repeated unsubstantiated claims about Iran and then allowed calllers to bring up Iran, Bahrain etc. But when a caller brought up Israel's role in the region she said "we are talking about Syria" and then talked over the caller.
So not only are the producers, Diane Etc ignoring the I/P issue, illegal settlements being expanded, they are now giving the new screener a list of issues not to allow callers to bring up. I talked with the new screener.
Israel's role in the region is not a topic on the Diane Rehm show any longer. Not even a whisper. They are part of the team putting the attention on BAD BAD Iran. Diane allowed Ignatius to repeat unsubstantiated claims about Iran on Friday.
As former IAEA weapons inspector Scott Ritter wrote in his incredibly informative book "Target Iran" ..this is where we are headed.
Seymour Hersh has also written a great deal about this
Are you actually saying Diane Rehm (Show) is advocating for a third war against an even more populous country (than Afghanistan and Iraq? Why would she (they)? (Now I'm sure there is pressure from covert agencies and their elite interests on DRShow and screeners/ producers through American University but there must also be some pragmatic or intellectual underpinning.) Are they of a mind that war equals prosperity, or at least Oligarchic profitability? (Are they gonna give Neocon fascists another roll?) Are they Christian ideologues like a large portion of our officer corps? Are they merely trying to scare the already misinformed and panicked US electorate even more?
The truth of it all can be horrifying but it comes out in humorous ways. Diane suspects Fracking of causing earthquakes and Ira Flatow had on Laurie Garrett who observed that the same strain of Anthrax was found in Osama bin Laden's Tora Bora cave as in Tom Daschle's office.
The immediate suggestion was that OBL sent the Anthrax letters but it is easier to assume false flagged 9/11 conspirators claimed or planted it, or that they shared it with Al Queida (a network of good friends). The rabbit hole and the memory hole are very curious indeed. Kathleen, be charitable enough to concede that my friend Diane may also be in the dark.