bm129 Playing Politics with Immigration in the Netherlands

Anyone who remembers the murder of the film director Theo Van Gogh is likely to remember the person who wrote the film that he would later be murdered over. Somali born asylum seeker and member of Dutch parliament Ayaan Hirsi Ali has won international admiration as well as cirticism over the past few years, as an outspoken critic of Islam. Now a new chapter in her political career, the attempted deportation and the political and perhaps social fallout that follows. Famed videoblogger Marc the Mindcaster returns to the program to explain it to we the non-Dutch who are trying to make sense of it all.

AudioCommunique #129 (mp3)

Useful Links:

Ayaan Hirsi Ali is all over YouTube, go watch
The NYTimes article about the recent events

Music:

K’Naan – Hoobaale
Neil Young – We Need a Leader

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podcast made possible by you the listener and also Springheeljack.net

Seeking the Truth about Charles Taylor

Tonight I was hoping to get the “ok” from Pauline in Ivory Coast to do the podcast that focuses on Charles Taylor, which we’ve been discussing in sporatic email. Anyone who either reads the Known Universe or heard my program about the conflict in Ivory Coast remembers Pauline, the roving reporter transplanted from Amsterdam to Abidjan. Last I spoke with her she had just returned from a visit to Dakar, Senegal. Talk about adventure!

You may recall my post about a month ago bringing up the topic of Charles Taylor and pondering whether or not he is a sociopath, and generally discussing his alleged crimes. Pauline read it, and offered another point of view on the whole thing. She’d just returned from Liberia, and mentioned how in reality, many people there still support their former president and despite all the things he stands accused of, think his actions were justified. I was a bit surprised to hear it, although I think it’s a normal response in many cases that the abused still love the abuser.

But I leave the details and the closer analysis to the podcast, as soon as I reconnect with her. In the mean time I’m sorting through more details of his life, things I hadn’t considered before. Here are some eye-opening highlights:

– Taylor actually broke out of a Massachesetts prison back in in 1984! Where he was being held for embezzling almost 1 million dollars from a Liberia related institution. When I say broke out, I mean hollywood style, complete with rope of bed sheets, sawing through bars, and a getaway car. Talk about good training for later becoming president.

– In 1997, after leading one faction of a civil war in Liberia, elections were held and he ran for president. One of his campaign slogans was, “He killed my Ma, he killed my Pa, but I will vote for him.” – He went on to win by a landslide.

– Pat Robertson, famous televangelist who occasionally urges his viewers to assasinate world leaders, struck a deal with Taylor back in 1994. The deal gave Robertson the right to the diamond rich mines of Liberia, which were transported via airplane through his Operation Blessing relief organization. Robertson told his viewers that those flights were actually flying relief supplies to the victims of the genocide in Rwanda.

All this being said. I’ve never been to Liberia. I’ve never walked a day in the shoes of a Liberian, and certainly will never fully understand how all that trauma from so much war and manipulation can effect you. All the more reason I look forward to hearing from Pauline, who fortunately for all of us, has been looking into these questions, and trying to gather more information and testimony from people who lived it and continue to live in the new Liberia, post-Charles Taylor.

Monday Top 4 from my Feedreader

Rainy days ahead in Amsterdam. The Red August has been properly covered so hopefully nor rain nor empty beer bottles will find their way into the boat. But nevermind that… there’s a whole world going on out there.

Instead of starting a conversation about the very peculiar situation with just who is leading the Polish government now, I instead refer you to the Beatroot and all his hard work. If there were a poll (pun intended) about what EU country was the wackiest, Poland would have to be a strong contender for 1st place, things never seem to go as planned over there.

In keeping with the recommended reading rundown for today, I threw my hat into the discussion on Majikthise, where L is talking about Roman Polanski and whether people should support the work of someone who’s done something morally questionable. This theme has been discussed on this blog before, but she’s got a big comment debate raging over there. I used “if Hitler had been a great painter” as a hypothetical example… go read or participate if you’re curious.

And in staying with the world of art meets politics, the talented Tim of Radio Clash dedicated a show to Joe Strummer… and myself! Talk about unworthy, it was very cool to see my name in that context – go listen. Thanks Tim!

bm128 Politicizing the FDA, Holding the US Back

It was designed to be an independent agency of the US government, to maintain standards in the areas of food, drugs, and cosmetics. But in the past few years the FDA has been hesitant to make decisions, especially when it comes to anything related to sex. Why is this happening? Who is benefiting and creating this behavior? And what about cases like the Plan B emergency contraceptive and the Cervical Cancer Vaccine Gardasil, how are they affected? My guest, a veteran of the pharmaceutical industry and blogger, Ed Vawter, joins me to discuss this and more.

AudioCommunique #128 (mp3)

Useful Links:

Formerly of the FDA, Susan F. Wood in the Washington Post.
Pharmaceutical Engineering Blog on the Politicizing of the FDA
The official FDA’s q & a on Plan B

Music:

Ted Leo & the Pharmacists – Biomusicology
Mighty Mighty Bosstones – Another Drinking Song (Remedy)
K’Naan – Strugglin’

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podcast made possible by you the listener and also Springheeljack.net

130 Million Indian Voters

130 million people voted… and the elections were only in five states.. that’s how cool India is. If you consider voting cool, I mean, which is debatable. But I digress; the left parties romped in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, and Uttar Pradesh. Not interested? Those five states alone have more people then the entire United States. – Just thought I’d mention that.

One of the most fascinating cases among these states, is that of West Bengal. This state is actually home to the longest running democratically elected communist governments in the world. It has been in power for 26 years, and just got re-elected.

This makes me wonder what they’ve done to earn such a long run. Obviously there is a long established tradition of voting for the Communist Party of India-Marxist in the state, but what does this tradition consist of?

A brief search around the internet taught me a few things. One of the most interesting- every member of the CPI-M pays monthly membership fees. I also read about the very important agricultural industry of the state, yet also the big manufacturing and IT hubs they have. This tells me there’s alot of economic acitivity, but doesn’t really tell me what it is that the CPI-M does for its electorate.

Regardless of the reasons, the Indian Left has made some big gains in the last few years, and this latest gives them more influence over the national government. Which means maybe less of these pro US type deals, as we saw recently with nuclear technology cooperation. And hey, more opening up to and talks with Pakistan will likely continue. So hooray for that!

Turning to the other side of India, Dilip is in Goa.