Beneath The Surface with Suzi Weissman

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President Obama is in Russia for his first Russian-American summit aiming to rebuild relations between the two nuclear powers. While mainstream media has stressed that Obama’s toughest act may be in balancing the power equation between Dimitri Medvedev and Vladimir Putin, Stephen Cohen, whose just released book Soviet Fates and Lost Alternatives: From Stalinism to the New Cold War goes much deeper - and here on Beneath The Surface we’ll explore the real dangers facing the historic relationship between the US and Russia. More than a ‘re-set,’ which is certainly a starter, Cohen has argued that the US has deceived and betrayed the Russians since the end of the Cold War, squandering opportunities to recreate our relationship and instead treated Russia as a vanquished power to be looted, plundered and humiliated. Can Obama’s foreign policy team, made from some of the same cast from the Clinton administration who facilitated the misdeeds, understand the depth and nature of Russian anger and the danger of further stoking it? Can Russia get some respect? How Obama handles this, Cohen believes, is a crucial test of his bold leadership.

Matt Taibbi was writing from Russia’s “Wild East” when all this transpired, doing some of the best investigative reporting of that rocky, mostly failed political and economic transition. Goldman Sachs was there too with Lawrence Summers and Robert Rubin (and their protégés) making off like bandits. Taibbi’s investigative skills, honed in Russia and sharpened ever more since his return are in full splendor with his reporting on the back story to the economic meltdown, the Wall Street system, the bubbles and busts – and this time he focuses on Goldman Sachs, and they are pretty upset with his exposé. You may have read it about it in Frank Rich’s column in Sunday’s NY Times. Taibbi’s Rolling Stone article “The Great American Bubble Machine” follows his earlier investigation into the meltdown, shows how Goldman Sachs was behind every major market manipulation since the great depression -- culminating in the internet bubble, subprime mortgages, record high gas prices, and last year's financial meltdown. And just wait until you hear what Matt Taibbi says is the next bubble slash sinkhole for US tax payer money: Matt joins us to tell the story.

And finally on tonight’s Beneath The Surface we’ll talk to Nalini Lasiewicz about some Pacifica history in preparation for the upcoming LSB (Local Station Board) elections.

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On tonight’s BTS we look at expressions of popular anger against attacks on democracy in Honduras and Iran. Honduras’ democratically elected President Manuel Zelaya was ousted in a military coup yesterday – Zelaya was kidnapped and flown to Costa Rica, ousted by the military, economic and political elites in Honduras on the eve of a referendum asking voters whether his term should be extended. The coup was condemned around the world, by the Obama administration and most Latin American heads of state. Popular anger in Tegucigalpa – burning vehicles, huge demonstrations and calls for justice – resembles what we have been watching in Tehran for the last few weeks. In both countries the will of the people has been violated. We begin our coverage with Joy Olson and Nelson Valdes on the Honduran coup.

The similarities between the political situation in Honduras and Iran are obvious – the democratic will of the people has been subverted. Setting the stage for even more protests and clashes, Iran’s powerful Guardian Council certified the results of the disputed Presidential election today after a partial recount was undertaken and apparently completed, resulting in even more votes for President Ahmadinejad in one district. Protestors again have taken to the streets, independent coverage has been banned and hundreds of journalists jailed amidst a continuing crackdown on dissent. We talk to UCSB Professor Janet Afary, who has just published Sexual Politics in Modern Iran, and Ali Javadi, who broadcasts an international daily TV program on Iran called “For A Better World.”

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The Islamic regime in Iran has cracked down and the death toll is rising as demonstrators continue to protest the fraudulent re-election of President Ahmadinejad. The Guardian Council’s analysis of sample of election returns in 50 cities confirms that the numbers don’t add up – it appears there were more voters than people and they all voted for Ahmadinejad. Juan Cole joins us for an update and analysis of the continuing crisis in Iran.

Today is the last day of KPFK’s fund drive – and we’ll have a special “Suzi’s dollar a day best of the fund drive pack” as a thank-you gift for those who pledge.  This pack includes a brand new DVD of Eduardo Galeano in California last week talking about his new book Mirrors; Avi Lewis’ documentary on the California budget disaster -- “California: Failed State;”  Richard Wolff’s DVD “Capitalism Hits the Fan;” Robert Baer’s book The Devil We Know: The New Iranian Superpower – and more.

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Iran has been plunged into turmoil since Friday when the government declared that Ahmadinejad had won 63%of the vote to his opponent Mousavi’s 34%. This was immediately disputed and many believe the election was stolen.  Shots were fired at an Opposition protest rally in Tehran killing at least one, while the more than 100,00 protestors were met with violence, beatings and tear gas.  Iran's leaders spent the weekend urging people to accept the result but today Khamenei ordered an investigation into allegations of vote-rigging and fraud. Stephen Zunes joins us to discuss the elections and the US response. He says the best response to a stolen election – if that proves to be the case – is to stay out of the way.  Otherwise it could be a dream come true for those pushing for confrontation with Iran.

Plus: Today we are featuring Avi Lewis’ brand new documentary on the California budget disaster -- “California: Failed State.”  California’s economy is the largest in the US and eighth largest in the world, as big as Brazil and three times the size of Saudi Arabia. If California fails, the shock waves of this economic crisis will be felt around the globe. This terrific film is an activist organizing tool and a local story with global implications from the filmmaker who directed “The Take” (co-produced with his wife Naomi Klein) about Argentina’s movement of worker-run businesses, an emotional story of hope and resistance in the global economy. “California: Failed State” will be our thank you gift for a $50 pledge to KPFK.

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Today we are featuring Richard Wolff’s new film, Capitalism Hits the Fan,  which offers critical analyses of the causes of the economic crisis, the Keynesian stimulus-cum-regulation “solutions” being pursued and sketches an alternative solution.  We’ll talk to Rick about the underlying premises of President Obama’s economic proposals/solutions, the significance of the unemployment numbers just announced, the meaning of the GM bankruptcy and what it portends for our economic future.

We are also featuring  excerpts from our interview with Paul Mason – economics editor of the BBC’s Newsnight, and offering his new book Meltdown: The End of the Age of Greed as a thank you gift for your sponsorship pledge. Paul Mason had a ringside seat at the meltdown and tells the blow by blow story of the crash which brought the global economy to its knees, undermining three decades of neoliberal orthodoxy. It’s all in his book – from the shadow banking system to the subprime to the commodities speculation that forced a billion people to go without meals by mid 2008. Paul says the neo-liberal era is over – and has a few suggestions about what kind of capitalism could emerge from its ruins.

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General Motors filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection today. The federal government will have a majority ownership stake and Treasury will kick in 30 billion with another 9.5 billion to come from Canada. GM's bankruptcy filing is the fourth-largest in U.S. history and the largest for an industrial company. Nelson Lichtenstein joins us to talk about the crisis in auto, the government solution, what Walter Reuther (and bold union leaders) would have done and SHOULD do. He says “Autoworkers should meet this crisis as they have in the past: boldly and visibly.” Indeed, with the government and the union owning nearly 90 percent of GM common stock, it is time to think boldly and progressively about how to restructure some of America's greatest manufacturing companies. They are far too important to be left in the hands of a generation of discredited managers and Wall Street speculators.

Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and  LA Times columnist Michael A. Hiltzik  joins us to discuss the budget crisis in California and the solutions neither Governor Schwarzenegger nor the legislature are proposing. Hiltzik says the governor has lied about the nature of the crisis and ignores the real solutions. He says that California is not ungovernable -- it's just been ungoverned. As for the next gubernatorial election – Hiltzik calls for some ‘profiles in courage.’ We’ll ask him what he has in mind.

And finally on tonight’s Beneath The Surface we talk to Robert Borosage of the Campaign for America’s Future. They unveiled an ambitious campaign today bringing together an impressive array of progressive groups slated to spend more than $82 million to ensure quality health care reform passes this year.  He joins us to explain.

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On Memorial Day we revisit the way our returning vets are treated –medically and otherwise –with Joshua Kors, who broke the story twice in The Nation, and went on to receive recognition and awards for exposing the scandal. We’ll ask him if vets are getting a better deal under the new administration.

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Tonight we begin with the danger and escalating instability of the situation in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Tariq Ali joins us, and he warns that no one in Washington knows what the war aim is and says that by continuing its war in Afghanistan, the US accepts the risk of destabilizing Pakistan. 

We then turn to Danny Schechter, the ‘news dissector’ on the credit card squeeze: The Senate so far has refused to limit interest rates credit card companies can charge to 15%, and now the New York Times is calling for a 36% total limit, including fees. Danny says credit cards have gone from being a luxury to a necessity to a noose.

And finally, on tonight’s program we turn to an analysis of the ballot propositions in tomorrow’s election with Jean Ross, Executive Director of the California Budget Project.

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Leon Despres, the former Chicago Alderman who fought the Daley machine from the left for 55 years died May 8 at 101. We will do a tribute to him next week on BTS.

On tonight’s program we begin with Jack Rasmus, who says it’s time to transfer the trillions paid to or allocated for bank bailouts toward bailing out American working and middle class families. He was part of a campaign kicked off this weekend by labor councils’ in the Bay area to “Bail out Working People – Not the Banks.”

Then Emil Draitser joins us to preview his book talk tonight at 6:30pm at the Westwood branch of the LA Public Library: the book is Shush! Growing Up Jewish Under Stalin. Emil will also be speaking at UCLA on Thursday afternoon. The book describes his childhood in the anti-Semitic, post-Holocaust Soviet Union, where he tried to reconcile Soviet values and those of his working class Jewish family. With humor and unforgettable stories, Emil Draitser presents a sweeping panorama of two centuries of Jewish history in Russia

And finally, LA based Chilean artist Guillermo Bert then joins us to talk about his solo exhibition that opens next weekend at the Museum of Latin American Art In Long Beach: his Bar Code Series (Blurring the Boundary Between Cultures and Commodities) reflects the ‘branding’ of concepts of consumerism, fusing government buildings and national symbols, as well as ancient Andean ceremonial relics with the Bar Code patterns (universal Pricing Code technology), reducing them to a single word or message that provokes political commentary and social questioning about the price of democracy, and the value of justice in our contemporary time.

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May Day (the first of May) was the scene of major demonstrations around the world. In France the day was historic as the two rival trade union federations united with other unions and the left to confront the Sarkozy government on behalf of workers in face of the deepening economic crisis. We talk to Michael Löwy.

And the torture investigations deepen as more call for the Obama administration to hire a Special Prosecutor to look into the Bush-Cheney torture program. Gary Kern, expert on Stalinist spies and torture, unearths some crucial missing arguments in the torture program.

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