This week on CounterSpin: With the resounding margin of 410 to 8, the House of Representatives passed a resolution in late July endorsing Israel’s continuing attacks on Lebanon and the Gaza Strip; but our guest explains that that overwhelming bipartisan majority endorsed some other things as well, including the meaninglessness of international law and potential military action against Iran and Syria. Professor and author Stephen Zunes will discuss that and other underexplored aspects of this evolving crisis.

Also on the show: understanding the language we use to talk about politics is essential to understanding media coverage of politics. Buzzwords like ‘values’ mean something very specific, usually defined to the advantage of conservatives. UC Berkeley linguist Geoff Nunberg explains in his new book "Talking Right" that this is no accident, part of a concerted effort by the right to define the language of politics. He’ll join us to talk about it, and about what the media does to help.

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