The Wild Wild Left

Norman G. Finkelstein is an author and lecturer living in Brooklyn.  He received his doctorate in 1988 from the Department of Politics at Princeton University. For many years he taught political theory and the Israel-Palestine conflict.

He is currently working on a new book entitled KNOWING TOO MUCH: Why the American Jewish love affair with Israel is coming to an end. 

Norm is a fiery speaker, pulls no punches and is an endless advocate for moving the factions of the Right back to the ideals of the Left: Peace and Human Dignity for All.  I cannot wait to speak with him!

His other books include:

“This Time We Went Too Far”: Truth and consequences of the Gaza invasion

 

Beyond Chutzpah: On the misuse of anti-Semitism and the abuse of history

The Holocaust Industry: Reflections on the exploitation of Jewish suffering

Image and Reality of the Israel-Palestine Conflict

 

A Nation on Trial: The Goldhagen thesis and historical truth

The Rise and Fall of Palestine: A personal account of the intifada years

A blond housewife and a black lawyer walk into a bar on MLK day... who knows what will happen? Truth and laughter served up faster than a speed-of-light beer, thats for sure!

David Peery is brilliant, funny and spot-on Politically.  As the silly-season erupts into full fetid bloom, with the foremost players ringing bigoted bells for the Pavlovian Knuckledraggers; we are going to try and counter the insanity with a fresh dose of realism and rationale.

We have Arizona banning Ethnic Studies, we have man-on-dog Santorum, we have Paul wanting to revoke Civil Rights Legislation and we have a Nation turning on its own People in fear and loathing rather than face the obvious:  The Problem is Endemic Class War.

Tonight, Eric Knight; British citizen and regular of the Links for the Wildy Left facebook page affiliated with this show, joins me as honorary co-host to address Occupy, Class War, the Police State and the Idiocy of our mutual "exceptionalism" in foreign affairs.

I figured I should wrap up the year with an on the fly show - and boy do I have some "fun facts" about the not-so-fun state of our Nation to share with you.

There are some hopeful portends, too. OWS has just begun.

We are ramping up the drumbeat for a war with Iran, and I must caution, there is more to this than meets the eye.

No frills this week, just a good hard look at reality from my kitchen table.  Oh, and a reaaaaaaally old picture of me that looks nothing like me now. But don't tell anyone, ok, let them all think I'm still 25. LMAO.

Continuing my ongoing series discussing the current Protests with Veterans of the 60's movement, I am happy to bring a local Detroit man to the conversation.

Meet Nick Medvecky.

Nick will bring a whole new layer to the discussion - for he was himself framed and imprisoned on a false drug charge with a sentence of 25 years. His real crime, was messing with the wrong FBI informant. The real focus, years and years of COINTELPRO interest in him.  

Not only is his tale a cautionary tale for activists, with the degree he earned while under arrest, and his experience as a journalist and photographer, he now is using his voice to explain what our Prison Industrial System truly is.

His blog, American Tribune chronicles those experiences.

 

Nick Medvecky is basically a New York City boy who went into the military back in 1959, became a civil rights activist in the Old South where he was rewarded with a stint on a chain-gang. In 1965 he adopted Detroit, Michigan, as his home. There's little in the way of progressive and left movements, and international travel that his wasn't active in.

   Following a career in journalism and criminal defense investigations, Nick eventually fell afoul of one too many gov't agencies. In 1990 he was convicted of cocaine conspiracy and served a total of 22 yrs in the federal prison system.

   Today, as Dr. Publico with a doctorate in psychology, he publishes a blog entitled AmericanTribune.org. Nick has a unique perspective on "class crime."

When the controversy broke about then Senator Obama having known Bill Ayers, my first thought was "cool, maybe his is one of us.  Since then, it is Obama that has disappointed, not Professor Ayers.

My discussion with him will strive to contemplate, contrast and compare the social movement of the 60's and 70's with what is happening now. I think he can, as someone who has been fully immersed in the former shed light on the latter.

Great effort has been taken to marginalize, even demonize and true socialist with any chance of influencing the dialogue in this country. While active in the advancement of progressive education, that that alone is considered too "radical" for the "educational industry" speaks volumes about how far right we have been pushed as a Nation.

Today, this nation is under a far more militant resistance against OWS activists than the anti-war activists of the SDS and WU were... I wonder, how will it survive?

I am thrilled an honored to be able to have a conversation with Bill! I am sure we shall all learn much from him.

Bill Ayers is an American elementary education theorist and a former leader in the movement that opposed U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. He is known for his 1960s activism as well as his current work in education reform, curriculum, and instruction. In 1969 he co-founded the Weather Underground. He is a retired professor in the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago, formerly holding the titles of Distinguished Professor of Education and Senior University Scholar.

Tonight, I again have the pleasure of interviewing one of my most treasured mentors, Ward Churchill.

In the 6 months since we last spoke, things have changed dramatically - Chickens are coming home to roost here in the form of OWS, and the tactics being used to stop this Democratic Movement are escalating. The transitions of power in the Arab Spring countries are complex, and the Elites are struggling to hold their control.

I, for one, cannot wait to hear Ward's take on these new circumstances in which America finds herself.

Ward Churchill is a Professor of Ethnic Studies and Communications from the University of Colorado, an activist and the author of more than 14 acclaimed books, and hundreds of essays. He is an expert on American Indian History.

He is charming to interview, brilliant and with a quick sense of humor. I am THRILLED to engage him again!!!

If the good Doctor could only see us now... the pigs have become so degenerate they refuse us the right to relieve ourselves... the pig-f@ckers try to regenerate and tell us all thanks belongs to the 1% from who all graces flow... and the pork barrel pimps themselves are now trading in human flesh.

HST called it in 2003:

The massive plundering of the U.S. Treasury and all its resources has been almost on a scale that is criminally insane, and has literally destroyed the lives of millions of American people and American families. Exactly. You and me, sport - we are the ones who are going to suffer, and suffer massively. This is going to be just like the Book of Revelation said it was going to be - the end of the world as we knew it.

It is Veterans Day - day to honor those who have protected our Country - and those who are ABOUT to! The OWS Movement.

The Battle for Democracy has begun - a new Civil War in the making is being born on our streets, our unarmed freedom fighters are fodder for the protectors of the Corporate Elites.

I want you to be hopeful, but it is idiocy to walk into any battleground without some research and recon.

Tonight, I want to prepare you.

Know thy enemy!!!

The Occupation is growing; as is the resistance to the Movement. Oakland's General Strike is just the shape of things to come!

There are now 7 million reasons the People will prevail - but its time to talk honestly about the obstacles, our reactions and the tough choices to come.

Join me for a discussion today, on OWS and other Headline Stories that SHOULD be in the news.