Unauthorized Disclosure

Kevin Gosztola of Firedoglake.com and independent journalist Rania Khalek are joined by The Nation's sports correspondent, Dave Zirin, to talk about the World Cup, FIFA, the sports "shock doctrine," Brazil culture and history, as well as the militarization of areas in and around the sites of the games. Zirin discusses numerous details from his book, "Brazil's Dance with the Devil," now available from Haymarket Books. We also discuss the protests and how they have pushed mainstream media to pay more attention to issues that arise from hosting mega-events like the World Cup or Olympics.During the discussion portion, we talk about child refugees crossing the US-Mexico border, the Justice Department's decision to finally drop charges against Sami al-Arian and developments with Israel, particularly those related to the murder of a Palestinian teen. 

There's ten to fifteen extra minutes this week, as we talked to Zirin for about 40 minutes. Enjoy.

Kevin Gosztola of  and , an independent journalist, are joined by Nafeez Ahmed, who is a writer and contributor to The Guardian. His most recent articles have covered the militarization of social science; specifically, the Pentagon's funding of research into preparing for a civil breakdown as well as how both the security agencies in both the United Kingdom and the United States regard differnt types of activists and factions of the poor as threats. We talk with him for over a half hour about the implications of this militarized social science. 

In the discussion portion of the show, we talk about the memo released this past week - with redactions - containing the Obama's "legal" justification for targeting and assassinating US citizen Anwar al-Awlaki. We also discuss the victory thirteen US citizens placed on the No-Fly List won in court and the water shut-offs occurring in Detroit.

Dahr Jamail, a staff reporter for Truthout.org, is the guest this week.

Kevin Gosztola and Rania Khalek are joined by Josmar Trujillo, a writer and activist who organizes with New Yorkers Against Bratton. Trujillo talks about police raids that took place where alleged members of gangs in Harlem were rounded up by the NYPD in a show of force. He discusses organizing for police reform now that Bill Bratton is NYPD chief and Bill de Blasio has been elected New York City mayor. 

In the discussion part of the show, Gosztola and Khalek talk about the crisis of immigrant children crossing the US-Mexico border and the escalating conflict in Iraq. Khalek also recounts what happened at a Ta-Nehisi Coates event when she tried to get him to answer a question about reparations for African-Americans.

Kevin Gosztola and Rania Khalek interview journalist Max Blumenthal about his work covering Israel and the pushback he gets for be willing to report on Israeli military occupation. Blumenthal discusses the American left's reaction to his journalism and how Democrats like Rep. Alan Grayson are terrible on the issue of Palestine and Israel. 

In a shorter discussion portion, Gosztola talks about the Left Forum in New York and groups like police reform groups that seem to have given up on struggling now that Bill Bratton is NYPD chief and Bill de Blasio is mayor

Kevin Gosztola of Firedoglake.com and Rania Khalek of the "Dispatches from the Underclass" blog are joined by Keane Bhatt, a DC-based activist and writer. He talks to us about a letter signed by individuals like two Nobel Peace laureates. The letter was written to pressure Human Rights Watch to close its "revolving door" and be more independent from the US government. Bhatt shares some examples of why those concerned with human rights should raise this issue with this organization, even as the organization is doing some critically important work on human rights. 

During the discussion portion of the show, Gosztola and Khalek discuss the UC Santa Barbara shooting, Venezuela sanctions, Obama as deporter-in-chief, proxy forces being used by the US government, a California Supreme Court decision on police secrecy around shootings, a lawsuit against an incident of mass detention in Aurora, Colorado, and Edward Snowden's NBC interview.

Kevin Gosztola of Firedoglake.com and Rania Khalek of the "Dispatches from the Underclass" blog are joined by Mary Wareham of Human Rights Watch. Wareham is the advocacy director for the arms division of Human Rights Watch and spearheads a global coalition to ban killer robots. She was recently in Geneva for the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) meeting to discuss how countries should respond to the rise of this technology.

 

During the discussion portion of the show, Gosztola and Khalek discuss media organizations challenging secrecy around execution drugs for lethal injections, US citizens' support for the death penalty, a global survey that found 4 in 10 believe their governments would torture them if they were taken into custody, Guantanamo force-feedings and media coverage of Palestinian Nakba Day.

Kevin Gosztola of Firedoglake.com and Rania Khalek of the "Dispatches from the Underclass" blog are joined by Carlos Garcia, the director of the Puente Arizona, which is part of a global movement for migrant justice and human rights. Garcia joined others from several states to come to Washington, DC, to speak to representatives of Congress about Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) "bed quotas." Every year, 34,000 beds have to be occupied by the bodies of immigrants in the process of deportation.

During the discussion portion of the show, Gosztola and Khalek discuss US forces sent in to Nigeria to help rescue kidnapped girls from Boko Haram, the US-Djibouti relationship that has helped make drone warfare and rendition possible, McClatchy journalist Adam Baron being deported from Yemen, James Clapper's massive gag policy on intelligence employees citing "known leaks" and Israeli stealing of US industrial secrets.

Kevin Gosztola of Firedoglake.com and Rania Khalek of the "Dispatches from the Underclass" blog are joined by Rachel Meeropol of the Center for Constitutional Rights. Meeropol is a senior staff attorney, who argued in court this week that the FBI should not have rounded up Muslims in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 and former US officials should be held responsible. Meeropol also discusses developments in a CCR lawsuit involving Communications Management Units (CMUs) in two US prisons. The units impose restrictive conditions and disproportionately affect Muslims and prisoners who maintain their political beliefs while imprisoned.

During the discussion portion of the show, Gosztola and Khalek discuss John Kerry's now-blasphemous comment—his use of the word "apartheid" (oh my!), Prince Georges Police Department's plan to live tweet a prostitution sting, a rather troubling instance of larger organizations policing dissent during the May Day march in Chicago. We also share some thoughts on surveillance panels dominated purely by white men.

Kevin Gosztola of Firedoglake.com and Rania Khalek of the "Dispatches from the Underclass" blog are joined by Rooj Alwazir of the Support Yemen media collective. Alwazir is based in Sanaa, Yemen, and provides an update on the reported drone strikes and air strikes in country of which US and Yemen governments have been involved. She describes the cycle of violence along with what Americans are not hearing about the extent to which the attacks are unfortunately having the negative effect of making Yemenis more sympathetic to al Qaeda.

During the discussion portion of the show, Gosztola and Khalek discuss a prison hunger strike that was halted in Alabama, #myNYPD, a Jersey City man who was blinded after being shot by police but faces 30 years in prison, the FBI coercing Muslims to become informants by placing them on the No Fly List and James Clapper's gag order for intelligence employees so they don't talk to the press.