Nèdeem Elmahjoub's blog

Sunday between noon and 1pm (GMT) 104.4 FM (London) or http://www.resonancefm.com/ worldwide Israel/Palestine (1948-2008): From the 'Red House' to the Siege of Gaza. Part 1: "The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine" by the Israeli historian Ilan Pappe. Torture and the Twilight of Empire: from Algiers to Baghdad by Marnia Lazreg, professor of sociology at Hunter College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. "When empire is in decline, does the use of torture, or the motivations behind it, change? For Marnia Lazreg, what the French colonial forces did to people in Algeria during that nation's war of independence in the 1950s speaks volumes about the relationship between torture, power, empire, and even democracy. Lazreg also draws parallels between French colonial conduct then and US military conduct today." Part of an interview broadcast by Against the Grain on Pacifica Radio. Listen to the programme Listen to the interview with Marnia L

Sunday between noon and 1pm (GMT)104.4 FM (London) or http://www.resonancefm.com/ worldwide Seven months after Israeli warplanes destroyed a building in Syria’s eastern desert, the Bush administration has released intelligence purporting to prove that Damascus was building a nuclear reactor at the site. Why was the silence? Syria denies that the building housed a nuclear reactor “What did Israel bomb in Syria?” asked American journalist Seymour Hersh. Why has the Bush administration chosen to release its intelligence now, seven months after the Israeli strike? Drug Dealing in Lebanon: tribal drug lords, addiction, Hizbollah and Israel. Pakistan: Pakistan has been plagued by shortages and a crisis of basic necessities of life for a long time, but the situation exploded on the eve of the last elections while General Musharraf and his team were blowing the trumpet about "unprecedented economic development". Listen to the programme Related: US Intelligence on Syrian Reactor At H

Sunday between noon and 1pm (GMT)104.4 FM (London) or http://www.resonancefm.com/ worldwide US military tightens siege of Sadr City as cleric warns of 'open war': an analysis . Professor Gilbert Achcar on tribalism in Iraq, nationalism, fundamentalism and barbarisms . Gilbert Achcar is from Lebanon, where he lived until 1983. He authored several books on international politics and the Middle East, including “The Clash of Barbarisms” and “Eastern Cauldron”. He teaches political science at London’s School of Oriental and African Studies. Listen to the programme Related: US Military Tightens Siege of Sadr City... Eleven Theses on the Resurgence of Islamic Fundamentalism

Sunday between noon and 1pm (GMT) 104.4 FM (London) or http://www.resonancefm.com/ worldwide War on Terror, Inc. Corporate Profiteering from the Politics of Fear by Solomon Hughes (Verso, 2008). "Who is behind companies that reap the dividend of war? How close are they to our political decision-makers? Do they actually deliver what they are contracted to deliver, and at a cost-effective price? " Iraq: 5 Years On. "How the Media Sells War and Why?" From a public meeting called by Media Workers Against the War. Speakers include: Nick Davies , an award-winning investigative reporter (the Guardian): "Our media have become mass producers of distortion." And Dhar Jamail , independent journalist and author of Beyond the Green Zone . Related: War on Terror, Inc. Review Flat Earth News by Nick Davies Other: "Our Reign of Terror, by the Israeli Army"

Wednesday between 9pm and 10pm (GMT) Sunday between noon and 1pm 104.4 FM (London) or http://www.resonancefm.com/ worldwide Underbelly Egypt's Neoliberal Agenda: IBSF, immiseration and struggle, bread and gathering dissent. The European Union and Turkish Accession - Human Rights and the Kurds ( Pluto Press 2008 ), including a conversation with the co-author Kerim Yildiz, Executive Director of Kurdish Human Rights Project. Listen to the programme Related: Video: " Protesters face Egyptian riot police " Clashes in Egypt's Strike Stand-off Underbelly Egypt's Neoliberal Agenda

Wednesday between 9pm and 10pm (GMT) Sunday between noon and 1pm 104.4 FM (London) or http://www.resonancefm.com/ worldwide The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew and the Heart of the Middle East by Sandy Tolan . In The Lemon Tree , Sandy Tolan tells the big-picture story of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the parallel, very personal story of Bashir and Dalia. An interview conducted by C. S. Soong, Against the Grain programme on KPFA (Pacifica) Radio. Listen to the programme Related: Reviews of The Lemon Tree

Wednesday between 9pm and 10pm (GMT) Sunday between noon and 1pm 104.4 FM (London) or http://www.resonancefm.com/ worldwide Iraq: "The Politics of the Local" - an interview with Charles Tripp, professor of Middle East Studies at School of Oriental and African Studies, London. "Iraq may fall into a second violent civil war. Or it may become an imperial protectorate with a privileged military and sharp class divisions." Oil-linked Inflation Exacerbates Instability in the Middle East: Egypt : The Wave of Strikes Continues. Historic Strike by University Staff Israel : Arab and Jewish Women March for Jobs in Tel Aviv Listen to the programme Related: Iraq: " No, no to the new Dictatorship " Egypt: Historic Strike by University Staff Egypt's Doctors Take on Mubarak Arab and Jewish Women March in Tel Aviv Workers Protest in UAE and Egypt Other: "A Delusional War"

Wednesday between 9pm and 10pm (GMT) Sunday between noon and 1pm 104.4 FM (London) or http://www.resonancefm.com/ worldwide Listen to the programme Iraq: Five Years On... Related: Charles Tripp and Jonathan Steele (audio) US Hypocrisy, and Worse, on Pakistan Democracy (I. Chernus) The War Economy of Iraq (Christopher Parker)-audio Endless War? (David Keen) - audio Interview with Greg Palast (audio) Interview with Ted Honderich (audio)

Wednesday between 9pm and 10pm (GMT) Sunday between noon and 1pm 104.4 FM (London) or http://www.resonancefm.com/ worldwide Listen to the programme The United States plotted the armed overthrow of the Hamas government elected by the Palestinian people in January 2006, according to “ The Gaza Bombshell ”, an article based on leaked documents and interviews with key players in the Bush administration that was published in the latest edition of the US magazine Vanity Fair . Middle Eastern soundscapes: A concert by Al-Finjaan group. Nizar Al-Issa and his group performed at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, 11th of March 2008. Listen to the programme Related: The Gaza Bombshell US Plot to Overthrow Elected Palestinian Government Exposed Nizar Al-Issa - artist profile

Wednesday between 9pm and 10pm (GMT) Sunday between noon and 1pm 104.4 FM (London) or http://www.resonancefm.com/ worldwide Listen to the show Iraq: "The many regional and sectarian leaders in Iraq now wield a power over ordinary citizens that the new national institutions cannot, and may not want to temper. Iraq may fall into a second violent civil war. Or it may become an imperial protectorate with a privileged military and sharp class divisions." (Charles Tripp, Professor of Middle East politics, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, and author of A History of Iraq ). Also views by Jonathan Steele, a Guardian Columnist and author of Defeat: Why They Lost Iraq . Hamid "the terrorist" and Harry "the hero": Both Mohammed Hamid and Prince Harry have links with Afghanistan . Analysis and views by Gabrielle Tierney, a character witness in Hamid's trial, Mohammed Hamid, and Heiko Khoo, speaker at Speakers' Corner, Hyde Park.

Wednesday between 9pm and 10pm (GMT) Sunday between noon and 1pm 104.4 FM (London) or http://www.resonancefm.com/ worldwide Listen to the show " The $3 Trillion War ": The cost of the Iraq War. Joseph Stiglitz, former Chief Economist at the World Bank and winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize for Economics, speaks at the Jewish Book Week, London, 26th of February 2008. The Pakistani Parliamentary Elections: Was it " The Mother of all Frauds "? Is a coalition a solution? Related: Review of Stiglitz's "Globalization and its Discontents" Pakistan: article 1 , article 2 , article 3

Wednesday between 9pm and 10pm (GMT) Sunday between noon and 1pm 104.4 FM (London) or http://www.resonancefm.com/ worldwide " Can Hamas Liberate Palestine ?". Views from the President of the British Muslim Initiative, the Jewish Socialist Group, Azzam Tamimi (historian and supporter of Hamas ), Gilbert Achcar, professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London... " If Stones Could Talk " by James Petras The Jewish Book Week : Spinoza and Secular Jewish Culture by Yirmiyahu Yovel, The $3 Trillion War by Joseph Stiglitz, The 1948 War by Benny Morris Women's Cinema from Tangiers to Tehran : Persepolis and Dunia Related: Bringing down the new Berlin Walls 11 Theses on the Resurgence of Islamic Fundamentalism Persepolis : "Bombs and Stars" Eastern Eyes

Wednesday between 9pm and 10pm (GMT) Sunday between noon and 1pm 104.4 FM (London) or http://www.resonancefm.com/ worldwide Repeat of 30 January show (see below).

Wednesday between 9pm and 10pm (GMT) Sunday between noon and 1pm 104.4 FM (London) or http://www.resonancefm.com/ worldwide Listen to the show A forgotten struggle. A stolen nation: Western Sahara, occupied by Morrocco for 30 years. Music by Saharawi band Tiris, who recently played the Musicport Fetstival in Whitby... a chat to Malainin Lakhal, Secretary General of the Saharawi Journalists and Writers Union... and some thought from Eduardo Galeano on the Wall that Morocco has built in Western Sahara. Pervez Musharraf, President of Pakistan, on a European tour, and an interview with Lal Khan from the Pakistan Trade Union Defense Campaign by Antwerp, a local radio in Belgium. The Iranian regime tortures arrested students, according to various students sources. Iranian Regimes Tortures Arrested Students Listen to the show Related: Students' Protest (09 December 2007, video) Eduardo Galeano on Western Shara The Struggle of the Saharawis, History and Perspectives

Wednesday between 9pm and 10pm (GMT) Sunday between noon and 1pm 104.4 FM (London) or http://www.resonancefm.com/ worldwide "The American moment is not over, but it must be seized anew... A strong military is, more than anything, necessary to sustain peace...we must become better prepared to put boots on the ground in order to take on foes on a global scale...I will not hesitate to use force unilaterally, if necessary, to protect the American people or our vital interests...We must also consider using military force in circumstances beyond self-defense, in order to provide for the common security that underpins global stability - to support friends, participate in stability and reconstruction operations, or confront mass atrocities." (Barack Obama to Foreign Affairs magazine) Live interview with Ira Chernus , professor of religious studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder and author of Monsters To Destroy: The Neoconservative War on Terror and Sin (Paradigm Publish

Wednesday between 9pm and 10pm (GMT) Sunday between noon and 1pm 104.4 FM (London) or http://www.resonancefm.com/ worlwide In his monumental work A History of the Arab Peoples Albert Hurani concludes that “What could be observed was a current pattern in Middle Eastern history. The classes which dominated the structure of wealth and social power in the cities wanted peace, order and freedom of economic activity, and would support a regime so long as it seemed to be giving them what they wanted; but they would not lift a finger to save it, and would accept its successor if it seemed likely to follow a similar policy.” (Hurani, 1991, p. 454) Class and Sect in the Middle East : an interview with Anne Alexander, a fellow researcher at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London, author of Nasser (Life & Times), and a regular contributor to International Socialism journal. Singer and composer Marcel Khalife in Britain. A concert in London , Friday 25 January 2008 Anal

Wednesday between 9pm and 10pm (GMT) Sunday between noon and 1pm 104.4 FM (London) or www.resonancefm.com Bush in Israel: The Hands of Esau Selling Weapons to Religious States , from an interview with Lenni Brenner, part 2 of last: Israel. Book review: Dhar Jamail's Beyound the Green Zone: Dispatches from an Unembedded Journalist in Occupied Iraq Listen to the show Related articles: The Hands of Esau The Fading of the Two-State Solution Related audio: Selling Weapons to Religious States (Interview with Lenni Brenner)

"Selling Weapons to Religous States": Part 1 of 2 from an interview with Lenni Brenner produced by Against the Grain show on Pacifica Radio. This week: Saudi Arabia. 2007 World Press Photo Award The Assassination of Benazir Bhutto: What next for Pakistan? Listen to the whole show Wednesday between 9pm and 10pm (GMT) Sunday between noon and 1pm 104.4 FM (London) or www.resonancefm.com

Class and Sect in the Middle East, interview with Anne Alexander. The Yacoubian Building: the novel and the film. Can Hamas Liberate Palestine? The US Elections and the Middle East Katherine C. Donahue, author of Slave of Allah - Zacarias Moussaoui vs The USA (Pluto Press September 2007) Ibrahim Abu Rabi, author of Contemporary Arab Thought Recent 19 December 2007 show Iraqi Oil for Beginners, a comic book by Jon Sack. Israel: the longest teachers strike in the history of Israel. 05 December 2007 show : Andy Worthington, author of The Guantanamo Files - The Stories of the 774 Detainees in America’s Illegal Prison (PLuto Press, November 2007) Interview with Arun Kundnani , author of "The End of Tolerance - Racism in 21st Century Britain". 28 November 2007 : InterviewArun Kundnani on his book The End of Tolerance - Racism in 21st Century Britain. Also in the show: Dubai, Wealth and Workers' Plight. 21 November 2007 show 14 November 2007 show : Pakistan,Turkey and the K

Articles Benazir Bhutto ( The Economist obituary) The Assassination of Benazir Bhutto The World's most Dangerous Place 2007 World Press photo : See photo >> Read article If Stones Could Talk