Pakistan and Honduras are not countries that are often meaningfully discussed in the news. Pakistan got a lot of ‘coverage’ when we were told of the assassination of Bin Laden (regular listeners will note that many issues were raised on the show about the contradictions in the official version of the story) and Honduras got some mention when there was a coup there but very little of substance was said about what led tot he coup and who was behind it. Tonight we try to correct the lack of real analysis with this week’s guests: Sobia Ali and Dana Frank.
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Sobia Ali
Sobia Ali is a software engineer who lives and works in NYC. She grew up in Abbotabad, Pakistan.
Recent work:
Voices of Pakistan: Why do Pakistanis Have Such Mixed Opinions About America?
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Dana Frank
Dana Frank is a professor of History at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and the author of Bananeras: Women Transforming the Banana Unions of Latin America. She is currently writing a book about the AFL-CIO’s Cold War intervention in the Honduran labor movement.
Quote: “President Zelaya’s return offers a brief glimmer of hope, but the ongoing repression by current President Porfirio Lobo’s military regime — now even worse than immediately after the coup — remains undiminished, as state security forces now routinely use tear gas canisters as lethal weapons, and teachers, trade unionists and campesinos in the opposition are still being assassinated with complete impunity. Lobo and Secretary of State Clinton insist that democracy has been restored to Honduras. But the reality on the ground remains terrifying, which is why over 75 Congress members are calling for a suspension of U.S. military and police aid to Honduras.”
Recent work:
Frank just wrote a piece titled “Ousted president’s return to Honduras doesn’t mean repression is over.” http://www.progressive.org/mpfrank052711.html
It is the largest oil disaster in American history, and it could happen again. It is more than a story of ruined beaches, dead wildlife, chemical dispersants, corporate spin, political machinations, and financial fallout. It is a riveting human drama filled with people whose lives will forever be defined as “before” and “after” the Gulf oil disaster. Black Tide is the only book to tell this story through the perspective of people on all sides of the catastrophe, from those who lost their lives, loved ones, and livelihoods to those who made the policies that set the devastating event in motion, those who cut the corners that put corporate profits over people and the environment, and those who have committed their lives to ensuring that such an event is never repeated.
