Beneath the Surface Friday 5-6pm on KPFK 90.7FM, streaming live and archived at www.kpfk.org
Today at 5: Hisham Ahmed on Syria; strikers from the Fast Food Strike; Savas Michael Matsas trial in Greece.
Hisham Ahmed Palestinian scholar at Saint Mary’s College, formerly of Birzeit University joins us to discuss the imminent US strikes in Syria. A significant blow to the Obama administration’s plans to assemble a coalition to back armed intervention came yesterday with Britain’s parliament voting against supporting an international response to the chemical weapons strike, the latest atrocity in what began as the Syrian Arab Spring, was then met by horrific resistance from the Bashar Al Assad regime and has descended into Civil War with rebels representing democratic as well as al-Qaeda type Islamic forces. The US blames the Al-Assad government for the chemical weapons attack but no one yet knows who is responsible. There is, however, widespread opposition to US armed intervention and widespread agreement that the US strikes will be a disaster, dashing hopes for a democratic outcome in Syria.
Reverend Lewis Logan II, Roberto Tejada in Los Angeles and Jesse Sharkey in Chicago join us to reflect and analyze yesterday’s Fast Food Walkouts, work stoppages and rallies in 60 cities that affected more than 1000 stores. The work stoppage follows actions that began last November in New York, and a month ago saw a four-day, seven-city strike wave in which organizers say thousands walked off the job. In each city – from Los Angeles to Peoria – workers are demanding a raise to $15 an hour, and the chance to form a union without intimidation by their boss. We’ll talk about the strikers strategy, public support, the employers response and what these actions can mean for the Labor Movement.
Savas Michael Matsas, leader of one of the Marxist-revolutionary organizations of the Greek left stands accused by the Nazis of having "defamed" them. Savas Mikhail (as well as many others) has denounced the activities of the Greek neo-Nazi “Golden Dawn” and in 2009 Golden Dawn brought a lawsuit against the entire Greek Far Left, as well as all the immigrant associations, cultural groups and independent personalities. In 2012 the Prosecutor – named by the Neo-Liberal Right-wing government – decided the police could call in all these personalities for interrogation. They all refused to come, but their lawyers presented legal depositions answering and rejecting the accusations. The Prosecutor then decided to bring only two of the dozens accused by the Neo Nazis to the Courts: Savas Mikhail Matsas and the former Dean of the Polytechnic School, Constantinos Moutzouris, accused of having permitted Indymedia to use the facilities of the School for its emissions. Savas Mikhail was accused of “defamation” towards the neo-Nazis, because he denounced them as criminals, of “incitation to violence”, because he called to fight fascism, and “attempt against civil peace” for having called, in a pamphlet, to demonstrate against Chryssi Avghi. Meanwhile, the Greek neo-Nazis unleashed a brutal anti-Semitic campaign against Savas Mikhail, denouncing him in their media as “an agent of the Jewish world conspiracy against the Greek Nation, aiming to provoke a civil war and establish a Judeo-Bolshevik regime”. The trial will take place on September 3, 2013. The Greek government, presided by Mr Antonis Samaras, is showing its complicity with the Greek fascists in allowing this trial to go forward. Savas joins us from Greece to fill us in on this important case.
Suzi Weissman Beneath the Surface, Fridays 5-6 KPFK 90.7FM Los Angeles, 98.7 Santa Barbara, 99.5 China Lake, 93.7 North San Diego, streaming live and archived at www.kpfk.org
Podcast information, audio archives and more at
http://archive.kpfk.org/index.php?shokey=bts_friday
