Date:

January 25, 2012

Philip Rizk  (currently in Egypt)
An independent blogger and filmmaker based in Cairo, Egypt. Through his writings and video, Philip has produced some of the most critical parts of the Egyptian protests over the past few months. Under the Mubarak regime, Rizk was kidnapped by the Egyptian state security and jailed for participating in nonviolent, Gaza-related protests. Philip has also lived in Gaza for two years working with various NGOs and media companies.

A discussion with Philip Rizk (in Cairo, Egypt) about Egypt as today marks the first anniversary of the historic Egyptian revolution that toppled the Mubarak regime. We will talk about the current status, the recent multistage parliamentary elections, the partial lifting of the state of emergency, and much more.
 

Membership Drive  Today's Goal: $1,300  Raised: $1,195

Date:

January 18, 2012

Tariq Ali
Writer, filmmaker, long-time anti-war activist, historian and novelist who lives in London. He has written more than a dozen books on world history and politics, including Pirates of the Caribbean, Bush in Babylon: The Recolonization of Iraq, Conversations with Edward Said, The Clash of Fundamentalisms and The Obama Syndrome, as well as five novels in his Islam Quintet series and scripts for the stage and screen. He is also an editor of the New Left Review.

A live discussion with Tariq Ali about various topics, including the U.S. Foreign Policy, the Arab revolts, Iran, Palestine/Israel, and much more.
  
Note: Tariq Ali will be speaking in Houston on Monday, January 23 at the Rothko Chapel and signing copies of his new book On History. For more info, click here.

Date:

January 11, 2012

Reverend Maurice Restivo
Pastor at Most Holy Trinity parish in Angleton, Texas and a member of the Congregation of Saint Basil. He has served in various apostolates of the Basilian Fathers in parishes, missions and educational ministry, and also served as the director of the Permanent Diaconate for the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. Fr. Restivo has traveled to occupied Palestine and Israel on several occasions. In November 2011, he was on a delegation with the Christian Peacemaker Teams, spending the greater part of his time in Jerusalem, Al-Khalil (Hebron) and the surrounding areas.

A live discussion with Fr. Restivo about his experience/eyewitness account of what he observed during his various visits to occupied Palestine; the ongoing atrocities of the Israeli military occupation of Palestine; how Christians in the U.S. view the Israeli occupation of Palestine; the prospects for peace/solution to the problem; and much more. We will also talk about the third anniversary of the Israeli war crimes and massacre committed in the Gaza Strip in December 2008/January 2009.

Date:

January 4, 2012

Jeremy Varon
Associate Professor of History at the New School for Social Research and Eugene Lang College, specializing in modern US history, and European and American intellectual history. He is also with the group Witness Against Torture, which has just begun ten days of protests, fasting and lobbying in Washington, D.C.

Pardiss Kebriaei
Staff Attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights. Her work has focused on representing men detained at Guantánamo Bay in their habeas corpus challenges, before international human rights tribunals, in diplomatic advocacy with foreign governments to secure resettlement for men who cannot return home, and in post-release reintegration efforts. Her clients have included men from Yemen, Syria, Algeria, and Afghanistan.

A live discussion with Varon and Kebriaei about President Obama's signing of the National Defense Authorization Act few days ago that allows the military to hold U.S. citizens indefinitely without due process on American soil, and how that affects U.S. citizens and immigrants and their civil liberties and rights.

Date:

December 28, 2011

On November 13, 2011 the Rothko Chapel, one of the world’s most celebrated twentieth century sacred spaces and an institution committed to advancing human rights and interfaith understanding, presented its Oscar Romero Award to Madame Nassera Dutour (an Arab Woman) for her tireless efforts on behalf of the families of approximately 7,000 men and women who disappeared in Algeria (including her own son) in the 1990s. Madame Dutour was recognized in a public ceremony at the Chapel, and also spoke about her work.
 
Larry Cox, former Executive Director of Amnesty International USA was also present and he delivered the keynote address about the global implications of human rights violations and their redress.

Today, we will listen to the remarks made at the Rothko Chapel by both Madame Nassera Dutour and Larry Cox.

Date:

December 21, 2011

First Segment: Raed Jarrar
An Iraqi-American blogger and political analyst based in Washington, D.C. Raed was born in Baghdad and spent most of his life in Iraq. After the 2003 invasion, Raed was the country director of CIVIC Worldwide, the only door-to-door casualty survey in post war Iraq. Raed is frequently featured on numerous media outlets.

We will speak live with Raed Jarrar about the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq and what "ending the U.S. occupation" means to Iraqis.
 

Second Segment: Maria Khoury
An internationally acclaimed speaker, human rights champion, and author of Orthodox Christian children's books including Christina Goes to the Holy Land walking the footsteps of Christ. Maria writes frequently and her articles have been published world-wide bringing awareness to the Christian presence in the Holy Land. She is a volunteer at St. George Greek Orthodox Church of Taybeh (the only all Palestinian Christian village in occupied Palestine), and organizer of the annual Taybeh Oktoberfest. Maria lives in Taybeh with her husband Daoud Khoury, Mayor of Taybeh.

As Christians around the world prepare to celebrate Christmas, Palestinian Christians continue to suffer under the Israeli occupation. We will talk live with Maria Khoury about her eyewitness account of life under the Israeli occupation in Taybeh, Palestinian Christians and their suffering under the Israeli occupation, the Israeli settlement expansion near Taybeh, settler attacks, destruction of Palestinian homes, and Maria's personal rebuttal to Newt Gingrich's comment that the Palestinians are an "invented people".

Date:

December 14, 2011

Dr. Abdel Kader Fustok
Founder, past president and advisory board member of the Arab American Educational Foundation; founder, past president and board member of the Arab American Cultural and Community Center; a strong community advocate and a leader in countless organizations. Dr. Fustok was born and raised in Syria, and currently has a private practice specializing in plastic, reconstructive and cosmetic surgery in Houston.

A live discussion with Dr. Fustok about Syria, its history and rich culture, the Arab uprisings in several countries including Syria, the Arab quest for democracy, and much more.

Date:

December 7, 2011

First Segment: Islam's Image and You: Community Platform & Islamic Convention
A live conversation about this unique community platform and convention (to be held in Houston on December 23-25) with Hesham Ebaid, President of MAS (Muslim American Society) Katy Center, that is organizing the convention  in partnership with several other organizations, and Iesa Galloway, Messaging Strategist & Writer and one of the organizers for the convention.
    
Second Segment: Ali Abunimah on ‘Delegitimizing’ Israel
The US government support for Israel has never been stronger. But now a consumer boycott of Israel is gaining steam, and Israeli government officials are being openly confronted and denounced wherever they travel. In this special segment produced by the National Radio Project, author and activist Ali Abunimah says that this is evidence of a global movement against Israeli government policy breaking through. Abunimah explains why he thinks Israel has ‘lost the argument’ over who’s right and wrong…and where he thinks the movement to free Palestine is headed next.

Date:

November 30, 2011

Anthony Shadid
Foreign correspondent for the New York Times, former Baghdad bureau chief of the Washington Post, and author of two books. Shadid has reported from most countries in the Middle East over a 15-year career. In 2002 he was shot by the Israeli occupation forces in Palestine and in 2011 he was kidnapped, beaten and held hostage by the Libyan forces. Shadid is a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize - in 2004 for International Reporting for coverage of the U.S. invasion of Iraq and the occupation that followed, and 2010 for coverage of Iraq as the U.S. began its withdrawal.

Anthony Shadid spoke at Rice University in Houston on October 28, 2011 on the topic "What My Eyes Can See: Covering the Arab Revolution". Today, we will listen to Shadid's talk at Rice, which was part of The Arab World: History, Politics and Culture Lecture Series for 2011/12 (sponsored by the Arab-American Educational Foundation).

Date:

November 23, 2011

Sharif Abdel Kouddous (LIVE from Egypt)
Correspondent for the award winning independent Radio & TV program Democracy Now!, who is currently in Cairo, Egypt. Sharif joined the Democracy Now! staff in 2003 as producer and has covered news stories around the world including reporting from Baghdad during the Iraq war and from Egypt during the recent revolution. Sharif grew up in Cairo, Egypt, and he will be joining us LIVE from Egypt.

Hany Massoud
Producer for the award winning independent Radio & TV program Democracy Now! Hany has traveled extensively covering international breaking stories such as the Gaza flotilla and the revolution in Egypt. Hany was Morning Chief Editor at KHOU, which he left to establish Press TV’s Bureau at the UN in New York. Hany grew up in Houston, and he will be joining us LIVE in the studios of KPFT.

Dr. Sherif Zaafran
President of the Egyptian American Society in Houston, board member of the Arab American Cultural & Community Center in Houston, and Vice-President of the Greater Houston Anesthesiology. Dr. Zaafran has just returned to Houston from Cairo, Egypt, and he will be joining us LIVE in the studios of KPFT.

A live discussion with our guests about the latest developments in Egypt, where more than 38 people were killed in Tahrir Square and more than 2000 were injured over the past few days by the Egyptian military as Egyptians were protesting the military rule and as Egypt was preparing for the first election after the historic revolution that toppled Mubarak's regime earlier this year.