This Week on GR

by C. L. Cook

This week, American journalist and 'We Must Kill the Bandits!' film maker, Kevin Pina on Haiti's dubious senatorial election results; activist and Rotarian, Rachel Williams on the documentary film, 'View from a Grain of Sand' and the women's struggle in Afghanistan; and Victoria Street Newz publisher and broadcaster, Janine Bandcroft keeping us current on events on Victoria's streets.

 

Listen. Hear.

 

This past weekend saw long-delayed senatorial elections in Haiti. The poll for Haiti's upper house was disregarded as a farce and theatre from the outset, with candidates of the Lavalas party of ousted president Jean-Bertrand Aristide disqualified. Lavalas is the most popular political force in the country, representing as they do the overwhelmingly poor majority of both the cities and countryside.

 

Kevin Pina is an American journalist and film maker who has lived in and reported from Haiti. His latest film, 'We Must Kill the Bandits' chronicles the abuse of Haitian democracy at the hands of the United Nations and its sponsors, the United States, Canada, and France, the same powers behind the 2004 Coup D'Etat that sent populist priest and president Aristide into exile.

 

Kevin Pina in the first half.

And; Following eight years of occupation in Afghanistan, the situation in that benighted country is more dire today than in 2001. An ascendant Taliban has taken advantage of indiscrimate drone and conventional aerial bombardment attacks that have killed scores of innocents to strengthen their support base in both Afghanistan and Pakistan, corruption within Hamid Karzai's government in Kabul is rampant, and drug lords and religious zealots rule the countryside.

 

At time of writing, 117 Canadian soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan, with more than two years left to go for the already extended military "Mission" there. Rachel Williams is an American activist and rotarian currently travelling the U.S. and Canada to present the documentary film, 'View from a Grain of Sand' and recount her experiences doing relief work in Afghanistan. She'll be in Victoria later this month.

 

Rachel Williams and seeing the everyday Afghani's universe in a grain of sand in the second half.

And; Victoria Street Newz publisher and CFUV host, Janine Bandcroft will join us at the bottom of the hour to spotlight Victoria's newz from the street.

 

But first, Kevin Pina and Haiti's hyped-democracy suffering another crisis of confidence.  

 

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Some past guests include: M. Junaid Alam, M. Shahid Alam, Joel Bakan, Maude Barlow, David Barsamian, Rhoda Berenson, William Blum, Luciana Bohne, William Bowles, Mordecai Briemberg, Vincent Bugliosi, Helen Caldicott, Noam Chomsky, Michel Chossudovsky, Diane Christian, Juan Cole, David Cromwell, Murray Dobbin, Jon Elmer, Reese Erlich, Anthony Fenton, Jim Fetzer, Laura Flanders, Chris Floyd, Connie Fogal, Glen Ford, Susan George, Stan Goff, Amy Goodman, Robert Greenwald, Denis Halliday, Chris Hedges, Sander Hicks, Julia Butterfly Hill, Scott Horton, Robert Jensen, Dahr Jamail, Chalmers Johnson, Diana Johnstone, Kathy Kelly, Naomi Klein, Brewster Kneen, Anthony Lappe, Frances Moore Lappe, Jason Leopold, Jeff Leys, Dave Lindorff, Jim Lobe, Jennifer Loewenstein, Wayne Madsen, Stephen Marshall, Linda McQuaig, George Monbiot, Loretta Napoleoni, John Nichols, Kurt Nimmo, David Orchard, Greg Palast, Mike Palecek, Michael Parenti, Robert Parry, John Pilger, Kevin Pina, William Rivers Pitt, Justin Podur, Lila Rajiva, Jack Random, Sheldon Rampton, Paul Craig Roberts, David Robb, Paul de Rooij, John Ross, David Rovics, Danny Schechter, David Schindler, Vandana Shiva, Norman Solomon, Starhawk, Grant Wakefield, Paul Watson, Bernard Weiner, Mickey Z., Howard Zinn and many others.