Akbar Ahmed comments on the recent debate over the use of drones by the Obama administration.
U.S. Government firepower and its vast anti-terror network have turned the war on terror into a global war on tribal Islam. And too often the victims are innocent children at school, women in their homes, workers simply trying to earn a living, and worshipers in their mosques. Battered by military attacks or drone strikes one day and suicide bombers the next, the tribes bemoan, "Every day is like 9/11 for us."
Akbar Ahmed, professor of Islamic Studies in the School of International Service at American University. Ahmed is also a nonresident fellow at the Brookings Institution and a visiting professor at the United States Naval Academy. Source: Book TV at American University: Akbar Ahmed, "The Thistle and the Drone: How America's War on Terror Became a Global War on Tribal Islam"
Killer Smog
Beijing has the worldâs thickest smog, and the health problems are serious. Beijing journalist Jocelyn Ford tells Steve Curwood about the air sheâs breathing. Dr. Tracey Woodruff explains her new study linking air pollution to low birth weight. Source: Living On Earth: Deadly Smog
Who cares about the facts?
Research suggests that misinformed people rarely change their minds when presented with the facts and often become even more attached to their beliefs. This finding questions the value of well-informed voters in a democracy. Neal Conan talks with Dana Milbank of the Washington Post, Brendan Nyhan of Dartmouth College and Alicia Shepard of NPR. Source: NPR: In Politics, Sometimes The Facts Don't Matter
Music includes Almanac Singers - C for Conscription, Kathryn Williams - Why Must We Be So Brutal, Network Soundtrack - Death of Democracy, George Carlin - Euphemisms, Creedence Clearwater Revival - Mississippi Queen, R-Three - That's OK (head out of the sand), Dr. King - Nonviolence is the Most Powerful Weapon, The Producers Soundtrack - Springtime for Hitler, Steven Taylor - Go Down Congress, SUV, Joan Baez - House Of The Rising Sun, Stevie Wonder - We Can Work It Out, Mariachi - Bang Baby Shot, Stan Whitmire - Love Theme From St. Elmo's Fire
Book TV at American University: Akbar Ahmed, "The Thistle and the Drone: How Americas War on Terror Became a Global War on Tribal Islam" Living On Earth: Deadly Smog NPR: In Politics, Sometimes The Facts Dont Matter also see http://greatspeechesandinterviews.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-global-war-on-tribal-islam.html