Ep. 69: Interview w/ WMU Divestment Coalition on Palestinian Solidarity on Campus, and More

We interview Roland and Marissa who have been actively organizing with the WMU Divestment Coalition and Kalamazoo Non-Violent Opponents of War to update the community on their recent negotiations with the university in regards to the situation in Gaza, discuss local solidarity events, and give their thoughts on the current state of university organizing against the genocide.

 

Not to toot our own horn- but we will- but Media Cyphers was recently ranked the #4 podcast in Kalamazoo by FeedSpot. A big thank you to all our listeners, contributors, and the folks at 89.1WIDR over the years that made this possible.

 

We talk about the big news- Julian Assange is free! What this means for press freedom and the U.S. politically as "the big empire in charge." CORRECTION: In our original broadcast Andy referred to the case being "dismissed" by the British courts, in fact it was the result of a plea deal with the U.S. prosecutors (for a detailed analysis of the plea deal, check out Democracy Now!'s piece "Press Freedom Advocates Celebrate Julian Assange’s Release, But Warn of Impact of Plea Deal").

 

We talk about how employers, including Kalamazoo employers, aren't putting their money where their mouth is by offering their workers PTO and/or holiday pay on Juneteenth.

 

We talk about an MLive story about a local neighborhood devastated by recent storms, and how people are having to foot the bill- sometimes in the hundreds of thousands of dollars- in the face of increasing extreme weather events.

 

We spend the rest of our time talking about Gaza- how the IDF is torturing Palestinian prisoners and a story about some home-grown hate in Texas where a woman attempted to murder a Palestinian- American child in a public pool.

 

0:00- 22:00 Interview w/ WMU Divestment Coalition on Palestinian Solidarity on Campus

 

22:40- 30:30 Julian Assange is Free

 

31:50- 40:15 "It's a Major Award!" Media Cyphers Rated #4 Podcast in Kalamazoo By FeedSpot

 

40:15- 45:10 Julian Assange is Free (Pt. 2)

 

45:10- 1:03:25 What Local Employers Are Putting Their Money Where Their Mouth is On Juneteenth?

 

1:03:50- 1:11:40 Portage Storms and Disaster Capitalism

 

1:11:40- 1:22:30 Jamal Bowman vs. AIPAC

 

1:22:30- 1:38:00 Gaza Updates- Torture of Palestinian Prisoners, Hate Crime in Texas

 

SOURCES/ FURTHER READING

 

40 Best Kalamazoo Podcasts (City in Michigan)
https://podcasts.feedspot.com/kalamazoo_podcasts/

 

Journalist Antony Loewenstein on Assange’s Release, WikiLeaks & Israeli Drones Killing Gaza Reporters
https://www.democracynow.org/2024/6/25/journalist_antony_loewenstein_on_wikileaks

 

Press Freedom Advocates Celebrate Julian Assange’s Release, But Warn of Impact of Plea Deal
https://www.democracynow.org/2024/6/25/julian_assange_freed_from_prison_pt2

 

Juneteenth stalls as a paid day off for private employers
https://www.axios.com/2024/06/19/juneteenth-holiday-post-office-banks-closed-day-off

 

Neighborhood was known for its 100-year-old trees. Until a tornado wiped out hundreds.
https://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/2024/06/neighborhood-was-known-for-its-100-year-old-trees-until-a-tornado-wiped-out-hundreds.html

 

BREAKING: IDF ADMIT THEY CAN'T BEAT HAMAS; DOG R*PE TORTURE EXPOSED; ISRAELI PLAN TO ANNEX WEST BANK (SECULAR TALK)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DEMmEn8Nts

 

A woman is accused of attempting to drown a 3-year-old Muslim child in possible hate crime incident 
https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/22/us/texas-woman-drown-child-muslim-palestinian/index.html

 

 "Why aren't all lives equal?" Mehdi vs Congressman on killing Palestinians to save hostages.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye_x_I-YQJc