Podcast Episode 6: The Death of Osama bin Laden

On this episode of the There is No Spoon show, Fatima Ashraf questions Fouad Pervez, Junaid Ahmad, and Reggie Miller about their thoughts on the death of Osama Bin Laden. Fouad is an International Relations doctoral student at Georgetown University and a writer for Foreign Policy in Focus. His latest article, "Pepsi, Pot, Porn...and Politics" looks at the bizzarre discovery of those items on bin Laden's compound, and why they really illustrate the importance of politics over culture in al-Qaeda's modus operandi. Junaid is a faculty member at the Lahore University of Management Sciences and specializes in law and policy. He recently wrote an article, "Pakistan-U.S. relations in the post-Osama era" that examines the heightening tensions between the two countries after the raid. Junaid and Fouad have co-authored several pieces on U.S. foreign policy in South Asia, including this relevant and prescient article, "The US War on Pakistan." Reggie Miller is a non-profit management professional with significant insight into America's post-9/11 culture.

While many in the country celebrated his death, the No Spoon team ponders why it was okay for Americans to celebrate now and be upset at the thought of celebrations abroad on 9/11. They also discusses the serious issues surrounding Bin Laden's death including extra-judicial assassination, the state of affairs in Pakistan, and why Osama drinking Pepsi shouldn't have been a big deal.

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Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire: Why the FBI Needs New Leadership

The last ten years have witnessed an assault on the constitutional rights of law-abiding Americans, led largely by the FBI. Appointed mere days before the 9/11 attacks, Director Robert S. Mueller III has guided the bureau through the resurrection of many long discredited practices from its COINTELPRO era. Yet, the Obama administration has proposed extending Mueller's term as FBI director. Congress should reject the proposal and insist on a nominee from outside the bureau to restore accountability, law and order. Just ask Nick Merrill in New York, Joe Iosbaker in Chicago or Ahmadullah Niazi in Los Angeles: three law-abiding Americans whose constitutional rights are among the casualties of the last decade.

Podcast Episode 5: Malcolm X and Hero Worship

On this episode of There is No Spoon we discuss the legacy of Malcolm X. X has become an icon of human rights activism, Pan-Africanism and Islam. Panelists Dumi L'Heureux Lewis (City College of New York), Fatima Ashraf (Community Activist), Fouad Pervez (Georgetown University), Ibrahim Abdul-Matin (Author of Green Deen), Mayatha Alhassen (University of Southern California) and Zaheer Ali (Columbia University) discuss the recent publication of Manning Marable's "Malcolm X: A Life of Re-Invention" and its influence on X's legacy.



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Podcast Episode 4: On The PATRIOT Act

Today's installment of the There Is No Spoon podcast series examines civil rights and civil liberties issues raised by the PATRIOT Act (portions of which are set to expire in May 2011) and FBI stings authorized under the 2008 Attorney Generals' Guidelines issued by then AG Michael Mukasey. We're joined by a distinguished panel of experts who have engaged these concerns from multiple perspectives. 

Emily Berman is Counsel to the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law and author of Domestic Intelligence: New Powers, New Risks, a 2011 report documenting problems with DOJ and FBI policies under the 2008 Mukasey Guidelines. Kay Guinane is Program Manager at the Charity and Security Network, and author of the 2009 report, How the Work of Charities Can Counter Terror, which addresses the material support standard of the PATRIOT Act and how it exacerbates some of the root causes of terror. Christina Abraham is Civil Rights Director at CAIR Chicago and has represented numerous individuals interviewed by the FBI, while also speaking and writing about abuses by the Bureau and other government agencies. Shahid Buttar from the No Spoon team is Executive Director of the Bill of Rights Defense Committee and submitted a FOIA request to the FBI in 2008 that eventually prompted disclosure of the Bureau's internal regulations implementing the 2008 Mukasey Guidelines.


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Podcast Episode 3: The Peter King Hearings

On this edition of the There is No Spoon show, we discuss the congressional hearings on domestic terrorism, organized by Congressman Peter King (R-NY).  The hearings, divisive and controversial, offered divergent perspectives of Muslim Americans: one as law-abiding people who are unjustly targeted, the other as a community ignoring radicalization among its own.

Joined by Corey Saylor, the Director for Government Affairs of CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations), the No Spoon team of Fouad Pervez, Reggie Miller, and Fatima Ashraf puts the hearings into context.  Several minority communities throughout history have been "McCarthy-ized" by the government.  Mr. Saylor provides insight into the importance of the hearings, the commendable reactions of the Muslim American community, and next steps.  For additional, interesting perspectives on the hearings, Peter King, and Muslim Americans, check out: this Huffington Post piece by Ingrid Mattson; this Washington Post article by Michelle Boorstein; and Representative Keith Ellison's (D-MN) testimony from the hearings.

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