Sixty years since the creation of Israel and displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, we host a debate on the legacy of 1948 and the possibility of a just future for both Israelis and Palestinians with three guests: Benny Morris, seen as one of the most important Israeli historians of the 1948 war and after; Saree Makdisi, UCLA professor and author of “Palestine Inside Out”; and Norman Finkelstein, author of several books including “Image and Reality of the Israel-Palestine Conflict” and “Beyond Chutzpah.”

We continue our coverage of the sixtieth anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel, what Palestinians call the Nakba, or catastrophe. We begin with Tikva Honig-Parnass, an Israeli who fought with Jewish paramilitary units and the Israeli army, participating in the military operations that expelled over 750,000 Palestinians. Today, she’s an anti-Zionist leftist writer and activist who has been involved with anti-occupation, women’s, and Mizrahi movements in Israel since the 1960s. [includes rush transcript]

• Headlines for May 16, 2008
• Israeli Writer-Activist Tikva Honig-Parnass, Who Fought for Israel's Founding in 1948, on 60 Years of Palestinian Dispossession and Occupation
• As Israelis Celebrate Independence and Palestinians Mark the "Nakba," a Debate with Benny Morris, Saree Makdisi and Norman Finkelstein

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• China Earthquake Toll Tops 21,500
• House OKs Iraq Withdrawal Measure
• McCain Predicts US in Iraq Until 2013
• Palestinians Denounce Bush Visit to Israel
• Residents: US Attack Kills 18 in Pakistan
• US: 2,500 Youths Jailed in Iraq, Afghanistan, Gitmo
• CIA Kidnap Trial Begins in Italy
• Burger King Fires Exec, Investigator for Targeting Tomato Pickers
• HIV-Positive Man Sentenced to 35 Years for Spitting at Officers
• Wheelchair-Bound Scholar Dies in US Jail
• May 16 is Bike to Work Day
• Chiding Obama, Bush Likens Iran Talks to Hitler Appeasement
• California Supreme Court Overrules Gay Marriage Ban
• Admin Promotes GMO Crops in Food Aid Package

We turn now to three young Palestinians who use hip-hop to tell their story of the Nakba and what it means to be a Palestinian growing up inside Israel. DAM, or Da Arabian MCs, is the first group of Palestinian rappers and was formed in the late 1990s. All three members were born and grew up in the slums of Lod or Al-Lyd, a mixed town of Arabs and Jews twelve miles from Jerusalem. [includes rush transcript]

Today is the sixtieth anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel, what Palestinians call the Nakba, or catastrophe, that resulted in the expulsion and dispossession of over 750,000 Palestinians from their cities and villages. Ghada Karmi is a well-known Palestinian writer and medical doctor from Jerusalem who lives in Britain. She has written several books about Palestinian history and her own experience as a refugee, including In Search of Fatima: A Palestinian Story and, most recently, Married to Another Man: Israel’s Dilemma in Palestine. [includes rush transcript]

• Headlines for May 15, 2008
• As Palestinians Mark 60th Anniversary of Their Dispossession, a Conversation with Palestinian Writer and Doctor Ghada Karmi
• Palestinian Rap Group DAM Use Hip-Hop to Convey the Frustrations, Hopes of a Dispossessed People

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• Red Cross: Up to 128,000 Dead in Burma
• China Toll Rises as Rescue Hopes Fade
• 20 Dead in Baghdad Suicide Attack
• Palestinians Mark 60 Years Since “Nakba”
• Bush Visits Israel to Celebrate 60th Anniversary
• Following Unrest, Lebanon Reverses Crackdown on Hezbollah
• Edwards Endorses Obama in Dem Race
• Polar Bear Designated an Endangered Species

With a career spanning more than six decades, Gore Vidal is one of America’s most respected writers and thinkers. He’s authored more than twenty novels and five plays. His latest book is Point to Point Navigation: A Memoir. [includes rush transcript]

May 1968 was a watershed month for France, when a wave of student and worker protests swept the country and changed French society forever. We speak to George Katsiaficas, author of numerous books, including The Imagination of the New Left: The Global Analysis of 1968. [includes rush transcript]

• Headlines for May 14, 2008
• 1968, 40 Years Later: Student, Worker Protests Sweep France, Leaving Indelible Mark on the Country and the World
• Legendary Author Gore Vidal on the Bush Presidency, History and the "United States of Amnesia"

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• China Quake Toll Hits 15,000
• Amidst Desperate Recovery Effort, Burma Could Face New Storm
• 60 Killed in India Bombing
• Overnight Clashes Claim 7 Lives in Sadr City
• Bush Begins Israel Visit
• Bush: Iran "Biggest Threat" to Mideast Peace
• Clinton Wins West Virginia Primary
• Democrats Score Upset Win in Mississippi District
• Colombia Extradites 14 Paramilitary Leaders to US
• Berlusconi Can Be Called to Testify in CIA Kidnap Case
• Report: US Forcibly Injecting Deportees with Psychotropic Drugs

Last month marked the fifth anniversary of the US military shelling of the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad. The attack killed two journalists: Reuters cameraman Taras Protsyuk and Jose Couso, a cameraman for the Spanish television network Telecinco. The Pentagon has called the killings accidental, but in this broadcast exclusive Army Sgt. Adrienne Kinne (Ret.) reveals she saw secret US military documents that listed the hotel as a possible target. Kinne also discloses that she was personally ordered to eavesdrop on Americans working for news organizations and NGOs in Iraq. [includes rush transcript]

• Headlines for May 13, 2008
• DEMOCRACY NOW! EXCLUSIVE: Fmr. Military Intelligence Sgt. Reveals US Listed Palestine Hotel in Baghdad as Target Prior to Killing of Two Journalists in 2003

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• Over 12,000 Killed in Chinese Earthquake
• Clinton Expected to Win in WV; Obama Looks to November
• McCain Outlines Plans to Address Global Warming
• Former Republican Bob Barr to Run as Libertarian
• Up to 700 Arrested in Immigration Raid in Iowa
• Report: 83 Immigrants Have Died in US Custody
• Bush Vows to Help Arm Lebanese Army
• Bush Accuses Iran of Arming Militias in Iran
• US Admits Some "Iranian-Supplied" Arms Aren't from Iran
• Iran to Sue US and UK for Backing Group Behind Mosque Bombing
• Ban Ki-moon Presses Burmese Junta to Accept Aid
• Inglewood, California Police Shoot Dead Unarmed Teenager
• Rep. John Conyers Holds Forum in NYC on Sean Bell Case
• South African Apartheid Suit to Proceed
• Nawaz Sharif's Party Pulls Out of Coalition Government
• Pentagon Drops Charges Against Alleged 20th Hijacker

Part two of our wide-ranging discussion with Slavoj Zizek, the philosopher, psychoanalyst and cultural theorist. He has been called the “Elvis of cultural theory” and is widely considered to be one of Europe’s leading intellectuals. He has written more than fifty books and speaks to sold-out audiences around the world. [includes rush transcript]

“This is very much similar to what is happening in Sudan, in Palestine, in Iraq, in Afghanistan and Somalia, [where] the United States is basically instigating and funding civil wars,” says professor As’ad AbuKhalil. [includes rush transcript]

• Headlines for May 12, 2008
• World Renowned Philosopher Slavoj Zizek on the Iraq War, the Bush Presidency, the War on Terror & More
• 81 Dead in Lebanon as Hezbollah Clashes with US-Backed Pro-Government Forces

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• Oxfam: Burma on Brink of Massive Public Health Catastrophe
• Junta Blocks & Delays Aid Supplies to Burma
• Burma Held National Referendum Saturday on New Constitution
• Climate Change Group: Cyclone Is a Sign of Things to Come
• GOP Convention Coordinator Resigns Over Ties to Burma's Junta
• Obama Gains Support of 21 Superdelegates
• 81 Killed in Lebanon Since Wednesday
• After 1,000 Killed, a Ceasefire Is Reached in Sadr City
• US-Backed Iraqi Troops Launch Attack in Mosul
• Report: Blackwater Won't Face Criminal Charges for Civilian Deaths
• Israeli Troops Kill UN Palestinian Teacher
• Sudan Cuts Off Ties with Chad Following Rebel Attack
• Price of Oil Reaches New High: $126 Per Barrel
• Military Judge Dismisses General Involved in War Crimes Trials
• NYPD Disciplines White Officer Who Stopped Black Commander
• Environmental Activist Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison

Blogger, author and nationally syndicated columnist Arianna Huffington revealed this week that Senator John McCain had told her eight years ago that he did not vote for President Bush in the 2000 election. McCain has angrily denied the claim. Huffington joins us to talk about her disillusionment with McCain, whom she says has abandoned his principles in his quest for the Republican nomination. Huffington is author of the new book, Right is Wrong: How the Lunatic Fringe Hijacked America, Shredded the Constitution, and Made Us All Less Safe—and What you Need to Know to End the Madness. [includes rush transcript]