October 18, 2012 show: Greg Felton on Canadian Zionism and the loss of democracy

On October 18, 2012, CHUO 89.1 FM (Ottawa) The Train's Denis Rancourt interviewed author and political activist Greg Felton. Greg is the author of "The Host and the Parasite". The interview covered highly controversial material about Zionism and Zionist influence in Canada and the US.

October 11, 2012 show: US Presidential Candidate Merlin Miller third party challenge

On October 11, 2012, CHUO 89.1 FM (Ottawa) The Train's Denis Rancourt interviewed US presidential candidate, American Third Position Party (A3P), Mr. Merlin Miller. Mr. Miller is the only US presidential candidate who has recently had a personal meeting with the President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Miller, a former military commander, is staunchly anti-militarist for America's foreign policy and seeks a coalition of all Americans who oppose corporate and finance control of the state in favor of individual freedom and protection against globalization forces. Together, we explored criticisms leveled against the A3P, Zionism in America, mass media, and ways that the Right and the Left can cooperate against corporate and finance predation of the middle and working classes.

August 2, 2012 show: Professor James Petras on Zionism in America

On August 2, 2012, CHUO 89.1 FM The Train's Denis Rancourt interviewed renowned author James Petras about his work and analysis. Topic: Zionism in America and the consequences of being critical of Israel.

April 26, 2012 show: Joseph Hickey on his University of Ottawa Senate experience

On April 26, 2012, CHUO 89.1 FM The Train's Denis Rancourt interviewed University of Ottawa Senate member Joseph Hickey about his two consecutive yearly terms on Senate, about his Senate experience, about Senate misbehaviour, about his Senate activism from within. President Allan Rock runs a tight ship... but Senator Hickey was able to expose much of the institution's machinations. See Senator Hickey's senate blog: "A Studen's-Eye View".

May 10, 2012 show: Joshua Blakeney on his journalism and research in current geopolitics

On May 10, 2012, CHUO 89.1 FM (Ottawa) The Train's Denis Rancourt interviewed independent and PressTV journalist and graduate student Joshua Blakeney on his work and research in Canadian public policy and current geopolitics.

Ehab Lotayef on the Tahrir, the Freedom Flotilla, Israel, Gaza, Palestine...

On March 15, 2012, CHUO 89.1 FM (Ottawa) Denis Rancourt's interviewed Ehab Lotayef about Canada's Freedom Flotilla vessel the Tahrir (LINK) which was confiscated by Israel in international waters. The interview includes Ehab's description of his treatment as a prisoner in Israel. [Background article HERE.]

March 28, 2012 Ottawa event:
Firsthand account of Capture at Sea of the Canadian Boat to Gaza

M.A. student Joshua Blakeney on 911 research and Israel

On August 11, 2011, CHUO 89.1 FM (Ottawa) The Train's Denis Rancourt interviewed University of Lethbridge (Canada) graduate student Joshua Blakeney on his M.A. thesis research about 911 scholarship.

Joshua Blakeney is a well known "truther", a student of the oppression of Palestine by Israel, and a staff writer with Veterans Today.

Main underlying 911-related themes were the war on terror as an instrument of political manipulation and the strategic goals of Israel in the Middle East.

Music clip selected by Joshua: Uprising

Hilla Dayan in Amsterdam on Israel's Knesset madness

On July 14, 2011, CHUO 89.1 FM Ottawa, Canada, The Train's Denis Rancourt interviewed Hilla Dayan by phone to Amsterdam to talk about Israel and her activism for Palestinian justice.

Hilla Dayan is an International Relations Policy Advisor of the Coalition of Women for Peace (Israel).

"Hilla Dayan teaches International Comparative Democracy and International Relations Theory and Practice at Amsterdam University College. She studied comparative and English literature at Tel Aviv University in Israel, and completed her graduate studies in the United States, obtaining an MA in Social Sciences at the University of Chicago, and a Ph.D in political sociology at the New School for Social Research in New York."

A main topic was the Israel Knesset's passing of a boycott prohibition law on July 11, 2011. We also covered the psychology of widespread Jewish hysterical victim-hood arising from systemic indoctrination, the need for world citizens to choose a side in the occupation of Palestine, genocides as a feature of "democracies", Hilla's personal development, and more...

Related blog post article by the host:
On "speaking truth to power" and US Zionism

Update on Bradley Manning -- USA government's insane reaction to Wikileaks

On June 2, 2011, CHUO 89.1 FM (Ottawa, Canada) The Train's Denis Rancourt first explained the efforts he has been making to secure pro-Israel (Israel Lobby) radio guests to balance the show's critical reports against the ongoing war crimes of Israel. The show had been reserved for representatives of the Israel Lobby organization B'nai Brith but they did not reply or show up (see invitation here).

As a backup, Rancourt aired a May 25, 2011, press conference interview series about the USA Bradley Manning violations of human rights. This remarkable series featured speakers Daniel Ellsberg, Jesselyn Raddack, Ann Wright, Christina McKenna, and Julian Assange.

The show ended with this new high-profile music video about justice for Palestine:

Israel Lobby's B'nai Brith ignores invitation to Train

Three prominent Canadian contacts for the Israel Lobby group B'nai Brith were contacted (see email below) to be interviewed on June 2, 2011, but did not acknowledge the invitation or show up for the show.

This is in sharp contrast to the Lobby's (now apparently disingenuous?) repeated and vehement calls for media "balance".

The invitation remains open.

From: Denis Rancourt
Date: Fri, May 20, 2011 at 6:59 PM
Subject: request for media interview
To: ParliamentHill@bnaibrith.ca, bnb@bnaibrith.ca, hoppen@bnaibrith.ca
Cc: "CHUO 89.1 FM Train"

Dear contacts for B'nai Brith Canada,

I seek to radio interview representatives or executives of B'nai Brith Canada on my radio show: The Train, CHUO 89.1 FM Ottawa.

My show has been very critical of Israel policies and Israel state behaviour and I want to provide the other side for my listeners. I tried to invite several members of Hillel but all declined.

The show plays every Thursday in prime time (5pm EST) on the entire Ottawa metro area and has a good following. It is also live streamed and podcast.

The blog of the show is here:
http://trainradio.blogspot.com/

Past guests have included a very broad range of societal actors, from a Canadian Senator to law experts to media leaders to film makers and musicians to politicians to homeless people to medical doctors to criminalized activists to civil rights and human rights leaders and many more.

You and your work would be featured for the full hour, 5pm to 6pm, preferably live in the U of O campus studio but phone interviews are also possible.

We can also do more than one show if you feel the issue needs more time.

In addition, I would welcome your suggestions for other contacts who would be recommended representatives of the Canadian Jewish community.

Jewish members of such groups as the Canada Boat to Gaza and Faculty for Palestine have been interviewed in the recent past but I would like the Jewish pro-Israel side to be represented.

I am personally openly critical of Israel but I would make a strong effort to be as objective and fair as possible while allowing the guest all the needed time for responses and explanations. I am an open minded person who is prepared to re-examine all his positions.

The topics would also largely be up to the guests who can direct their contributions as they wish.

I'm hoping we can schedule a first show on Thursday June 2nd (5pm to 6pm) for this?

Is this possible?

Sincerely,
Dr. Denis Rancourt
Host, The Train, CHUO 89.1 FM

COMMENT AT YOUTUBE (accessed today):
"A once great organization is in shambles. Frank Dimant is not just an embarresment to Bnai Brith, but shames our community in front of all of Canada. With his partisan hackery, his baseless accusations of antisemitism where there are none, his willingness to ignore REAL antisemitism on the right when it comes from antisemites who cloak themselves in the shield of being pro-Israel, his ongoing attempt to caste out anyone who disagrees with him - Frank has destroyed Bnai Brith"

Ali Mallah on his Canadian Arab Federation and union activist perspective on Canada's Israel

On May 19, 2011, CHUO 89.1 FM Ottawa The Train's Denis Rancourt interviewed Ali Mallah by phone to Toronto. Mr. Mallah is VP of the Canadian Arab Federation (CAF) and is a longtime unionist (CUPE, Ontario).

We talked about the Israel Lobby in Canada, the corporate fascism in which the state attempts to limit discussions about its moral malfeasance, the lack of firm principled positions of the NDP, war crimes in Gaza, Congo and Sudan, NATO interference in Libya, the grotesque "duty to protect" neo-liberal doctrine, the farce of mainstream media on Israel, the ideological mindset of Harper's party, and more...




Background links:
National Post goes after Ali Mallah and CAF

Related Canadian Jewish News article:

CIC offers Israel trip to NDP’s Layton

By ANDY LEVY-AJZENKOPF
Staff Reporter
Thursday, June 24, 2010

It might be an offer he can’t refuse. Late last week, NDP Leader Jack Layton held discussions with Canada- Israel Committee CEO Shimon Fogel on the possibility of visiting Israel on a CIC-facilitated trip for the NDP’s caucus and various party members. It would be Layton’s first visit to Israel. The talk between the two men came after comments by deputy NDP leader Libby Davies at a June 5 anti-Israel rally in Vancouver, in which she said Israel’s occupation of Palestine began in 1948.

Davies’ remarks led to ongoing calls on Layton during question period in the House of Commons to either kick her out of the NDP caucus or replace her as deputy leader. The situation has also created some discord within the party, with the NDP MP for Outremont, Thomas Mulcair, criticizing his colleague for “grossly unacceptable” remarks. Fogel told The CJN late last week that he was “very encouraged” by Layton’s response to the trip proposal, which would allow the party leader to assemble a delegation of his choosing.

An invitation was also extended to Davies through Layton, Fogel added “It would be a dedicated NDP trip that would provide them with exposure to, and engagement of, the multiple stakeholders in the questions of the day,” Fogel said. There’s no set date for the trip, and the invitation is open-ended. Fogel said he’s now waiting to hear back from Layton, who indicated that he needed to give “logistical considerations” to the trip.

More importantly, Layton told Fogel that as long as he could “remain faithful” to his medical regimen while in Israel – Layton was diagnosed with prostate cancer in February – chances are good the trip will happen. “We’re pretty optimistic we will be able to help facilitate for [Layton] and his party a trip that will give them a more fulsome appreciation of the challenges facing Israel and the complexity of the issues that draw everybody’s attention there,” Fogel said. “My sense is we’ll find a window in the current calendar year for him to go and benefit from that direct [Israel] experience.”

With Parliament now shut down for the summer months, freeing up parliamentarians’ time, Fogel guessed the trip could happen sooner rather than later. In an e-mail response to queries about the trip proposal, Karl Bélanger, the NDP’s senior press secretary, wrote that Layton “appreciates” the invitation, but the NDP won’t comment on the subject until an actual trip is planned. He added: “Many New Democrats have been to the Middle East over the years, some of them at the initiative of the Canada-Israel Committee.”

Students Against Israeli Apartheid - Carleton U

On March 31, 2011, CHUO 89.1 FM Ottawa (Canada) The Train's Denis Rancourt interviewed Morgan Meloche and Mariful Alam about the Boycott-Divestment-Sanctions (BDS) campaign of Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA) of Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada.

The main topic was SAIA-Carleton's highly successful university Board of Governors (BOG) action of Tuesday that was widely reported in Ottawa media: HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE.



[Note: All six executive officers of Hillel Ottawa were invited for a full-hour interview (individually or together or any number) to present the Israel side. After explaining that they could be accommodated in any way regarding scheduling, Chelsea Sauvé, Leah Labib, Jennifer Hadad, Adam Moscoe, Alex Izso and Sam Levine declined the interview.]

Related background article:
The Canadian Zionism Question

Sandra Ruch on the Canada Boat to Gaza (Freedom Flotilla II) campaign

On March 17, 2011, The Train's Denis Rancourt (CHUO 89.1 FM) interviewed activist organizer Sandra Ruch by phone from Toronto about Palestine, Canadian Israel policy and the upcoming Canada Boat to Gaza that will be part of the Freedom Flotilla II in May 2011.

Sandra Ruch is a Jewish Canadian woman who lived in Palestine for two years - which lead to her becoming a committed activist for Palestinian human rights.

The conversation far-reaching, deep, hopeful, and rich with personal experience.

David F. Noble - In Memoriam

On January 6, 2011, CHUO 89.1 FM Ottawa's The Train dedicated the hour to the work and words of David F. Noble. Noble was scheduled to be interviewed on The Train about his seminal book Forces of Production. He passed away unexpectedly on December 27, 2010.

Host Denis Rancourt, a personal friend of Noble, read from recent public statements and from Noble's books.

RELATED LINKS:
David F. Noble page at academicfreedom.ca

Collected LINKS about David F. Noble

Media activist Stephen Lendman on Obama-care, Palestine, US-crimes, START treaty and more

On December 23, 2010, The Train (CHUO 89.1 FM Ottawa, Canada) interviewed Stephen Lendman in a wide-ranging discussion about Obama being worst than Bush, Israeli crimes in Palestine, the START arms treaty, and more.


Lendman makes a strong case that the Obama administration is much worst than was the Bush administration, "without a doubt!"

Lendman's impassioned description of Israeli crimes in Palestine is the most engaging we have heard in a long time from any continent.

Stephen's recommended links on Palestine:
Palestine Chronicle
Electronic Intifada
Palestine Telegraph

Train host Rancourt goes it alone on world to local to campus topics

Palestine justice... Wikileaks calls for murder of Assange... Ottawa police chief Vern White against transparency... U of O president Allan Rock against due process...

On December 2, 2010, Train host Denis Rancourt went it alone. (After a last minute cancellation for very good reason...!)

BACKGROUND LINKS:
Comment on CBC call to murder Assange
Letter to Ottawa police chief Vern White
Letter to U of O president Allan Rock

U of O Watch blog

Israeli Apartheid Week Under Attack

SAIA (Students Against Israeli Apartheid - Carleton) members Sam, Dax and Heba joined us live in studio to discuss the events and controversy surrounding Israeli Apartheid Week.

With recent unanimous Ontario legislature decision to condemn the week, these Palestinian rights supporters explained why the word ''apartheid'' is more than appropriate.

The students also call on Carleton University to adopt a Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions policy.

El-Farouk Khahi

This week activist, lawyer and politician El-Farouk Khaki joined us by phone from Toronto.

A self-proclaimed feminist, Khahi focuses his work on queer rights issues within Islam and works as a lawyer in the filed of human rights and immigration law.

David Noble vs York University and the Israel Lobby

On September 17, Five O'Clock Train co-host Denis Rancourt reported from Toronto where he was a witness to the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal hearings in the case of David Noble vs. York University

David Noble's complaint is related to York University's then practice to cancel class on Jewish High Holidays only. Following an unambiguous investigator's report indicating that the practice was discriminatory, Dr. Noble announced that he would challenge the practice by giving class on Jewish High Holidays. Many acts of reprisal against Professor Noble were perpetrated in this unique case of an individual standing for principles of anti-discrimination in the face of the pressures of the Israel Lobby.

Political Use of the Law

Listen to August 27th's Five O'Clock Train with Human Rights Lawyer Yavar Hameed and York Faculty member David Noble.

In the words of David Noble, ''stop whining, start winning.''