Talk Nation Radio: American Psyche Regarding Torture and War with Professor Stephen Soldz, Laurie Hasbrook

July 5, 2007

Original interview published on Talk Nation Radio for July 5, 2007

Professor Stephen Soldz of Psyche, Science and Society, and Laurie Hasbrook of Voices for Creative Nonviolence

Produced by Dori Smith at WHUS in Storrs, Connecticut

Professor Stephen Soldz, Laurie Hasbrook, plus Iraqi Labor Leaders on Joe Lieberman re Iran

Peace activist, anti torture protester, and parent, Laurie Hasbrook of Voices for Creative Nonviolence looks at her stay in a jail cell. She found herself reflecting on the meaning of incarceration from the point of view of others who do not know how long they will be in jail.

Professor Stephen Soldz of the Center for Research Evaluation and Program Development, Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis and the University of Massachusetts in Boston looks at questions of ending torture. A specialist in the field of understanding people and society in matters of war and abuse, he joins us to provide insights on the problems such as President George W. Bush’s argument that those arrested and detained in the so-called ‘war on terror’ are evil and therefore less than human, less than deserving of normal rights.

Then we ask Hashmeya Mohsen al Hussein, General Secretary of the Iraq Electrical Utility Workers Union and Faleh Abood Umara, President of the Iraq Federation of Oil Workers, how to cope with world leaders that are difficult and with specifically US Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut who has been pushing for a US attack against Iran. (From their June 16, 2007 talk at IAM Hall in East Hartford, CT before union members, supporters, and activists with CT COW, Connecticut Opposes War.)

They answer a TNR question: ‘We do have in common leaders that do not necessarily represent the views of the people, for example US senator Joseph Lieberman who has just offered the suggestion on US television that the US should attack Iran. What would you like to see American unions, peace activists and others do to build solidarity and share positive information about solutions?

You can find Talk Nation Radio weekly programs online at talknationradio.org including parts one two and three of this special on stopping torture and ending war.