Desiree Hellegers hosts this episode of the Old Mole Variety Hour, which includes the following segments:
Gaza and the International Criminal Court: The International Criminal Court (ICC) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) have been in the news in recent months for their decisions against Israel and its war in Gaza. In their Left and the Law segment, Jan Haaken and Mike Snedeker talk about the history of these two courts and the differences in their authority to hold international actors to justice. Jan and Mike review recent actions by the ICJ against Israel and discuss the political implications of the court's decisions for the broader movement for Justice in Palestine.
Mask Bans and Covid 19: North Carolina legislators have passed a comprehensive mask ban and politicians elsewhere are pushing to criminalize masking in public space as part of ongoing suppression of political dissent and extension of police power. Frann Michel discusses this attack on our rights, our bodily autonomy, our privacy, and our health, drawing on material from sources including the Death Panel Podcast and the People's CDC, who remind us that "We all have a responsibility to fight this attack on our rights, our bodily autonomy, our privacy and our health. If you stopped masking, now is a good time to reengage with this practice in public spaces, and particularly in political gatherings. If you are organizing an event, please require and distribute high quality masks as visible expression of solidarity."
Anti-Trans Genocide: With June 12 marking the eighth anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, that left 49 people dead and 53 injured, we bring excerpts from an April 19 talk by trans activist Ash Debuse at WSU Vancouver in which they argue that anti-trans violence, transphobic hate speech, legislation, and attempts to erase trans identity, culture, and history, in the U.S. qualifies as genocidal. Following Dean Spade, they argue that "LGBTQ+ advocacy that focuses on rights as a framework for safety and liberation are feeding and reproducing the same systems that actively harm queer people.
The Irish Famine: Larry Bowlden brings a review of Jacqueline O'Mahony's novel about the 1849 famine in Ireland, Sing, Wild Bird, Sing, a story of leaving and finding the Oregon Territories and a different sort of wanderer. The novel is sad and lovely, informative and entertaining.
Click Here for Episode Audio
Image: Left side: logo for KBOO Community Radio, Portland, Oregon, Old Mole Variety Hour. Right side: pink triangle against black background with the words in white: 'Silence=Death'. Image by Gran Fury for ACT-UP, 1987. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Combined by F. Michel with image of a teal-colored N95 respirator mask, Creative Commons 4.0 BY-NC via PNGALL Clipart.
