We usually return from a long holiday weekend all rested and raring to go. Unfortunately, the news got in the way.

Of course, the oil is still gushing from the underwater BP geyser.  Yes, in the middle of the Memorial Day weekend, BP told us that their Top Kill procedure didn’t work. Then, the world awoke yesterday morning to find that the Israeli Defense Forces had rappelled onto the ships of the FreeGaza flotilla and opened fire on the activists on board who were attempting to bring relief supplies to the people of Gaza.

So much for rest and relaxation.

Tonight on the show, I reached out once again to Dr. David Summers, who blogs under the handle of “Heading Out” at www.TheOilDrum.com to give us the skinny on the latest attempts by BP to stop the spewing.

To talk about the massacre of activists aboard the ships bringing aid to the residents of Gaza by the IDF, I turned to former Congresswoman and 2008 Green Party Presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney.  Cynthia was one of the activists onboard the FreeGaza boat in July 2009 whose passengers were all imprisoned by the Israeli government for about a week.

There’s been no shortage of opinions about this tragedy.  One of the best exchanges took place today on the Dylan Ratigan Show on MSNBC.  Former NY Gov. Eliot Spitzer (filling in for Ratigan) took the role of the typical Israeli apologist; Salon.com’s Glenn Greenwald spoke with sense:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

You can read Glenn Greenwald’s account of the experience here.

I subscribe to the newsletter of Gush Shalom, Gush Shalom (Translated from Hebrew, the name means “The Peace Bloc”) is the hard core of the Israeli peace movement.  Uri Avnery founded Gush Shalom

“when it became apparent that all the older peace groups in Israel were either unable or unwilling to oppose the repressive measures introduced by the new Labor party government headed by Yitzhak Rabin.

When Rabin expelled 415 Islamic activists from the country in late 1992, a spontaneous protest by Jewish and Arab Israelis led to the setting up of protest tents opposite the prime minister’s office in Jerusalem. This protest lasted for 45 days and nights during the winter. Following the debates in the tents, and in view of the silence of other Israeli peace groups, some of the protesters decided that a new Israeli peace movement was needed. They defined themselves as “Peacer than Peace Now” and founded Gush Shalom.”

Regarding this latest example of Israel flexing her might against aid activists, Gush Shalom and Avnery ran this ad in Hebrew in the Israeli paper Haaretz today:

A Crime Against Israel

What happened yesterday is a crime. A crime against the State of Israel.

A band of foolhardy, irresponsible and power-drunk persons decided on an action that was bound to result in people being killed and injured.

No sensible person in Israel or abroad will buy the collection of lies and pretexts with which those responsible are trying to justify themselves. The more so since no one of the victims has been allowed to speak.

Not only was this operation immoral, but it is also turning aginst us the last of our sympathizers in the world and adding strength to those who call for a boycott on Israel.

There is only one way to limit the damage:

  • TO CALL for the immediate appointment of an international board of inquiry to investigate the event.
  • TO LIFT at once the immoral and illegal blockade against the million and a half inhabitants of the Gaza Strip.
  • TO IMPLEMENT the proposed prisoner exchange and free Gilad Shalit.

Huge damage has been done. We must try to repair it as best as possible.

–Gush Shalom

I also mentioned on the show tonight Uri Avnery’s lastest column, in which he proclaims that Rahm Emanuel is much despised by the leaders in Israel.  You can read that piece here.

Also on tonight’s show, Victoria Jones checked in with an update from the Talk Radio News Service.

And, as we usually do on Mondays (but yesterday was a holiday!), Nicole Belle checked in from Crooks & Liars for our Talking Heads recap.

Tomorrow night, hopefully, we’ll have a visit from Greta Berlin of FreeGaza.org with an update on the two ships still headed for Gaza, Christy Harvey of the Center for American Progress, a look at the use of psychedelic drugs like LSD for treatment of PTSD (including on returning veterans!), and we’ll find out about the Bilderbergers as they gather in Spain this week.

Talk to you tomorrow… radio or not!