Phil Taylor

The Taylor Report, heard Mondays from 5:00-6:00 pm, is one of CIUT's flagship spoken word programs. Show host and producer Phil Taylor has a long and fascinating history as a social activist and journalist. He grew up in California, but has lived in Canada for the past 30 years. He's been a US Marine, a newspaper journalist, and a television producer. Taylor currently works as an investigator for prominent human rights lawyers including former US Attorney-General and civil rights advocate Ramsey Clark, and Toronto-based Charles Roach. Roach's work as a defense lawyer involved in the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda has given Taylor the opportunity to work in Africa. Website: http://www.taylor-report.com/.

Jul 272012
 

And Yves Engler on the Quebec student movement.

by Phil Taylor the Taylor Report for CIUT

Poet Joe Rosenblatt on the important work of Milton Acorn. Celebrated illustrator Francis Back objects to glorification/distortion of the war of 1812. Yves Engler explains the dynamics of Quebec student movemen

References
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Jul 112012
 

Also: Saudi funding for Syrian rebels?

Rick Rozoff of Stop NATO describes describes the NATO meeting occurring during heightened tensions with Syria. With the war machine heating up, he investigates the position of the new government in France, the composition of the UN team, and whether the UN is a problem or a solution.

Zafar Bangash reveals the foreign support for Syria's rebels. "The Saudis have opened their chequebooks."

References

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Jun 062012
 

Featured guests are Elias Amare, Zafar Bangash.

by Phil Taylor the Taylor Report for CIUT

First, the host tackles the Quebec students and recent negotiations. Then, Elias Amare, an authority on Eritrea, explains the last two decades of activity by this major player in African affairs — Eritrea is one of the only countries in the Horn of Africa boasting a recent record of peaceful relations.

Finally, Zafar Bangash returns to discuss the situation in Syria: is it time for the heroes of Washington and Paris to get to work? The tragic massacre in Houla is being interpreted in a partisan fashion in the West. Meanwhile, the US has fallen into its old habit of supporting extremist radicals to topple enemy regimes.

References
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May 222012
 

Liberia, Rwanda watch Leon Mugesera trial closely.

by Phil Taylor the Taylor Report for CIUT

There is a law of politics, and a politics of law. Phil and guest Chris Black investigate the mechanisms of justice in Paul Kagame's Rwanda: even friendly Canada keeps a close eye on the trial of Leon Mugesera because of systematic irregularities. How does one try a genocide case, and what are the rules?

Phil also investigates the inspiring example of Justice Sow, who brought attention to the politicization of the Charles Taylor tribunal.

 

References
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May 152012
 

Also: NATO's missile shield as "strategic options".

by Phil Taylor the Taylor Report for CIUT

Phil continues the investigation into the arrest and trial of Victoire Ingabire, the Rwandan woman who returned from Holland to run for the office of Rwandan president, only to end up in a Rwandan jail. This presidential candidate is now on trial in Kigali, where she has dismissed her lawyer as a protest against the court and refused to participate further.

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May 082012
 

Also: taxi co-operatives, cabs as public transit.

by Phil Taylor the Taylor Report for CIUT

Phil speaks to David Hoile about his recent article, The International Criminal Court: Europe's Guantanamo Bay and this court's conviction of deposed former Liberian president, Charles Taylor. The warlike situation between Sudan and South Sudan is also explored.

Phil also interviews Jacob Leibovitch of the Ontario iTaxiworkers Union about different urban models of providing taxi service as part of a comprehensive public transit strategy. Jacob was involved in organizing a special labour conference in Toronto featuring Prof. Erik Olin-Wright of Madison, Wisconsin. Wright described a taxi service that is provided by a driver cooperative.

Website: http://www.taylor-report.com/

References 
  Mp3 
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May 012012
 

Sometimes UN Presence can make things worse

by Phil Taylor

In 1994, Victoire Ingabire was in Holland when the negotiations and ceasefire broke down in Rwanda.  She returned to Rwanda in 2010 to challenge the President electorally.  Now, she lives under arrest.  Ann Garrison discusses the very different rules that seem to exist in court cases pertaining to Rwanda.

Phil reminds us that the disaster in Rwanda occurred in the context of a UN intervention, and not its absence.  He draws parallels between the UN presence in Rwanda and Syria.  Foreign military forces operating in a trouble spot can overrun their mandate, leading to the notorious "mission creep."  Can the UN buck the trend and put together a balanced corps of observers?
 

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Podcast

Apr 222012
 

Looking at student strikes in Quebec, and racist legacy in US.

by Phil Taylor the Taylor Report for CIUT

 

Phil speaks with Thomas Martin Sobottke, author of Across that Dark River, a meditation on the American Civil War and the continuing issue of race in America. Sobottke tries to understand the US attempts to come to grips with institutionalized racism following the civil-war.

Then, Montreal grad student Sunci Avlijas returns to the program to report on the progress of the economic disruption strategy in the Quebec student strike.

Finally, Phil reaches Thomas Mountain in the middle of the night in Africa to discuss Western intelligence operations and Etiophia's continuing aid dependence.

Website: http://www.taylor-report.com/

References
  Online listening stream
  Mp3
  Podcast

Apr 042012
 

And: marching to Jerusalem; Kofi Annan's role in Syria.

by Phil Taylor the Taylor Report for CIUT

You may have known that Albert Einstein was a committed socialist activist. Thanks to author Fred Jerome, however, we also have an account of his views on Israel. Now, Jerome comments on the release of the Einstein archives. Letters stretching from the 1920s into the 1950s expand our understanding of Einstein's engagement with the question of Israel.

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Mar 272012
 

"A Black-and-White morality play is not going to solve anything in Africa."

by Phil Taylor the Taylor Report for CIUT

George Clooney wants intervention in Sudan. The Taylor Report interviews David Hoile from the European Sudanese Public Affairs Committee. "People who have been around the block a few times have very little patience for people like George Clooney," suggests Hoile, who delves into the contradictions of Hollywood liberal interventionists, and describes the Sudan border conflict.

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