May 11 - Ukraine's Bogus Referendum and Forthcoming Election; South Korea's Ferry Tragedy Impacts its President As Authorities Pursue Cult; Israel's Active Spying on the U.S.

Full Program

Part 1

We begin with the farcical referendum underway in Eastern Ukraine conducted by the pro-Russian secessionists who are proclaiming themselves leaders of independent republics. We speak with Mykola Raibchuk, a senior research fellow at the Ukrainian Center for Cultural Studies in Kyiv and co-founder and member of the editorial board of Krytyka, a leading Ukrainian intellectual magazine about Ukraine’s chances of surviving this period of destabilization by Russia and conducting an election on May 25 that Putin appears determined to prevent.

Part 2

Then, with much of the world’s attention focused on kidnapped Nigerian schoolgirls, we will look into a full page ad in Sunday’s New York Times blaming the South Korean president for the botched handling of the rescue attempt to free hundreds of school children from a sinking ferry and the prolonged and continuing agony of recovering bodies. Sun Yoon Lee, a professor of International Affairs at the Fletcher School of Diplomacy at Tufts University joins us to discuss demonstrations against President Park and scrutiny of South Korea’s largest public broadcasting company for its coverage of the tragedy, while investigations continue into the former cult leader turned photographer whose family owns the ferry company.

Part 3

Then finally we speak with Jeff Stein, Newsweek’s Intelligence columnist who is a Washington-based editor and investigative reporter specializing in U.S. intelligence, defense and foreign policy who has a weekly column in the Washington Post, SpyTalk. We discuss his article at Newsweek “Israel Won’t Stop Spying on the U.S.” and look into efforts by the U.S. intelligence community to block Israel from joining the visa waiver program on the grounds that it would make it easier for Israeli spies to enter this country.