On today’s show, we continue our CA Election coverage with a debate on Santa Clara County’s measure on whether to recall Judge Aaron Persky. The recall campaign was triggered by the Judge’s decision in the case of Brock Turner, a 19 year old Stanford student who raped and brutally assaulted an unconscious woman on campus in January 2015. The trial made international headlines when the victim, Jane Doe, read a statement to the court that ignited a wave of solidarity and push for justice for victims of sexual assault. Turner was found guilty of three felonies, but Judge Persky took the recommendation of the Probation Department and handed down a sentence of 6 months, of which Turner served three.
7:34am – Recall Judge Persky Debate
For: Professor G Marcus Cole is a professor of law at Stanford University.
Against: Judge LaDoris Cordell is a retired Superior Court Judge in Santa Clara, and a former Independent Police Auditor for the City of San Jose.
7:55 – KPFA News: Gaza flotilla blocked by Israeli military
Turning now to the Gaza Strip, there have been a lot of developments over the past couple days. On Sunday, Israel killed three people when it shelled an observation tower inside gaza that it said belongs to Islamic Jihad. Yesterday, forces inside Gaza fired 28 rocket and mortar rounds at what they say were military targets inside Israel — Israel’s retaliated later in the day with dozens of air-strikes on what it says are Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets inside the strip. And, during all this, the civil movement to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza is trying a new tactic — running a flotilla of boats to try to get people–mostly people in need of medical care–out. Rami Almeghari filed this report yesterday from Gaza.
8:08 – Israel Bombarding the Gaza Strip
Phyllis Bennis is a Middle East analyst and fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies; her book Understanding the Palestinian-Israeli conflict: A Primer has just been re-released in an updated edition.
8:33 – Ronen Bergman, senior correspondent for military and intelligence affairs for Yedioth Ahronoth, now author of Rise and Kill first: The secret History of Israel’s Targeted Assassinations.