Justice, or Just Us?

Thursdays: 8-9AM  KUCI 88.9FM or live on www.kuci.org 

RADIO ARCHIVES

Jah Rasta Yogis: Inner Peace Through Music. 

Jah Rasta Yogis aren't just a band, they are an experience. Inner peace through music; balance through meditation. A better world begins within.

Unarmed Insurrections: Understanding When Nonviolence Succeeds and When It Fails. Guest: Kurt Schock. In the last two decades of the twentieth century, a wave of “people power” movements erupted throughout the nondemocratic world. In South Africa, the Philippines, Nepal, Thailand, Burma (Myanmar), China, and elsewhere, mass protest demonstrations, strikes, boycotts, civil disobedience, and other nonviolent actions were brought to bear on a rigid political status quo.  Kurt Schock compares the successes of the antiapartheid movement in South Africa, the people power movement in the Philippines, the pro-democracy movement in Nepal, and the antimilitary movement in Thailand with the failures of the pro-democracy movement in China and the anti-regime challenge in Burma. Schock develops a synthetic framework that allows him to identify which characteristics increase the resilience of a challenge to state repression, and which aspects of a state’s relations can be exploited by such a challenge. By looking at how these methods of protest promoted regime change in some countries but not in others, this book provides rare insight into the often overlooked and little understood power of nonviolent action.

STOP Factory Farming - Erin Williams, Humane Society of the United States

In the United States, 10 billion land animals are raised and killed annually by the meat, egg, and dairy industries. Despite the incredible number of individuals and the routine suffering too many endure, these farm animals do not receive protection under the federal Animal Welfare Act. Moreover, 95 percent of the animals slaughtered each year do not receive protection under the federal Humane Methods of Slaughter Act. And, while each state has its own animal cruelty code, most states exempt common farming practices, no matter how abusive. As a result, across the country, billions of farm animals are denied virtually any protection from the cruelties and inhumane conditions on today's factory farms. The Humane Society of the United States works hard to enact laws that protect farm animals from the abuses they all too commonly suffer throughout their lives—on factory farms, during transport, and at slaughter. Whether through ballot initiatives, state, or federal legislation, The HSUS is a leader when it comes to making humane public policy changes.

The Advocate Celebrates 40 Years  For 40 years, the Advocate magazine has been a leader in providing the Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgendered (LGBT) community with news and opinion.  Now, as this pioneering publication celebrates 4 decades in print, we take a look back at LGBT history and - perhaps more importantly - take a look forward on the challenges and promise that awaits.  My guest for October 4 will be Rachel Dowd, deputy-editor of the Advocate. 

Veterans for Medical Marijuana Access "In his 2007 State of the Union Address, President George W. Bush told the American public that, "We must remember that the best healthcare decisions are not made by government and insurance companies, but by patients and their doctors."  Yet when it comes to medical marijuana, it seems that bureaucrats know what's best.  As the DEA continues to raid cannabis providers throughout CA, a new voice has entered the debate over the use of medical marijuana: Veterans.  Incorporated in 2007, Veterans for Medical Marijuana Access (VMMA) is the only organization in the United States that advocates for veterans' rights to access medical marijuana for therapeutic purposes. VMMA also works to minimize the harm associated with marijuana use, which many veterans believe to be conviction and incarceration.  My guest for September 27 will be Dan Bernath of the D.C. based Marijuana Policy Project. 

Combatants for Peace  The "Combatants for Peace" movement was started jointly by Palestinians and Israelis, who have taken an active part in the cycle of violence; Israelis as soldiers in the Israeli army (IDF) and Palestinians as part of the violent struggle for Palestinian freedom. After brandishing weapons for so many years, and having seen one another only through weapon sights, Israelis and Palestinaians decided to put down their guns, and to fight for peace. Listen to their stories. 8/23/07

THE CASE FOR MIDWIFERY.  Did you know that while the World Health Organization (WHO) does not recommend the routine use pain relief drugs for use in child delivery, yet in the United States roughly 80% of all mothers receive pain relief drugs during child birth.  Moreover, although the WHO recommends non-hospital sites for delivery, in the U.S. nearly all child births take place in a hospital.  In fact, comparing WHO recommendations to U.S. statistics, American mothers appear largely dependent upon the health care industry for what is otherwise a routine aspect of life.  Are U.S. mothers simply privileged, or they victims of what has been dubbed the Maternity Industrial Complex where a dependency upon medicine places the cost of each child birth in the tens of  thousands?  Guest: Susan Hodges, President of Citizens for Midwifery.  Click here for audio.

NIKETOWN MOBILIZATION 2007.  Students Against Sweatshops is set to begin its Niketown Mobilization for 2007.  Tune in to learn about Nike's continued dependence on sweatshop labor, and find out what you can to protest!  Guest: Zack Knorr, Students Against Sweatshops.

Blackalicious: Supreme Lyricism.  When Blackalicious took to the stage last summer at the annual Power to the Peaceful festival in San Francisco, their positive lyrics, funky beats and political consciousness brought tens of thousands of people together at once.  According to AllMusic.com, Blackalicious has generally favored what hip-hoppers call the "positive tip"; in other words, its lyrics have often been spiritual and uplifting rather than violent or misogynous. More than that, they highlight the problems of our growing prison population, the lure of gangsta rap, the evils of money and how it can change you, and the hypocrisy of war.  Yet they do so without ever being preachy.  Tune in to hear the message of peace from the best hip hop act around today. Coming in March.

Black History Month:  Martin & Malcolm - Assessing Legacies Guest: James H. Cone, author of Martin and Malcom and America: Nightmare or Dream? While Martin Luther King, Jr. saw America as "essentially a dream... as yet unfulfilled," Malcolm X viewed America as a realized nightmare.  But were they really so different in their views?  What are the legacies of each figure? What should we take from their teachings, and what should we discard?  Click here for audio.

Cuba: Image and Reality.  Guest Paul D'amato.  It is common to hear Leftists speak of Cuba as a paragon of what they're fighting for; but is it really an example of Socialist ideals?  Why do Leftists refuse to acknowledge the bad while praising the good?  What's good about Cuba, and what is in need of restructuring?  What lessons can we learn from Cuba? 

From Civil Rights to the War Against Militarism: 55 Years of Activism.  Guest Marv Davidov has spent his life dedicated to non-violence, equality and social justice.  Born and raised in a working-class Detroit neighborhood, in 1955 Marv was kicked out of the U.S. Army for performing acts of resistance while fulfilling his enlistment obligation.  In 1961 he joined the Freedom Rider Movement and traveled to Mississippi to register Southern blacks to vote.  Being a white Jewish male, he deliberately violated a "Jim Crow" law by sitting in a "colored only" section of a Mississippi Greyhound Bus Station.  For this “crime” he served 45 days in a Mississippi State Prison.  In 1963, he became a member of the Canada-to-Cuba Peace Walk, and in 1966 became a draft resistance organizer in opposition to the war in Vietnam.  Marv Davidov is perhaps best known as the founder of the Honeywell Project - a nationally known peace organization considered the oldest project in the U.S. confronting war profiteering through civil disobedience. 

TASER Guns and Law Enforcement. Touted as a "less-than-lethal" means of law enforcement, the TASER gun is rapidly becoming a staple of contemporary law enforcement.  How safe is the TASER?  Why is it being marketed for use against non-violent protestors?  Guest: Silja Talvi.  Click here for audio.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and the U.S. Military.  A special investigation by National Public Radio's Daniel Zwerdling reveals that U.S. soldiers returning from Iraq are not only suffering from PTSD, they are also being denied access to mental health services and are even being ridiculed and discharged from service (less than honorably) for claiming PTSD.  We speak with NPR's Daniel Zwerdling and hear about his stunning investigation at Camp Carson, CO.  (12/07/06)  Click here for audio.

Guantanamo Prison & Witness to Torture Frida Berrigan a member of Witness Against Torture talks about her trip to Guantanamo and about future campaigns with Witness Against Torture. 10/19/06  Click here for audio.
 

FNB's goal is to distribute food to the needy, and to provide the information and recipes necessary to set up a Food Not Bombs service in your community. Founded by a small group of friends and activists with the vision of providing food for the hungry, they collect and distribute edible, recoverable food that is thrown away (surplus food). Guest: Keith McHenry, co-founder of Food Not Bombs and author of the book.  Click here for audio.

AIDS AWARENESS & SERVICES IN ORANGE COUNTY.  Shanti Orange County , is a non-profit social service agency, established in 1987 to provide Comfort, Courage and Companionship to persons, living in Orange County , affected with HIV and AIDS. Our mission is to improve the quality of life for Orange County residents by providing a wide array of life-enhancing Wellness Programs. 

An interview with Tom Bottolene of AlliantAction. On October 2 (Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday), seventy-four activists (including the host of "Justice, or Just Us?") were arrested outside a Minneapolis office building attempting to deliver a supoena to Alliant Techsystems, Inc. CEO Daniel J. Murphy.  Alliant Techsystems is a leading manufacturer of anti-personnel landmines, cluster bombs and depleted uranium munitions which many military and non-military experts consider to be "indiscriminant" weapons and therefore a violation of International Law.  This action of nonviolent resistance  was planned by AlliantACTION - a coalition of activists including members of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, Veterans for Peace, Woman Against Military Madness, and the Sisters of St. Joseph.  Click here for audio.

International Peace Day & the American Friends Service Committee.  A number of anti-militarism/pro-peace organizations on the west coast are planning to lead protests and civil disobedience at recruitment stations on September 25th.  Among these organizations is the American Friends Service Committee, an organization with a long tradition of promoting pacifism and working for peace.  Tune in for a discussion about pacifism, civil disobedience, and Quakers.

The Raging Grannies! The Raging Grannies are caring older women who endeavor to raise awareness of issues relating to peace, the environment, and social justice through satirical songs and skits.  They are even willing to enlist for war themselves to save the life of today's young!  A new generation of guerilla protest - thy name: the Raging Grannies.

Todd Chretien - Green Party Candidate for U.S. Senate.  Bring the troops home now?  Abolish the USA Patriot Act?  Build schools, not jails?  Raise taxes on the top 1%?  Immigrant rights?  Abolish the death penalty?  Sound good?  Then tune in to hear Green Party Candidate for U.S. Senate Todd Chretien.

Live from Camp Casey!  Military Families Speak Out member and organizer with the Orange County Peace Coalition Pat Alviso is currently camped outside President Bush's ranch in Crawford, TX waiting for an explanation as to why America's children must kill, fight and die for an unjust and unnecessary war. She'll be reporting for Justice, or Just Us? live from Camp Casey where Cindy Sheehan, Code Pink for Peace, and activists from across the country and - indeed - around the world are holding vigil for peace.

War Resisters League: International Conference Report An interview with Jim Haber of War Resisters League who provides a report back from the International War Resisters League Conference. 9/14/06  Click here for audio.

Israeli Refuseniks and the Israeli Peace Movement.

While it may be hard to tell from mainstream news coverage of the Middle East, there exists within Israel a strong peace movement in opposition to the continued Occupation, as well as to the invasion of Lebanon.  The Refuser Solidarity Network (RSN) was formed in April of 2002 to provide support for the growing Refuser Movement in Israel. The overall objective of the RSN is to support all Israelis who refuse to serve Occupation.  Guest: Judith Kolokoff, Board Member of the Israeli Solidarity Network. 

The Cruelest Show on Earth.  Guest: Orange County People for Animals.  Find out about the cruelty to living things inherent in the animal circus, and find out about demonstration scheduled to greet Ringling Brothers as it makes its way to the Anaheim Pond.  (July 27).

Contextualizing the Israeli-Lebanese Crisis.  Guest: Professor Laura Deeb.  (July 20) UCI professor Laura Deeb has spent extensive time researching community activism in the southern suburbs of Beirut, where Hizballah is the most popular political party.  She is author of An Enchanted Modern: Gender and Public Piety in Shi'i Lebanon.  In response to the current crisis between Israel and Lebanon, Deeb commented: "The current escalation of conflict between Israel and Hizballah has to be understood in the broader context of the new Israeli government and its policies of extreme violence in Gaza, Hizballah's relationship with other groups in Lebanon and the 1982 Israeli invasion and subsequent occupation of Lebanon.  No matter what the underlying rationale for Hizballah's kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers, Israel's response has been disproportionate and counterproductive."  Click here to listen to program.

WHAT IS ANIMAL LAW?  What is animal law?  Do animals have rights?  If so, what are they?  Guest Christine Garcia is lead counsel of the Animal Law Office, a San Francisco based law firm dedicated to defending animals, as well  as those to work to defend animals.  Tune in and find out about this unique legal practice.  Click here for audio.

ANGRY BLACK WHITE BOY, OR THE MISCEGENATION OF MACON DETORNAY.  Macon Detornay is a suburban white boy possessed and politicized by black culture, and filled with rage toward white America.  Soon, he launches the Race Traitor Project, a stress-addled collective that attracts guilty liberals, wannabe gangstas, and bandwagon riders from all over the country to participate in a Day of Apology.  Guest: Author Adam Mansbach.  June 22.  Click here for audio.

  THE NEW IMMIGRANT CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT.  History is in the making!  A new political movement is opening up politics from the bottom up in a way not seen in decades.  Several weeks of mass strikes and protests of young students and workers forced the government to back down from its plan to make it a felony to be in this nation "illegally."  What is the history of this movement?  From where does it get its energy?  And what do we need to know about the myths and realities of migrant workers?  Guest: Justin Akers Chacon, contributor to the International Socialist Review and co-author (with Mike Davis) of the forthcoming book No One is Illegal.  Click here for audio.

TWILIGHT OF THE SUPERHEROES author Deborah Eisenberg. On December 31, 1999 people around the world shared mixed emotions: concern that Y2K would cause the world to fall apart, and hope that a new millennium would bring a peace and prosperity.  When the clock struck midnight and the world didn't fall apart and everything didn't change, the world breathed a sigh of relief.   Meanwhile, downtown from Times Square, 5 friends couldn't believe their luck as they moved into a large Manhattan sublet with a beautiful view of the World Trade Center - perhaps the best view in the city.  Twilight of the Superheroes combines irony and humor to provide a subtle yet pointed commentary on the state of the world and the human condition post-millennium.  June 1, 2006.  Click here for audio.

ASK A MEXICAN As a Q&A column, "Ask a Mexican" has taken on more importance than ever as immigration continues to top our national headlines.  Thus, what began as a fun, silly parody of racism in the United States has become an important source of information and clarification and de-mystification for all things Mexican.  What is the difference between a Mexican and a Hispanic?  A Hispanic and a Latino?  Why don't Mexicans bother to learn to speak English?  Tune in and find out! Guest: Gustavo Arellano.  May 25, 2006  Click here for audio.

Billboard Liberation Front.In the beginning was the Ad. The Ad was brought to the consumer by the Advertiser. Desire, self worth, self image, ambition, hope; all find their genesis in the Ad. Through the Ad and the intent of the Advertiser we form our ideas and learn the myths that make us into what we are as a people. That this method of self definition displaced the earlier methods is beyond debate. It is now clear that the Ad holds the most esteemed position in our cosmology. Jack from Billboard Liberation discusses marketing for the people. 5/18/06  Click here for audio.

Is Iraq Another Vietnam?  Author Kale Baldock discusses his book examining this issue.  The moment the United States' war on Iraq started going wrong, comparisons with the Vietnam War inevitably arose.  Along with 'disaster' and 'failure,' the word 'quagmire' became commonplace.  In what was is our current predicament in Iraq similar to Vietnam?  In what ways is it different?  Is Iraq another Vietnam?  (4/20/06)

BITCH Magazine turns 10!  That's right - 10 years of biting commentary and radical feminism from these pop culture critics.  What were the issues covered by BITCH ten years ago, and what will be the likely issues facing feminism ten years from now?  Justice, or Just Us? chats with Lisa Jervis - co-founder of Bitch Magazine for a look back, and a look forward.

Jel - beat-master of the Anticon collective discusses his new release "Soft Money." Longtime sound architect of the radical indy hip-hop collective Anticon, Jel has until now been content to stand in the background of the many bands (Themselves, Subtle, 13 & God) he helped to create. But on his new solo release Soft Money, Jel provocatively fuses black nationalist rap with indie rock tunefulness. The result is a powerful album that merges pounding beats with equally bombastic politics. (4/6/06)

Benjamin Morgan - director of the film Quality of Life. An interview with director Benjamin Morgan of the film
Quality of Life. The film examines the life of two street graffiti artists working in the Mission District of San Francisco and the struggles they face maintaining their talent as they come of age.  Completely self-financed, hear how the very making of the film itself is akin the ideology of street art.

An Interview with Michael Franti - February 23, 2006

Michael Franti has long used his music and poetry as a form of activism, but never has this been more true than during his recent trip to the war-torn regions of Iraq and Palestine.  Armed with an acoustic guitar and a video camera, musician Michael Franti traveled through war and occupation in Iraq, Israel and Palestine. Along the way he shared his music with families, doctors, musicians, soldiers and everyday people who in turn revealed to him the true cost of war. human cost of war.  His experiences abroad are part of a new movie titled "I Know I'm Not Alone."  Tune into KUCI to hear Franti talk about his new film.

  One Earth Community Collective - Feb. 16, 2006.    The One Earth Community Collective is a group of souls striving to build Earth Consciousness and sustain Global Health through community-building activities, primarily focusing on personal, environmental and political education and activism. The collective has been around for about 9 months, mainly for the purpose of supporting each other in our views and dreams in life. Their activities include: organizing vegetarian/vegan potlucks at public parks, planning Musical events, Camping trips, Beach Clean up days, Movie nights and other fun events. They have also established the One Earth Collective Library - a space for working on projects and helping people of the community to be creative in many ways.

Protecting Workers' and Immigrants' Rights - A Conversation w/ Nativo Lopez. An interview with Nativo Lopez, president of the Mexican American Political Association about the crack down on undocumented workers in Costa Mesa and California's minimum wage.

INSIDE THE WORLD OF DUMPSTER DIVING!  Guest: Jeff Ferrell, author of Empire of Scrounge.

When Jeff Ferrell quit his job as a tenured professor and returned to his home in Ft. Worth, Texas, he began an 8-month odyssey into the underground world of dumpter-diving, trash picking and scrounging.  He also learned quite a bit about the boundaries between legal and criminalized culture and about a society where conspicuous consumption has run amok.  (Original air date: January 12).

In this highly thought-provoking and important critique of the cultural politics of the Left, authors Joseph Heath and Andrew Potter lament that such strategies as culture-jamming and an obsessive rejection of anything conformist have "completely replaced socialism as the basis of radical political thought."  The problem, as they see it, is that the very idea of a counterculture is a myth, one that threatens to true attainment of social justice.

(Original air date: Dec. 15, 2005).

HAS PUNK FINALLY SOLD OUT?  Recent ad campaigns for major corporate entities have adopted the images (Minor Threat) and media (street stencils) inherent in the punk rock scene.  But this is no co-optation, the punk scene appears to be selling to the corporate world!  (Original air date: Dec. 8, 2005)Guest:  Anne Elizabeth Moore, columnist for Punk Planet and author of Hey Kids! Buy This Book!   

ARE SUPREME COURT JUSTICE NOMINEE HEARINGS REALLY TESTS FOR POLITICAL CORRECTNESS?  Guest: Nat Hentoff

Are Supreme Court Justice nominee hearings really tests for political correctness?  At what point does the questioning process become a "litmus test?"  Should justices have to pass a test of acceptability prior to reaching the bench?  Isn't a goal of the Court to decide cases without regard for public opinion?  Always outspoken, Constitutional scholar Nat Hentoff helps us make sense of this tricky process.

UTAH PHILLIPS - "Thoughts on being an anarchist Folk Singer."  Utah Phillips is a legendary storyteller, jokester, spoken word artist and musician.  Here him discuss anarchism, activism, and how he's been able to maintain his optimism. 

NON-FAIR TRADE HALLOWEEN CANDY IS SCARY!  Jamie Guzzi - Global Exchange Cocoa Fair Trade Campaign Coordinator

While chocolate is sweet for us, it is heartbreaking for cocoa producers and their families. In 2001, The US State Department and the ILO reported child slavery on Ivory Coast cocoa farms, the origin of 43 percent of the world's cocoa.  Tune in and find out how to obtain Halloween candy that is certified Fair Trade.  And let's all make Halloween a little bit less scary. 

PORTRAITS OF HOMELESSNESS IN TOMPKINS SQUARE PARK: JIM FLYNN

Stranger to the System is a collection of 20 biographies of homeless people living on the streets of New York City. The book contains 89 photographs and 16 drawings by homeless artists.  This special program will live and direct from Tompkins Square Park in NYC and will feature interviews with some of the personalities featured in the book.

DOES A DISTINCTION BETWEEN ART AND ADVERTISING STILL EXIST? ADBUSTERS

In this "Art/Fart" issue of Adbusters, the editors take on the important topic of the encroachment of corporatism and advertising in the world of art.  Is there still a distinction between art and advertising?  Have artists themselves become commodities?  Does high culture exist, or is the concept itself elitist?

THE TRUTH ABOUT DEVOLUTION: BOB CASALE OF DEVO. 

Hey Spuds!  For years, Devo has been telling us that the human race is falling victim to consumerism, is destroying the planet's natural resources, and is succumbing to the regimented demands of suburban life.  But we didn't listen!  Now the truth can be told.  Bob Casale - co-frontman and co-songwriter for this under-appreciated band talks about science, philosophy, postmodernism, and all things devolution. 

 US WEAPONS SALES 2005: FRIDA BERRIGAN,

 WORLD POLICY INSTITUTE. 

Perhaps no single policy is more at odds with President Bush’s pledge to "end tyranny in our world" than the United States’ role as the world’s leading arms exporting nation. Although arms sales are often justified on the basis of their purported benefits, from securing access to overseas military facilities to rewarding coalition allies in conflicts such as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, these alleged benefits often come at a high price. All too often, U.S. arms transfers end up fueling conflict, arming human rights abusers, or falling into the hands of U.S. adversaries.  (Original air date: July 7, 2005).

ABOLISHING THE DEATH PENALTY: A Conversation with David Kaczinski - brother of the famed Unabomer. New Yorkers Against the Death Penalty (NYADP) is a statewide of organizations and individuals committed to the abolition of capital punishment. NYADP advocates for public policy change through education, grass-roots organizing, and lobbying. NYADP also works with family members of inmates, students, attorneys, and family members of murder victims.  Guest David Kaczinski - brother of the famed Unabomber - tells how his personal experience led him to discover restorative justice and penal reform. (Original air date: July 1, 2005).

WAR TAX RESISTANCE: ED HEDEMANN  It is impossible to conduct modern warfare without soldiers and weapons. But before governments can buy weapons and hire soldiers, they must first raise the necessary money through taxes or borrowing. War tax resistance is refusing to pay some or all of those federal taxes that contribute to military spending. (Original air date: May 26, 2005).

RACHEL FUDGE, SENIOR EDITOR, BITCH: FEMINIST RESPONSE TO POPULAR CULTURE. 

SOLE, PEDESTRIAN, DOSH OF ANTICON! Anticon is a collectively owned record label dedicated that works to promote responsible business practices and genre-bending art.  Tune in to find out why these anti-war, vegan, hip-hop, electronic folk artists have declared a war on self!  Click here to read the interview transcript!

Musician, Lyrist and Activist David Rovics!  David Rovics is one of the most important artists working in the movement for social justice today.  Called the poet laureate of the peace movement, his songs have become the anthem for a new world, the motivation for a new vision, and the rhythm that sets the pace for our actions.  Hear Rovics discuss music as activism, growing up radical, and where the movement must turn.

Ward Churchill - His Own Words.  As University of Colorado professor and longtime author/activist Ward Churchill came under fire for referring to victims in the World Trade Center as "little Eichmann's," one thing lost in the debate was any context that might explain the seemingly gross comparison.  Did Churchill have a point?  What was his point?  Could the public reaction be indicative of a larger cultural desire to forget the complexities of war, genocide and terrorism and relegate responsibility to a select few?  Or is Churchill simply a misguided and dangerous spokesperson for the Left?  Hear Churchill's words in context as Justice, or Just Us? plays Churchill's lecture "Pacifism and Pathology in the American Left" delivered only two months after 9/11 and decide for yourself.

The Governor, Nurses, and Health Care in California.  Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger faced one of the biggest protests of his political career when about 1,500 nurses marched on the Capitol behind black coffins and a New Orleans jazz band playing a death march. They were upset about Schwarzenegger's emergency edict cutting back on the number of nurses required by law in hospitals and emergency rooms, a decision the California Nurses Association says places patients in jeopardy while lining the pockets of for-profit hospitals.   Hear the nurses' side of the debate as we talk to the Regional Director of the California Nurses Association. 
 

The History, Art and Politics of Stenciling  Josh Macphee lays out the most comprehensive book on the art of the street stencil. Stencil Pirates places street graffiti within the larger pantheon of public expression. From political to abstract and purely aesthetic (and even to the official Post No Bills, anyone) - from tagging to public announcements - street stencils have remade the way pedestrians, artists, and even corporations think about public space. Whether as part of the anti-gentrification struggles in New York or as a powerful tool during the recent uprising in Argentina, stencils are placed in their challenging, artistic, and political context. Plus of course, there's a cut-and-spray instruction manual, cardboard patterns, and the hundreds and hundreds (and hundreds) of photos. From Banksy to Tobocman, and a whole lot more. An incredible work, and collection of works.

George Shrub: The World's Only Known Singing CIA AGENT (aka Dave Lippman)

George Shrub has been traveling throughout his globalized domain, sharing his Point of View (the Right One) so that people won't need their own. He employs anti-folk songs and interventionary anthems to explain (and enforce) that the business of America is none of your business, that unions are never civil, and that the proper place for himself, like Wal-Mart, is everywhere. Lippman , meanwhile, has been trying to keep up with his shadow, Shrub, touring closely behind him. He continues to afflict the complacent, occasionally rhyming in the process. Dave has been known to take the air out of the windbags of the week, de-distort history, and rewrite the classics with parody and thrust. Mr. Lippman is the founder of the International Federation of Investigative Songwriters, which no one has joined. He remains one of America's foremost non-corporate comedians.
 

LE TIGRE Merging punk, electronics and dance grooves with radical feminist politics, Le Tigre are among the best and most important and innovative artists recording today.  Their new album This Island tackles George W. Bush ("You make me SICK!"), being openly queer ("Visibility") and the U.S. War against the world ("Peace...Now!") among other topics, all the while creating a sound that is simply too catchy to resist.  Hear Kathleen, Joanna and J.D. discuss the election, feminism, and art in the 21st century.

OZOMATLI Blending Latin, Salsa, Hip-hop, funk, dub and a slew of other genres, Ozomatli are back with a new album that takes on the politics of the times directly while incorporating a new, sophisticated sound.  Can you say "Prague Symphony?"  Listen to the band discuss their new cd "Street Signs," their arrest at the DNC 2000, and the pressures of maintaining their independence from the major labels. 

World War 3 Illustrated  With its emergence onto the underground comic scene in 1979/80, WW3 has consistently provided among the most critical visuals to challenge the political, economic and social landscape. Today, WW3 is in its 25th year of publication, and there is certainly plenty to illustrate. Tune in to hear Co-creator Peter Kuper discuss the importance of graphic art, the War at home, and his project "Empire."  And be sure to visit www.peterkuper.com for visuals.

Police, Politics and Protest: Examining NYPD Tactics at the Republican National Convention.  Over the course of just a few days, the NYPD made over 1,800 arrests during the Republican National Convention.  Reports from those arrested describe the use of orange "dragnets" to block entire sidewalks, terrible conditions at a temporary holding facility (Pier 57), long detention periods, and an inability to place a phone call or consult with an attorney.  Now, the ACLU and National Lawyers Guild have gotten involved, and the NY City Council is opening hearings.  Guest Donna Lieberman of the NYCLU discusses police tactics during the RNC.

When it comes to war, are the media Weapons of Mass Deception? "Weapons of Mass Deception reveals: How the Iraq war was sold to the American public through professional P.R. strategies. ""The First Casualty"": Lies that were told related to the Iraq war. Euphemisms and jargon related to the Iraq war, e.g. ""shock and awe,"" ""Operation Iraqi Freedom,"" ""axis of evil,"" ""coalition of the willing,"" etc. ""War as Opportunity"": How the war on terrorism and the war on Iraq have been used as marketing hooks to sell products and policies that have nothing to do with fighting terrorism. ""Brand America"": The efforts of Charlotte Beers and other U.S. propaganda campaigns designed to win hearts overseas. ""The Mass Media as Propaganda Vehicle"": How news coverage followed Washington's lead and language.   Guest: co-author Sheldon Rampton.

Join the Resistance: Fall in Love!  An interview with filmmaker Frank Lopez.  This critically acclaimed short is inspired by the book "Days of War, Nights of Love", "Chapter L is for Love" by the Crimethinc Ex-Workers Collective. This film narrates this chapter and visually tells a story. The story is about two couples. One who followed the path that will most likely please society and the other too passionate about life to care what anyone thinks.  Find out how love can be revolutionary.

Does Michael Moore always tell the truth?  Author David T. Hardy doesn't think so.  He (along with Jason Clarke) shows how Moore allegedly altered the timeline of Roger and Me in order to unfairly blame things on General Motors that happened before their layoffs, not as a result of them. Regarding Bowling for Columbine, Hardy explains how he took quotes out of context and reassembled them to give the impression that people made speeches they did not make---most famously his interview with Charlton Heston, then president of the NRA. And he illustrates how Moore manipulated statistics in his books Dude, Where’s My Country and Stupid White Men to fit his theories, making some truly outrageous claims in the process. The authors have certainly done their homework, and it's impossible to view Moore's work the same way after reading this book. 

DO WE REALLY WANT MEDIA OBJECTIVITY? 

In the quest to hold our national press corp. to the tenets of media objectivity, have we inadvertently created a media that eschews taking positions on populist ideals?  Isn't the whole point of a free press to be "subjective" in the sense that the press begins with an assumption that those in power need to be held accountable?  Do we really want a neutral media, or do we want one that looks out for the working, the poor, and the voiceless?  At the same time, with most media outlets controlled by corporate interests, how can we afford anything other than an objective media?  Guest Robert McChesney discusses the origins of media objectivity and argues that with some 6 corporations controlling the news, he said/she said journalism is the most we can hope for from the mainstream press.

VETERANS FOR PEACE NATIONAL BUS TOUR  Friday, July 9th, 2004, representatives of Veterans For Peace Chapters 22 and 56 will kick off the National Stop The War Bus Tour. The first stop on the tour will be at the Veterans Memorial Hall in San Francisco, CA. There they will pick up Bay Area chapter members and hold a press conference announcing the cross-country tour to Boston for the annual Veterans For Peace Convention July 22-25 and Democratic National Convention July 26-29. Longtime Orange County activist and one of the founding members of OC Veterans for Peace Jim Gibson will be spending a month on the tour bus.  

BRUCE GAGNON, GLOBAL NETWORK AGAINST WEAPONS IN SPACE  The arms race is moving into space. The U.S. Space Command, headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, has publicly stated that it intends "to control space in order to protect U.S. interests and investments." It is crucial that the movement to stop this new round in the arms race moves quickly ahead. During the Persian Gulf War the U.S. became convinced that whomever controls space will be able to project force "in space, from space and into space". The Pentagon believes that future military success will depend on space capabilities.  

ADBUSTERS & THE MEDIA FOUNDATION Guest: Tim Walker, Media Campaign Coordinator for Adbusters.  Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Adbusters is a not-for-profit, reader-supported, 120,000-circulation magazine concerned about the erosion of our physical and cultural environments by commercial forces.  Adbusters offers incisive philosophical articles as well as activist commentary from around the world addressing issues ranging from genetically modified foods to media concentration. In addition, our annual social marketing campaigns like Buy Nothing Day and TV Turnoff Week have made us an important activist networking group.

BACK FROM IRAQ & AFGHANISTAN: AN "EMBEDDED" REPORT FROM HENRY ROLLINS. A one hour interview with HENRY ROLLINS (Black Flag, Rollins Band) upon his return from Iraq and Afghanistan as an "embedded" guest. Always opinionated and outspoken, Henry Rollins cannot be pigeonholed as liberal or conservative, lefty or libertarian.  Hear his firsthand account of the war on terror and decide for yourself.

THE BUYING OF THE PRESIDENCY 2004 Guest: Charles Lewis & the Center for Public Integrity. Which candidate for the presidency was paid by a pharmaceutical firm to give speeches while running for th e Senate?  Who turned the Homeland Security Act into a bonanza for the biotech industry?  Which candidate proposed 32 separate tax breaks for big businesses that support his campaign?  Who is the go-to-guy for the insurance industry?   

THE WHEELS OF JUSTICE BUS TOUR Guest: Elizabeth Russell-Tour Manager and Tom Sager-Veterans for Peace Iraq Water Project.     

 Having seen and lived with war, terror, and 

THE TRUTH ABOUT GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOOD 

Guest: Jeffrey Smith, Author of Seeds of Deception.

Think genetically modified foods are safe?  Think again.  Changes in the DNA of crops can influence a plant's nutritional content, while genetic engineering can transform a harmless food into one containing potentially deadly allergens. British studies report that animals  fed GMOs had smaller, less developed brains, livers, and testicles, while others had enlarged tissues, atrophy of the liver, and an increased potential for cancer. Europe has all but banned GMOs, but in the United States, approximately 80% of soy and 35% of corn crops are genetically modified, with derivatives of these crops found in 70% of all processed foods.  Meanwhile, the regulations in the U.S. are so lax that these products are sold without labels identifying them as GMOs and with no pre-market safety tests.  But if companies like Monsanto have their way, GMOs will dominate the market with mega-corporations owning the patent to our national agricultural supply.

ANIMAL CRUELTY: A PATHWAY TO VIOLENCE?

Guest: Kathleen Heide, Ph.D. - author of Animal Cruelty

MILITARY RECRUITMENT OF LATINO/LATINA YOUTH

Guest: Jorge Mariscal, Ph.D., University of California San Diego

UMAR BIN HASSAN One of the founding members of the seminal spoken-word band The Last Poets, Umar Bin Hassan is today considered one of the progenitors of rap, hip-hop and radical black politics.  In this interview, Hassan discusses the status of art and hip-hop today in an era of mega-music corporations and 24 hour music television. Can black music still be relevant? 

ANIMALS, ACTIVISTS & WAR

Guest: Mr. Rivas-Rivas, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Why are animals being used as soldiers in the U.S. war on Iraq?  What is the relevance of the animal rights movement to the peace movement?  Why have animal rights groups been labeled "terrorists" by the FBI?  Is the life of an animal worth less than the life of a human?  Click here to listen!

SAUL WILLIAMS & NOT IN OUR NAME

Guest: Saul Williams - actor, writer, musician, activist  Not since Edwin Starr's "War" has a song so moved the masses to become  an anthem.  But Saul William's "September 12: Not in Our Name" - along with the pledge of resistance - has become the theme song for a new generation saying "no" to war.  How did the song come about?  What has the reaction been?  What does the future promise for the anti-war movement?

HAS THE INS BECOME A BRANCH OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM? Guest: Michael Welch, Ph.D., Author of DETAINED: Immigration Laws & the Expanding INS Jail Complex.  With the recent passage of legislation calling for the formation of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) has now become part of the war on terrorism.  Yet the role the INS began to change long before the events of September 11, 2001, as our nation's immigrants have historically been the scapegoats of our nations problems.  The most recent trend in criminalizing immigrants actually predates the war on terrorism by some ten years.  Tune in to learn about this troubling trend and what you can do to halt the racist scapegoating of the immigrant population.

GO VEGAN: HERE'S HOW... Guest: Vegan Outreach.  What's up with all of this talk about vegetarianism and going vegan anyway?  What is being vegan, and how is it different from being vegetarian?  Why go vegan?  Find out by tuning in...and no, you won't starve. 

EMBEDDED, OR IN BED?  MEDIA, THE PENTAGON & WAR. Guest: Steve Rendall of Fairness in Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR). In an attempt to place the most positive spin on a pre-emptive war against Iraq while simultaneously silencing allegations of government censorship, in the months prior to the military assault the Pentagon took extreme measures to work with the media for the purpose of public relations.  Providing journalists with war-time media coverage training, certified journalists became "embedded" with the military; that is, journalists were assigned to a particular military unit and promised the most comprehensive access to news footage of the war.  But is the practice of becoming "embedded" a breach of journalistic objectivity on the part of news organizations and reporters?  Can reporters really examine the issues of international law and justice while embedded within a military unit?  Or has media coverage of a possible war against Iraq suffered from a lack of objectivity even before the bombs began to drop? 

REJECT DEFEATISM: KEEPING THE PEACE MOVEMENT MOVING FORWARD Now that war has been waged (escalated?) against the people of Iraq, many peace  activists likely feel deflated, while others question the appropriateness of demonstrating while U.S. troops are abroad.  Guest Michael Albert discusses strategies for the peace movement in a time of war.  Topics for discussion include: stop whining and start winning, being congenial, respecting differences, and moving forward.

PRETTY LIES/DIRTY TRUTHS: ART AND THE WAR - a new art exhibit that offers unflinching views and alternative perspectives of over four score artists who believe that underneath the current patriotic rhetoric lurk that same old motives driven by ignorance, arrogance, and greed. These artists all embrace the proposition that it is time to promote a better vision for the world. We further challenge that if any of the dirty truths presented in this exhibit are found to be untrue that we will offer a public apology and withdraw them from the show. The exhibit may be seen at BC Space Gallery behind the steel door at 235 Forest Avenue, Laguna Beach, CA 92651.  For images of the artwork, click here. 

ENTARTE KUNST RECORDINGS  is a San Francisco based record company that produces and distributes "progressive" electronic music. That is, not only is the sound forward thinking, experimental and genre bending, but the artists that comprise their catalog are committed to delivering not merely a groove, but a powerful message.  Through sound-bites, spoken word, and biting poetry, artists such as the deletist, dj slomo, raw knowledge and drowning dog take on the male dominated, white-supremacist, homophobic, ethno-centric, corporate structure.  Whew! Check 'em out at www.notyourbitch.com.

YO NO QUIERO TACO BELL

Farm workers who pick for Florida growers who sell tomatoes to Taco Bell earn between 40-50 cents for every 32-lb bucket of tomatoes they pick.  That is the same piece rate paid since 1978.  Last year, the Immokalee Workers who represent Taco Bell's tomato pickers began to organize for improved wages, but  to date, Taco Bell has refused to take any responsibility for these sweatshop conditions in the fields where their tomatoes are picked.  Join  Guest Max Perez of the Immokalee Workers as they discuss their current efforts to put pressure on Taco Bell, including their staging of a 10-day hunger strike outside of Taco Bell headquarters right here in Irvine.

MEDICAL MARIJUANA AND THE CASE OF ED ROSENTHAL

CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE: PRACTICAL ADVICE FOR THE POLITICALLY DISENCHANTED What rights do you have if you are arrested at a protest? What can you expect upon your first day in court?  If you are planning a protest, must you obtain a permit?  What is the best way to raise public consciousness?  Guest James Tracy is an anti-poverty activist and organizer living in the San Francisco Bay Area. Currently, he coordinates Right to a Roof, part of the Coalition On Homelessness, SF. In addition to the "Civil Disobedience Handbook...," he has been published in numerous publications most notably Race Poverty and the Environment, NOSH, Maximum Rock and Roll, Shleterforce and many others.  He is also a member of hte Molotov Mouths Outspoken Word Troupe, a seven member collective of political poets. 

VETERANS FOR PEACE Guest: Wilson Powell, National Administrator & World Community Coordinator.Veterans for Peace (VFP) is a non-profit educational and humanitarian organization dedicated to the abolishment of war.  VFP was founded in 1985 by ex-service members committed to sharing the horrors they experienced.  "We know the consequences of American foreign policy because once, at a time in our lives, so many of us carried it out.  We find it sad that war seems so delightful, so often, to those that have no knowledge of it.   We will proudly, and patriotically, continue to denounce war despite whatever misguided sense of euphoria supports it.  Wage Peace!"  Click here to listen!

WHY CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE MATTERS Guest: Howard Zinn. Professor Zinn's appearance on KUCI 88.9FM's Justice, or Just Us? marks the 35 year anniversary of the publication of his book: Disobedience and Democracy: Nine Fallacies on Law and Order recently re-issued by South End Press (www.southendpress.org).  The book was written in part as a response to a 7-1 Supreme Court decision that upheld the criminal conviction of David O'Brien for burning his draft card.  When Justice Abe Fortas wrote a booklet on civil disobedience justifying such prosecutions, professor Zinn drafted a response, which contained 9 fallacies.  Zinn's essay immediately sold over 70,000 copies, and remains as relevant during the current push for war as it did during Vietnam. Click here for MP3 audio file. 

WRITING AS RESISTANCE: THE JOURNAL OF PRISONERS ON PRISONS Guest: Bob Gaucher, Journal editor. Over 2 million people are now incarcerated in the United States - a four-fold increase - and the numbers continue to grow despite a decrease in the violent crime rate.  The prison industry is now the second largest employer in the U.S. after General Motors. But as the state continues to lock people up, and as the academic discipline of criminology continues to gain in its policy influence, rarely are the perspectives of actual inmates acknowledged and/or heard. The Journal of Prisoners on Prisons is the only academic journal containing scholarly work authored exclusively by incarcerated offenders.  The newly published anthology "Writing As Resistance" contains articles from the first twelve years of the journal and includes work on a range of topics, including facility accreditation, victims' rights, crime trends, and political crimes. The Journal of Prisoners on Prisons forces the reader to look the issue of punishement and incarceration in the eye, and it humanizes that which has previously been conceptualized as the "other."  "Writing as Resistance" represents the best the Journal has to offer.

IMPRISONING WOMEN In the past two decades, the number of women being held in the nation's prison increased more than six fold, yet half of all female inmates are serving time for drug offenses.  What social forces can account for the war on women as a byproduct of the war on crime?  Does the imprisonment of women produce unintended social harms or "collateral consequences,"  such as the break-up of the family, the erosion of child-rearing, and the victimization of women by male prison guards?  Has female criminality really increased, or is something else accounting for the mass incarceration of women?  Guest Meda Chesney- Lind i is the author of the award winning Girls, Delinquency and Juvenile Justice and co-editor (with Marc Mauer) of Invisible Punishment: The Collateral Consequences of Mass Imprisonment.  She currently serves as professor of women's studies at the University of Hawaii. Click here for MP3 audio file.

IS PUNISHMENT MERELY COUNTER-VIOLENCE? Is punishment necessary for justice?  Is punishment a form of counter-violence?  Why must we inflict pain to bring about justice?  Are there any alternatives to traditional means of punishment?  Guest: Dennis Sullivan is the author of Restorative Justice: Healing the Foundations of Our Everyday Lives.   He has been an advocate for alternatives to punishment and retributive justice for years.  In 1981 he co-authored The Struggle to be Human which presents an anarchist alternative to contemporary justice practices.  He is the founder of the Institute for Economic & Restorative Justice and the editor of Contemporary Justice Review.  

SOCIAL JUSTICE THROUGH PARTICIPATORY ECONOMICS Does the current economic model that underlies western democracies promote injustice and inequality?  What is the relationship between the economy and social practice?  Is it possible to create a more just economy without compromising productivity or quality?  Guest: Michael Albert,  long time activist, speaker, and writer, is editor of Z-net and co-editor and founder of Z Magazine.  He is also co-founder of the highly influential South End Press which has brought such figures as bell hooks, Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, and Ward Churchill to national prominence.  Albert is the author of some fifteen books on social justice, including Liberating Theory, What is to be Undone, and Stop the Killing Train.  Through his writing and activism, Albert provides a cooperative and liberating economic model for a just society.

WHY RACIAL PROFILING CANNOT WORK Racial profiling is a model of policing based upon faulty assumptions and false logic.  Now, statistics show that stopping more blacks and Hispanics (predictably) does not turn up more drugs or criminals.  Author and law professor David A. Harris discusses his new book Profiles in Injustice: Why Racial Profiling Cannot Work, a rather timely topic as our government expands profiling to other racial groups.

REPARATIONS FOR SLAVERY Native Americans, Jews, Japanese Americans, Alaskans.  All received reparations from the United States government.  So why not reparations for African-Americans in response to the slave trade?  Why won't congress even allow for a committee to study the feasibility of reparations?  Are reparations cash payments, or scholarship funds?  Are they handouts, or funds to provide for African-American national monuments? Guest: Kalonji Olushegun of the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America (www.ncobra.org).  Click here for transcript.

HIP HOP ACTIVISM Hip Hop artist and social activist Mr. Lif of the influential recording label definitive jux was one of the first artists to use his talent to speak out against the U.S. government's military assault against Afghanistan, not to mention the domestic assault on civil liberties.  Songs like "missing persons' file" and "home of the brave" tackle the so-called PATRIOT ACT head on, while his newest release I-PHANTOM provides a critical examination of American values and mores.  Guest: Mr. Lif, live and direct from his tour bus as he travels into the heart of the jungle known as D.C.  [click here for mp3 audio of show] (Requires mp3 audio software player)

LEFT OUT!  MASS MEDIA AND THE EXCLUSION OF DISSENT The myth of the liberal media; the lack of minority voices on National Public Radio (NPR); why corporate media threaten democracy.  Guest: Steve Rendall of Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR), the media watchdog group.  

THE GREEN PARTY AND 3RD PARTY POLITICS Who's stealing votes from whom?  Or why the Democrats want less democracy!  California gubernatorial candidate Peter Miguel Camejo discusses the politics surrounding third party politics, instant runoff voting, the "spoiler" issue, and why the Greens are the only party worth your vote.  

AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND CIVIL DISENFRANCHISEMENT

Following the ratification of the 13th - 15th amendments at the end of the Civil War, many jurisdictions were quick to incorporate civil disenfranchisement laws into their  legal structure as a means to maintain the "purity" of an all-white vote.   Civil disenfranchisement laws remove the right to vote to any individual convicted of a criminal offense, yet the laws are rooted in Jim Crowism and worked to deny blacks the vote for committing crimes that applied disproportionately  to blacks.  Today, as a result of drug laws like the crack vs. powder discrepancy, 13% of African-American men are disenfranchised.  In two states, one in three (33%) of African-American males are disenfranchised.  Interestingly, an offender who receives probation for a single sale of drugs can face a lifetime of disenfranchisement.  That is, he can lose his right to be involved in the community even though he isn't deemed dangerous to the community.  Guest: Marc Mauer of the Sentencing Project discusses the history and political/social impact of civil disenfranchisement laws as they apply to African-Americans.

CONTROLLING THE DANGEROUS CLASSES Has crime control become big business for U.S. corporations or has the criminal justice system always been designed to deal with the surplus population created as a result of the "contradictions" of capitalism?  Author and professor Randall Shelden discusses his book Controlling the Dangerous Classes: A Critical History of Criminal Justice.

THE SILENCING OF POLITICAL DISSENT What rights do citizens have under the newly enacted PATRIOT Act?  Do protestors run the risk of being labeled domestic terrorists?  How do the police violate the first amendment rights of political protestors?  Guest: Carol Sobel of the National Lawyers' Guild discusses the silencing of political dissent with commentary on the Patriot Act, police behavior outside of the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, and outside of the World Economic Forum in New York City.

ANARCHISM AND THE PATRIOT ACT When Sherman Austin was apprehended and detained by the Federal Government for 13 days under the so-called PATRIOT ACT without any charges ever having been brought against him, it was solely because of his political views.  After all, Austin is the webmaster of www.raisethefist.com, a website devoted to anarchist thought and action.  While anarchists like Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman preach pacifism, feminism, and communal living, most people assume anarchism = chaos.  Guest Sherman Austin provides insight into the anarchist philosophy, as well as a chilling description of his personal ordeal under the U.S. PATRIOT Act.

THE PLIGHT OF PALESTINE Is it anti-Semitic to support the Palestinian cause?  Is Zionism racist?  If Palestine was truly "a land without people for a people with no land," as contemporary Zionists contend, then why the discussion of relocating indigenous people?  Why does the U.S. call for peace while continuing to supply the Israeli army to the tune of $5 billion each year?  What is meant by "the occupation?" Guest: Beverly Anderson traveled to the W