Month: March 2008
Show Details for March 30th, 2008
This week’s Guests:
— JANINE JACKSON of FAIR, re the media
— JABBAR MAGRUDER of Iraq Veterans Against the War
(Three ways to listen — see below)
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– JANINE JACKSON of FAIR, re the media
Monitor co-host Pokey Anderson’s guest tonight is JANINE JACKSON. Janine is the program director for FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting), founded in 1986. They’ll be discussing media issues, including the just-released annual report of FAIR, “Fear & Favor 2007: How power still shapes the news.”
Three years ago, Janine Jackson told Amy Goodman:
“I want truly democratic media because 45 million Americans don’t have health insurance, and a lot of them think it’s their fault. I want democratic media because black and brown kids go to jail because of what somebody read in the newspaper about super-predators. I want truly democratic media because public television just said that a family with lesbian mothers is unfit to be acknowledged, on the network that you and I pay for. And I want truly democratic media because if we had it, tens of thousands, perhaps 100,000 people who have died in Iraq might be alive today.Media reform is not an academic exercise. It’s a crucial problem for our time.” [June 16, 2005, Democracy Now, http://www.democracynow.org/2005/6/16/as_cpb_faces_massive_funding_cuts]
In the intervening years, the numbers have worsened, and it has only become more obvious just how important media is. Like polluted air, polluted media is hard to just avoid.
In the just-released annual report of FAIR, “Fear & Favor 2007: How power still shapes the news,” Janine writes about encroachments into programming by commercial sponsors, or media owners. In one case, she cites an unusually close relationship between CNBC and Citibank. In another, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution blocked a story that reflected poorly on it, a story of violence against blacks in the South. (Perhaps the Journal likened the situation to a tree falling in the forest — if it blocked an investigative story that recognized The Journal’s record of ignoring and whitewashing that history, perhaps no one would notice. )
Janine also examines the problem of journalists who regularly cover government officials, and their being seduced into trading non-critical reporting for continuing access to those officials.
Janine previously co-edited The FAIR Reader: An Extra! Review of Press and Politics in the ’90s. She co-hosts and produces FAIR’s syndicated radio show CounterSpin–a weekly program of media criticism airing on more than 150 stations around the country. Jackson has testified before the Senate, and has appeared on ABC’s Nightline, CNBC’s Inside Business and CNN Headline News, among other outlets. Jackson is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and has an M.A. in sociology from the New School for Social Research.
ARTICLE:
Fear & Favor 2007: How power still shapes the news
By Janine Jackson and Peter Hart
FAIR
March/April 2008
http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=3323
Fear & Favor 2007: How power still shapes the news
By Janine Jackson and Peter Hart
FAIR
March/April 2008
http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=3323
WEBSITE:
FAIR — www.fair.org
BOOK:
The FAIR Reader: An Extra! Review of Press and Politics in the ’90s
The FAIR Reader: An Extra! Review of Press and Politics in the ’90s
— JABBAR MAGRUDER of Iraq Veterans Against the War
JABBAR MAGRUDER is co-host Mark Bebawi’s guest tonight. They’ll be discussing media coverage of the war, vs. what it’s like on the ground. Also, they’ll discuss treatment of veterans.
Jabbar Magruder served in Iraq as a helicopter mechanic in 2005. He is a sergeant in the Army National Guard. He is currently the Los Angeles chapter president and co-chair of the national Board of Directors of Iraq Veterans Against the War.
He writes that when he came back to the States, and attended college,
“What really agitated me is that here were no sentiments about the war whatsoever, no discussions for or against it, just apathy. After seeing an interview of one member of Iraq Veterans Against the War I realized I had to right and the obligation to speak against the domestic enemies of the Constitution.”
He is a student at Cal State University Northridge majoring in Biomedical Physics. He writes, “In Iraq Veterans Against the War I have learned that I am not alone.”
Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) was founded by Iraq war veterans in July 2004 at the annual convention of Veterans for Peace in Boston to give a voice to the large number of active duty service people and veterans who are against this war, but are under various pressures to remain silent.
IVAW calls for:
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Immediate withdrawal of all occupying forces in Iraq;
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Reparations for the human and structural damages Iraq has suffered, and stopping the corporate pillaging of Iraq so that their people can control their own lives and future; and
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Full benefits, adequate healthcare (including mental health), and other supports for returning servicemen and women.
Board of IVAW
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Podcasting
You can have The Monitor saved automatically each week to your iPod or computer.
You can have The Monitor saved automatically each week to your iPod or computer.
The War On Democracy – John Pilger
John Pilger is an award-winning Australian born journalist and documentary filmmaker. He is primarily based in the UK. Much of his work is very worthwhile (if you can look beyond some of his polemical tone and analyze the contents). I came across a link that should interest some of you:
There is no way of telling how long this will be available so watch it while you can and then go to his website and order yourself a copy.
Show Details for March 23rd, 2008
This week’s Features note: no headlines this week
— WINTER SOLDIER – a brief montage
— JAMES PAUL on the Iraq War
— BARACK OBAMA’S speech in full: “A More Perfect Union”
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— WINTER SOLDIER, a brief montage of testimony by members of the US military serving in Iraq and Afghanistan
As the US war in Iraq hits 5 years of devastation, hundreds of veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars gathered just outside Washington, D.C. this past week to testify about their experiences. Called “Winter Soldier,” it echoed a similar event held by Vietnam veterans in 1971. The current event was organized by Iraq Veterans Against the War — www.ivaw.org.
Aaron Glantz co-anchored Pacifica Radio’s live coverage of Winter Soldier 2008. Aaron writes that the event got “only a small article in the metro section of the Washington Post; the New York Times¸ CNN, ABC, NBC, and CBS ignored it completely.” We will play for you a montage created by Aaron’s crew.
Aaron was a guest on Arab Voices on KPFT this past Wednesday. To hear Aaron and more on the Winter Soldier, go to ArabVoices.net, or see links below
AUDIO, PHOTOS:
Winter Soldier audio and images — www.warcomeshome.org
Winter Soldier audio and images — www.warcomeshome.org
Includes audio from many of the veteran’s testimonials from Winter Soldier, organized by speaker and panel:
Rules of Engagement
The Crisis in Veterans’ Healthcare
Corporate Pillaging and Military Contractors
Gender and Sexuality in the Military
Racism and War: Dehumanization of the Enemy
The Breakdown of the Military
The Future of GI Resistance
Rules of Engagement
The Crisis in Veterans’ Healthcare
Corporate Pillaging and Military Contractors
Gender and Sexuality in the Military
Racism and War: Dehumanization of the Enemy
The Breakdown of the Military
The Future of GI Resistance
ARTICLE:
“Winter Soldiers Move Toward GI Resistance”
by Aaron Glantz
Saturday, March 22, 2008
by Inter Press Service
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/03/22/7822/
“Winter Soldiers Move Toward GI Resistance”
by Aaron Glantz
Saturday, March 22, 2008
by Inter Press Service
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/03/22/7822/
— JAMES PAUL on the Iraq War
JAMES PAUL is tonight’s guest with Monitor co-host Mark Bebawi. James Paul has been Executive Director of Global Policy Forum since its founding in late 1993, and is a well-known speaker and writer on the UN and global policy issues.
Global Policy Forum has released an extensive report titled “War and Occupation in Iraq.” Co-sponsored by 30 NGOs, the report documents issues from the destruction of cultural heritage to corruption to long-term bases and the new U.S. embassy compound. The report states:
“Most public discussion of Iraq today — especially in the United States — focuses on inter-ethnic conflict among Iraqis, the ‘civil war,’ ethnic cleansing, terror bombings and the like. Commentators often blame these tragedies on flawed concepts such as Iraqis’ age-old ethnic hatreds, the extremism of Islam, or the meddlesome impulses of neighboring countries. Anything but the occupation itself.”
QUOTES:
“One issue that frequently gets scant attention is there are some 60,000 prisoners in Iraq, with 24,000 being held by the United States. These are unlawful detainees being held without charge or trial.”
“One issue that frequently gets scant attention is there are some 60,000 prisoners in Iraq, with 24,000 being held by the United States. These are unlawful detainees being held without charge or trial.”
“Another major issue is the extensive air war. Balad Airbase, north of Baghdad, is probably the busiest air facility in the world. Now, some of that is supply shipments, but fundamentally, it’s attacks — everything from drones to fixed wing [planes], all coming at an enormous cost of human life.”
WEBSITE:
Global Policy Forum — http://www.globalpolicy.org
Global Policy Forum — http://www.globalpolicy.org
REPORT:
“War and Occupation in Iraq” — http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/iraq/occupation/report/index.htm
“War and Occupation in Iraq” — http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/iraq/occupation/report/index.htm
— Barack Obama’s speech in full: “A More Perfect Union”
On Tuesday, SENATOR BARACK OBAMA, currently in the lead to win the Democratic nomination for US President, gave a major address in Philadelphia at the Constitution Center. Entitled “A More Perfect Union,” the speech addresses what some have called “the third rail” of American politics, race. He said we need to discuss race rather than run away: “And if we walk away now, if we simply retreat into our respective corners, we will never be able to come together and solve challenges like health care, or education, or the need to find good jobs for every American.”
The speech has won acclaim from many quarters, with some calling it historic. “He may have given the most eloquent political speech America has heard in at least a generation,” wrote The Independent in Britain. Comedian Jon Stewart found it rather noteworthy that he “was talking to Americans about race as though they were adults.”
Senator Obama was recently attacked in national media for sermons made by his long-time friend and minister. In his speech on Tuesday, Obama said of Rev. Jeremiah Wright: “I could no more disown him than I can disown the black community. I could no more disown him than I can disown my white grandmother … who once confessed her fear of black men who pass her by on the street.”
Obama said:
“I am married to a black American who carries within her the blood of slaves and slaveowners – an inheritance we pass on to our two precious daughters. I have brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles and cousins, of every race and every hue, scattered across three continents, and for as long as I live, I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible. It’s a story that hasn’t made me the most conventional candidate. But it is a story that has seared into my genetic makeup the idea that this nation is more than the sum of its parts – that out of many, we are truly one.” …
“[The path to a more perfect union] requires all Americans to realize that your dreams do not have to come at the expense of my dreams; that investing in the health, welfare, and education of black and brown and white children will ultimately help all of America prosper.”
The speech has been listened to nearly 3 million times on YouTube. We play the speech in its entirety.
YouTube video:
Barack Obama: “A More Perfect Union” (Full Speech) — http://youtube.com/watch?v=zrp-v2tHaDo
Barack Obama: “A More Perfect Union” (Full Speech) — http://youtube.com/watch?v=zrp-v2tHaDo
“A More Perfect Union” full text:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/hisownwords
http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/hisownwords
Show Details for March 16th, 2008
Today’s Guests:
— Former Secretary of Labor ROBERT REICH on our economic mess – PLEASE NOTE Robert Reich was not on the show as expected!!
— Law Prof. SCOTT HORTON on two fallen Democratic governors, Eliot Spitzer and Don Siegelman
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Join KPFT and Jim Hightower on Wednesday.
Jim’s new book is Swim Against The Current: Even A Dead Fish Can Go With The Flow
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Landmark River Oaks Theatre, 2009 W. Gray, Houston, TX
Landmark River Oaks Theatre, 2009 W. Gray, Houston, TX
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— Former Secretary of Labor ROBERT REICH on our economic mess
Last week the Federal Reserve set up a gargantuan $200 billion lending program for investment banks and a $100 billion credit line for banks and thrifts. The Fed also loaned money to JP Morgan to bail out Bear Stearns, a major bank. Oil is well over $100 a barrel. Home foreclosures may be 1 to 2 million a year before we are out of those woods, and United for a Fair Economy reports that “the subprime lending debacle has caused the greatest loss of wealth to people of color in modern U.S. history.” Unemployment is rising, many believe we are now in a recession. What are we to make of the continuing troubling economic news?
Monitor co-host Pokey Anderson welcomes ROBERT REICH to the show to try to make sense of the mess.
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— Law Prof. Scott Horton on two fallen Democratic governors, Eliot Spitzer and Don Siegelman
SCOTT HORTON is the second guest of Monitor co-host Pokey Anderson tonight.
He has been closely following the case of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman, now in prison. And, he is now closely following the case of New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, whose resignation takes effect tomorrow. He writes at his blog, No Comment at Harper’s:
“It’s very foolish to consider this [Spitzer] case solely within the framework of the personal destruction of Eliot Spitzer. The larger parameters are far more significant. This is a test of the National Surveillance State which has arisen in the last seven years.”
Horton has said of the Siegelman case:
“After the trial and sentencing, forty-four attorneys general from around the country, Democrats and Republicans, submitted a petition to Congress saying there’s something horribly wrong with this case, it really requires an investigation by Congress. That, as far as I know, has never happened before.” — Democracy Now, August 24, 2007, http://www.democracynow.org/2007/8/24/political_prosecution_justice_dept_holds_onto
A long-time human rights advocate, Scott Horton is chair of the International Law Committee at the New York City Bar Association. He is an adjunct professor of law at Columbia University where he lectures on international law and international humanitarian law. He is a New York attorney known for his work in emerging markets and international law, especially human rights law and the law of armed conflict. He is also been a legal affairs and national security contributor to Harper’s magazine.
ARTICLE:
“The Spitzer Sex Sting: A Few More Questions”
Scott Horton
Harper’s Magazine
March 10, 2008
http://harpers.org/archive/2008/03/hbc-90002589
“The Spitzer Sex Sting: A Few More Questions”
Scott Horton
Harper’s Magazine
March 10, 2008
http://harpers.org/archive/2008/03/hbc-90002589
SCOTT HORTON’S BLOG:
“No Comment” at Harper’s magazine — http://www.harpers.org/subjects/NoComment
“No Comment” at Harper’s magazine — http://www.harpers.org/subjects/NoComment
NPR Report on extra banking scrutiny of those with political connections:
“Banks Scrutinize Even Routine Transactions”
Morning Edition
March 12, 2008
Adam Davidson
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=88132229
Show Details for March 9th, 2008
This week’s guest:
— MARK SCHAPIRO exposes who is keeping products safe. Or not.
Investigative journalist MARK SCHAPIRO is the guest of Monitor co-host Mark Bebawi this evening. They will delve into the toxicities in corporate products, and implications in global markets.
Schapiro’s latest book, published last fall, is Exposed: The Toxic Chemistry of Everday Products and What’s at Stake for American Power. Even while Americans bash Chinese industry for lapses in product safety, it turns out that Europe has leapfrogged ahead of the US, which used to be a world leader on product safety. And, writes Schapiro, “Ninety percent of the chemicals on the market today–some 65,000 substances–have never been assessed for their toxicity.”
They will also discuss the Center for Investigative Reporting, where Schapiro is the editorial director.
Schapiro has been an investigative journalist for more than two decades and has built an award-winning track record with a focus on environmental and international affairs. His work has appeared in Harper’s, The Nation, Mother Jones, and The Atlantic Monthly. He’s also been a correspondent on NOW with Bill Moyers, FRONTLINE/World, and Marketplace.
BOOK:
Exposed: The Toxic Chemistry of Everday Products and What’s at Stake for American Power
Exposed: The Toxic Chemistry of Everday Products and What’s at Stake for American Power
WEBSITE:
Center for Investigative Reporting — http://centerforinvestigativereporting.org
Center for Investigative Reporting — http://centerforinvestigativereporting.org
MORE ON “Exposed”:
http://centerforinvestigativereporting.org/projects/exposed
and http://centerforinvestigativereporting.org/articles/exposedselectedsources
http://centerforinvestigativereporting.org/projects/exposed
and http://centerforinvestigativereporting.org/articles/exposedselectedsources
Show Details for March 2nd, 2008
This week’s guests
— GREG PALAST on Exxon, the Valdez, and Elections
— Journalist DORI SMITH reports on the upcoming primary in Rhode Island
BBC reporter and author GREG PALAST joins Monitor co-host Mark Bebawi tonight.
It’s been 19 years since the Exxon Valdez dumped its load of crude oil across the Prince William Sound in Alaska. Palast writes, “1990 and 1991, I worked for the Chenega and Chugach Natives of Alaska on trying to get Exxon to pay up to save the remote villages of the Sound. Exxon’s response was, “We can hold out in court until you’re all dead.”
In his own inimitable fashion, Palast defines ‘tort reform:’
“‘Tort Reform,’ by which they mean they want to take away the God-given right of any American, rich or poor, to sue the bastards who crush your child’s skull through product negligence, make your heart explode with a faulty medical device, siphon off your pension funds, or poison your food supply with spilled oil.”
Greg’s bestseller “Armed Madhouse” has been called “at once scary, infuriating, fascinating and frustrating,” Palast himself has been dubbed “a fire-breathing investigative reporter.” His other recent bestseller is “The Best Democracy Money Can Buy.”
Greg also continues his investigations on elections. He famously uncovered evidence that Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris, and Florida Elections Unit Chief Clay Roberts, along with the ChoicePoint corporation, rigged the ballots during the US Presidential Election of 2000 and again in 2004.
WEBSITE:
http://www.gregpalast.com
http://www.gregpalast.com
BOOK:
Armed Madhouse: From Baghdad to New Orleans — Sordid Secrets and Strange Tales of a White House Gone Wild
ARTICLE:
“Exxon suxx. McCain duxx”
By Greg Palast
February 28, 2008
http://www.gregpalast.com/exxon-suxx-mccain-duxx/#more-1968
— Journalist DORI SMITH reports on the upcoming primary in Rhode Island
As the Democratic primary continues to heat up, Dori Smith provides us with an exclusive, her audio from Rhode Island, with speech clips by Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, and voters in Rhode Island.
Dori produces a wide-ranging weekly radio show, Talk Nation Radio (http://talknationradio.com), at WHUS in Connecticut, and also has produced for Pacifica. Dori has been investigating election systems for over a year. In January, Dori Smith reported for The Monitor on the New Hampshire primary.
The Monitor 