Saturday, May 28, 2011

John Perkins: Mystic, Hit-Man, Prophet


New World Notes News
Vol. 4, No. 22 -- May 28, 2011

This week in New World Notes, radio program #169, May 31, 2011

John Perkins:
Mystic, Hit-Man, Prophet

In brief

We may be entering a new epoch of love and compassion, says former "economic hit-man" John Perkins. But we've got to help make it happen.

In this interesting and often funny talk, Perkins tells of his comic experiences in the Peace Corps in the Amazon ... of being saved from death by a local *shaman* through a "shape-shifting" ceremony ... of prophesies that suggest that the world is on the cusp of a kindlier era ... of a visit with the Dalai Lama, who told Perkins that the next Dalai Lama will probably not be Buddhist and will probably come from the Amazon or Andes.

Plus a brief recap of how "economic hit-men" and other covert agents help Western governments and corporations plunder the Third World.
Notes, credits, & links

This installment rebroadcasts selections from a long talk Perkins gave in Seattle in April 2011 and broadcast on Mike McCormick's radio series, "Mind Over Matters" (http://www.talkingsticktv.org/).

Perkins' best-known book is Confessions of An Economic Hit-Man (2008).
Music added: Roy Zimmerman, "Multinational Anthem"

New World Notes is produced under the auspices (Latin for "very noses") of WWUH-FM, a community service of that beacon of light in darkest Connecticut, the University of Hartford.

You can listen to any installment of New World Notes online or else download it (as an mp3 audio file) for later listening. The show is archived at both radio4all.net and (from #90 onwards) The Internet Archive. Either link should get you a reverse-chrono listing of available installments. Or browse the show's Web site: Each installment has a page, and each page has links to the recorded audio.

Series overview: Political and social commentary in a variety of genres. Exploring the gap between what we want ... and what they're trying to make us settle for.
Below: Shuar women

Coming soon (Tuesday air debut date shown)
  • June 7 -- Eros, Mars, and Other Gods
Catch New World Notes (all times Eastern):
A-Infos Radio Project http://www.radio4all.net
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Saturday, May 21, 2011

Corporations vs. Schoolchildren


New World Notes News
Vol. 4, No. 21 -- May 21, 2011

This week in New World Notes, radio program #168, May 24, 2011


Corporations vs. Schoolchildren


In brief

The intensifying attack on public schools has 2 prongs. One is the campaign to turn the schools over to for-profit corporations. Glen Ford and Mumia Abu-Jamal analyze the scam brilliantly.

The second prong is consumer advertising and marketing to a captive audience of students within the schools. Many schools are so under-funded that they feel they have to let the marketers in. This segment rebroadcasts portions of a nice Canadian documentary, Corporations in the Classroom.

Below: Glen Ford


Notes, credits, & links

Thanks to Robin Upton, of www.unwelcomeguests.net, for turning up Corporations in the Classroom.

More from Glen Ford here: http://www.blackagendareport.com/ . More from Mumia here: http://www.prisonradio.org/mumia.htm .
New World Notes is produced under the auspices (Latin for "resigned sighs") of WWUH-FM, a community service of that beacon of light in darkest Connecticut, the University of Hartford.

You can listen to any installment of New World Notes online or else download it (as an mp3 audio file) for later listening. The show is archived at both radio4all.net and (from #90 onwards) The Internet Archive. Either link should get you a reverse-chrono listing of available installments. Or browse the show's Web site: Each installment has a page, and each page has links to the recorded audio.

Series overview: Political and social commentary in a variety of genres. Exploring the gap between what we want ... and what they're trying to make us settle for.
Coming soon (Tuesday air debut date shown)


  • May 31 -- John Perkins: Mystic, Hit-Man, Prophet
Catch New World Notes (all times Eastern):



A-Infos Radio Project http://www.radio4all.net


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Saturday, May 14, 2011

Joe Bageant

New World Notes News
Vol. 4, No. 20 -- May 14, 2011

This week in New World Notes, radio program #167, May 17, 2011

Joe Bageant


In brief

A celebration of writer Joe Bageant, who died March 26. The self-described "redneck socialist" wrote brilliantly, profanely, and wittily on the corporate plundering of America--and on the connivance of our politicians in that plunder.

Rare among writers, he wrote sympathetically of the culture of a despised minority group. This was poor whites--"rednecks," he called them--and he was born and raised one himself. He's best known for his best-selling book, Deer Hunting With Jesus (2008).

This installment features readings from two of Bageant's essays, a terrific obituary in a style much like Joe's, and selections from documentaries and recorded interviews.

Below: Joe and friend Fred Reed, in Mexico. We'll hear Fred's excellent obituary of Joe.

Notes, credits, & links New World Notes is produced under the auspices (Latin for "false promises") of WWUH-FM, a community service of that beacon of light in darkest Connecticut, the University of Hartford.

You can listen to any installment of New World Notes online or else download it (as an mp3 audio file) for later listening. The show is archived at both radio4all.net and (from #90 onwards) The Internet Archive. Either link should get you a reverse-chrono listing of available installments. Or browse the show's Web site: Each installment has a page, and each page has links to the recorded audio.

Series overview: Political and social commentary in a variety of genres. Exploring the gap between what we want ... and what they're trying to make us settle for.

Coming soon (Tuesday air debut date shown)

  • May 24 -- Corporations vs. Schoolchildren
Catch New World Notes (all times Eastern):


A-Infos Radio Project http://www.radio4all.net

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Saturday, May 7, 2011

Sick of War

New World Notes News
Vol. 4, No. 19 -- May 7, 2011

This week in New World Notes, radio program #166, May 10, 2011

Sick of War

In brief

Since my birth in 1950, U.S. foreign policy seems to have consisted of war, war, empire building, and more war. Is anybody else sick of this? ... or at least feeling broke from paying for it all?

Two fine thinkers (and I too) explore the problem.

(1) Michael Parenti (1990s) discusses the the functions & purposes of the American empire and why "we" invade so many countries and overthrow their governments--many of them democracies. With an update by Parenti, from 2009, on the real reasons for our bombing of the former Yugoslavia (recorded live in West Hartford by me).

(2) Bruce Gagnon--famed crusader against the militarization of space & related worthy issues--discusses the U.S.'s policy of Endless War and the related destruction of our industrial base. And he shows who profits from these events. HINT: it's not our children, who face a future of no jobs outside the armed forces. (Also recorded live in West Hartford by me, in 2010.)

Above: Bruce Gagnon in 2004.

Notes, credits, & links

Music (outro): from Pete Seeger, Bring 'Em Home

New World Notes is produced under the auspices (Latin for "boiler room") of WWUH-FM, a community service of that beacon of light in darkest Connecticut, the University of Hartford.
You can listen to any installment of New World Notes online or else download it (as an mp3 audio file) for later listening. The show is archived at both radio4all.net and (from #90 onwards) The Internet Archive. Either link should get you a reverse-chrono listing of available installments. Or browse the show's Web site: Each installment has a page, and each page has links to the recorded audio.

Series overview: Political and social commentary in a variety of genres. Exploring the gap between what we want ... and what they're trying to make us settle for.


Kenneth Dowst


Coming soon (Tuesday air debut date shown)



  • May 17 -- Joe Bageant
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Thursday, April 28, 2011

Peasant of the Dawn

New World Notes News
Vol. 4, No. 18 -- April 28, 2011

This week in New World Notes, radio program #165, May 3, 2011

Peasant of the Dawn

In brief

Nice audiocollage by Virtual Renderings, introduced & slightly condensed by me. It's a meditation on class warfare, the ruling elite's dislike of democracy, American exceptionalism, economic inequality, mind control, and the prescience of George Orwell.

Voices heard belong to Howard Zinn, Michael Parenti, Noam Chomsky, historian Morris Berman, and Ken Nordine (himself a master of audiocollage), among others. Includes dramatic readings from Orwell's 1984. Don't miss the mashup satiric duet featuring Harry Shearer and Barack H. Obama ("Yes, We Can ... But").

Above: Historian Morris Berman. Below: Harry Shearer. When he's not mashing up duets with Obama, he's supplying the voices of a dozen Simpsons characters, Among them Mr. Burns, Smithers, Ned Flanders, and Principal Skinner.

Notes, credits, & links

Thanks to Virtual Renderings/Chazk for a large body of very good audio.

You can download without charge (or listen online to) dozens of Virtual Rendering's audiocollages. Here is a listing: http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/contributor/2102 . Click on any listed item for more information & download links. The uncut version of "Peasant of the Dawn" is here: http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/49945

New World Notes is produced under the auspices (Latin for "Executive Dining Room") of WWUH-FM, a community service of that beacon of light in darkest Connecticut, the University of Hartford.

You can listen to any installment of New World Notes online or else download it (as an mp3 audio file) for later listening. The show is archived at both radio4all.net and (from #90 onwards) The Internet Archive. Either link should get you a reverse-chrono listing of available installments. Or browse the show's Web site: Each installment has a page, and each page has links to the recorded audio.

Series overview: Political and social commentary in a variety of genres. Exploring the gap between what we want ... and what they're trying to make us settle for.
Coming soon (Tuesday air debut date shown)


  • May 10 -- Sick of War
Catch New World Notes (all times Eastern):



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Saturday, April 23, 2011

They Warned Us!



New World Notes News
Vol. 4, No. 17 -- April 23, 2011



This week in New World Notes, radio program #164, April 26, 2011



They Warned Us!



In brief


The country is in a mess, economically, politically, in terms of civil liberties ... you name it! Well, it's not that nobody warned us where we were heading! Three prophets of years past combine wit, humor, and insight:

(1) Comedian George Carlin (2 routines from the 1990s) discusses the exploitation by the rich of everyone else, our non-functioning democracy, the falseness of The American Dream, class warfare, "divide and conquer," and Wall Street's determination to get your Social Security money for themselves.

(2) Political scientist Michael Parenti (early 1990s) corroborates Carlin on Social Security.

(3) Parenti goes on to discuss the U.S. government's & media's (then-recent or ongoing) propaganda campaigns seeking to drum up public support for attacking Libya, Panama, and Iraq--and for overthrowing the governments of Gaddafi, Noriega, & Saddam Hussein (respectively).

(4) Spoken-word artist Jello Biafra (2008, before the election) warns that Obama is just another "business as usual" politician dedicated only to reducing civil liberties, building the empire, and advancing the financial interests of the powerful corporations. (Just look at his voting record in the Senate!)


Below: Michael Parenti


Notes, credits, & links
New World Notes is produced under the auspices (Latin for "imprimatur") of WWUH-FM, a community service of that beacon of light in darkest Connecticut, the University of Hartford.
You can listen to any installment of New World Notes online or else download it (as an mp3 audio file) for later listening. The show is archived at both radio4all.net'>radio4all.net and (from #90 onwards) The Internet Archive. Either link should get you a reverse-chrono listing of available installments. Or browse the show's Web site: Each installment has a page, and each page has links to the recorded audio.
Series overview: Political and social commentary in a variety of genres. Exploring the gap between what we want ... and what they're trying to make us settle for.


Above: Jello Biafra


Coming soon (Tuesday air debut date shown)



  • May 3 -- Peasant of the Dawn Very nice audiocollage by Virtual Renderings.
Catch New World Notes (all times Eastern):




A-Infos Radio Project http://www.radio4all.net



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Saturday, April 16, 2011

The OTHER People's Historian: David Rovics


New World Notes News Vol. 4, No. 16 -- April 16, 2011


Once again, the formatting is all messed up--though not quite as bad as in the previous entry--and my attempts to fix it aren't working. We are not amused.


This week in New World Notes, radio program #163, April 19, 2011


The OTHER People's Historian: David Rovics


In brief


David Rovics makes history interesting, relevant, occasionally inspiring. This week we offer four Rovics songs on historical events plus some background and commentary by me. The topics are



  • deindustrialization & decay of once-vital cities (specifically, Danbury, Connecticut)

  • the (anti-slavery) Abolitionists John Brown and Henry Ward Beecher

  • the revolt of "the little guy"--particularly war veterans--against the bankers, government, and other powerful interests after the Revolutionary War (Shays' Rebellion, 1786-87)

  • the first great Arab revolt of 2011, by the people of Tunisia.

Titles:



  1. Used to Be a City

  2. John Brown*

  3. Berkshire Hills

  4. Tunisia 2011*

*from Rovics' new studio album, The Big Red Sessions.

Rovics is good indeed at writing "bottom-up" history--which stresses how the world was experienced by the common people. He works in the same genre as did the late Howard Zinn. On top of that, Rovics is a very talented singer/songwriter and musician. So listen to him for the excellent music, if not for the history lessons. (See below for the address of his free archive.)

Above: Danbury Fair, Connecticut (1970s?). ("Used to be a City.") Below: Monument commemorating the last battle of Shays' Rebellion, Sheffield, southwestern Massachusetts. The government and the bankers won. ("Berkshire Hills.") Most graphics: Click to enlarge.


Notes, credits, & links http://davidrovics.com/


David Rovics' recorded music is available for free (payments also are accepted): http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=111310 New World Notes is produced under the auspices (Latin for "Boardwalk") of WWUH-FM, a community service of that beacon of light in darkest Connecticut, the University of Hartford. You can listen to any installment of New World Notes online or else download it (as an mp3 audio file) for later listening. The show is archived at both radio4all.net'>radio4all.net and (from #90 onwards) The Internet Archive. Either link should get you a reverse-chrono listing of available installments. Or browse the show's Web site: Each installment has a page, and each page has links to the recorded audio. Series overview: Political and social commentary in a variety of genres. Exploring the gap between what we want ... and what they're trying to make us settle for.


Above: Abolitionist John Brown, in Kansas Territory, holding a Beecher's Bible (viewer's left) and King James Bible (right). ("John Brown.") Below: Mohammed Bouazizi, Tunisian, d. December 17, 2010. His self-immolation touched off the first of the great revolts of the Arab peoples in 2011. The revolt drove Tunisian dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to resign and flee the country. Rest in peace, Mohammed. ("Tunisia, 2011.")


Coming soon (Tuesday air debut date shown)



  • April 26 -- They Warned Us! Featuring George Carlin, Michael Parenti, and Jello Biafra.
Catch New World Notes (all times Eastern):




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Saturday, April 2, 2011

Renegades

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Friday, March 18, 2011

The Lightbulb Conspiracy


New World Notes News
Vol. 4, Nos. 12 & 13 -- March 18, 2011

This fortnight in New World Notes, radio programs #159 & 160, March 22 & 29, 2011

The Lightbulb Conspiracy

In brief

A 2-part radio adaptation of an interesting documentary film. It's about a 20th-century innovation in product design: "planned obsolescence." That is, about consumer products designed to fail early so that another must be purchased--and about the bad effects on our lives and on the environment of this wasteful strategy.

Topics include the international lightbulb cartel ("Phoebus"), which agreed to greatly reduce the service lives of bulbs, . . . nylon stockings, originally nearly indestructable then intentionally made flimsy by DuPont, . . . the original ($400) iPod, with a soldered-in battery designed to fail early (which the user could not replace and Apple would not replace), . . . the Epson InkJet printer, which has a chip that makes the unit stop working after a set number of copies, . . . and other outrages.

Plus (in Part 2) the environmental effects in developing countries of the electronic waste we dump there. And we'll meet some engineers and other crusaders who are trying to produce products that are environmentally friendly, long-lasting, and easily recycled.

Part Two (NWN #160) also includes Edition # 2 of The Book Report. This week Ken reviews Russ Baker's good work of investigative journalism on the Bush dynasty, Family of Secrets. Fascinating revelation: Nixon appears to have been innocent of "Watergate"--& framed by G.H.W. Bush (Chairman, Republican National Committee) and other oilmen.

1959 Dodge Custom Royal Lancer. Changes in design alone can lead consumers to replace a product before the end of its service life--another type of planned obsolescence. Click to enlarge.

Notes, credits, & links

The original film was directed by Norway's Cosima Dannoritzer. Most of this radio adaptation was produced by Robin Upton. Robin's contributions include translating the film's spoken Spanish, French, and German into English for overdub. (In his copy of the film, the subtitles are in Norwegian!) Robin previously broadcast his adaptation on his radio show, Unwelcome Guests . I have condensed and slightly rearranged Robin's adaptation to fit the half-hour format of New World Notes.
Fun fact: In the Livermore (CA) firehouse is a lightbulb (above) that has been burning continuously since 1901--for 110 years. (They don't make 'em like they used to!) Check out the latest Webcam photos. By the way, their first Webcam lasted all of 3 years before breaking; they're now on their second.

A free software fix for the Epson InkJet printer is described in Part 2 (NWN #160). No, it's not from Epson.

New World Notes is produced under the auspices (Latin for "gun") of WWUH-FM, a community service of that beacon of light in darkest Connecticut, the University of Hartford.

You can listen to any installment of New World Notes online or else download it (as an mp3 audio file) for later listening. The show is archived at both radio4all.net and (from #90 onwards) The Internet Archive. Either link should get you a reverse-chrono listing of available installments. Or browse the show's Web site: Each installment has a page, and each page has links to the recorded audio.

Series overview: Political and social commentary in a variety of genres. Exploring the gap between what we want ... and what they're trying to make us settle for.

Above: Epson's InkJet printer (Model C62). A Doomsday chip inside InkJet printers makes them stop working after a certain number of copies. You can get them working again with some free software (see above). Below: One result of planned obsolescence: mountains of waste, very little of which can be recycled. For a nice photo-essay on the disposal of "e-waste" in (or "onto") a Chinese town--from which essay this photo is taken--see here: http://www.mygreenaustralia.com/2009/12/e-waste-in-guiyu/

Pro bono

We heard some of independent journalist Anne McClintock's fine reporting on the Gulf disaster back in October. Anne has recently published a nice first-hand report on the popular rebellion in Madison, Wisconsin, complete with a 20-photo "slideshow" taken by herself. The slide show is at the bottom of the page. Click on the image to advance to the next slide.

Coming soon (Tuesday air debut date shown)

  • April 5 & 12 -- Renegades (2 parts)
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