Friday, September 30, 2011

Three Populists


New World Notes News
Vol. 4, No. 40 -- September 30, 2011

To download an audio file (save it on your hard disk): Click on this link for instructions.

This week in New World Notes, radio program #187, October 4, 2011

Three Populists

Tommy Douglas
In brief

What's a populist? Broadly speaking, it's a person who believes that government should be controlled by the people--not by the oligarchs and big corporations. And that government should serve the needs of the people (not ... etc.). The three populists we'll hear from this week are
  • Tommy Douglas: Longtime Canadian politician & reformer, co-founder of Canada's New Democratic Party (social-democratic), Premier of Saskatchewan Province 1944-1960. Said to be the person responsible for the first Medicare program in North America. Died in 1986. We'll hear his oft-told comic beast-fable about unresponsive politicians, Mouseland
  • Molly Ivins: Texas-based journalist and nationally-known commentator, here speaking in Berkeley, CA, around 2005. She died in 2007
  • Jim Hightower: Former Texas state government official (Agriculture Commissioner)--back when liberal Democrats could get elected to office in Texas. Now a nationally-known political commentator, self-identified populist, and general troublemaker. Still alive & kickin'
Each is witty and amusing (sometimes downright funny). Each offers a worthwhile critique of the present System--and a call to action.

Above: Molly Ivins. Below: Gov. Rick "Goodhair" Perry
plays a prominent role in Molly's stories.

Notes, credits, & links

Molly Ivins recording courtesy of Scooter, of "The innerSide" on KPFT-FM (Houston, Texas). This excerpt was previously broadcast on NWN #44 in December 2008. Jim Hightower's commentaries are from his Web site.

Mouseland is available as an animated video.

New World Notes is produced under the auspices (Latin for "Yum-Yum tree") 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. See the gray sidebar on the right ("CONTENTS [Links]") for a table of contents.

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.

Jim Hightower

Coming soon (Tuesday air debut date shown)
  • October 11 -- Stop the Plunder of Public Education
Catch New World Notes (all times Eastern):

A-Infos Radio Project http://www.radio4all.net
Posted by at No comments:

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Shop Til We Drop!


New World Notes News
Vol. 4, No. 39 -- September 25, 2011

How to download an audio file (save it on your hard disk): Click on this link.

This week in New World Notes, radio program #186, September 27, 2011

Shop Til We Drop!


In brief

Some personal reflections on our corporate-driven culture of massive consumerism. And memories of a time in U.S. history (early 1970s) when the "counterculture" rejected much of the consumer culture. Then 20 minutes of Gene Brockhoff's video documentary, Shop Til You Drop.

The documentary is a bit sprawling and loosely-organized, ... but it has many good and interesting things to say about America's consumer culture--and its causes. (Wish I could add, "and cures"!)

Notes, credits, & links

Shop Til You Drop was adapted to radio by Robin Upton, of Unwelcome Guests. It is presented in its entirety (52 minutes) in installment # 554 of that series.

New World Notes is produced under the auspices (Latin for "What. me worry?") 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. See the gray sidebar on the right ("CONTENTS [Links]") for a table of contents.

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)
  • October 4 -- Three Populists--Tommy Douglas, Molly Ivins, Jim Hightower--in their own words.
Catch New World Notes (all times Eastern):

A-Infos Radio Project http://www.radio4all.net
Posted by at No comments:

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Bruce Gagnon: Endless War for Endless Profit

New World Notes News
Vol. 4, Nos. 37-38 -- September 10 & 17, 2011

To download an audio file (save it on your hard disk): 1. Place your cursor over the link (above). 2. Click your right mouse button. A small menu appears. 3. On the small menu, select "Save Target As...." A "dialog box" appears. 4. The dialog box shows the folder where your computer proposes to save the file. Either remember this folder or else select a folder you prefer. Then click on "Save."


This fortnight in New World Notes, radio programs #184-185, September 13 & 20, 2011

Bruce Gagnon:
Endless War for Endless Profit

The War Machine's grand vision: control the solar system through
space-based high-tech warfare--defending the profits of
U.S.-based transnational corporations.

In brief

Antiwar and antinuke activist Bruce K. Gagnon argues brilliantly that the main purpose of US wars is to enrich the military-industrial complex and the rest of the oligarchy.

And the techniques remain the same, generation after generation. The same lies, the same U.S. atrocities against civilans, the same false demonization of "enemy" leaders--from Muammar Gaddafi to Saddam Hussein, ... back at least as far as Crazy Horse in the 1870s.

Gagnon's history of the U.S. campaign against Crazy Horse is an eye-opener. After the U.S. government won the Indian Wars, and all the once-rebellious tribes including their leaders were sitting on reservtions--unarmed and horseless--profits of the war industries plunged. So the warmongers invented and widely publicized false stories of Indians still on the rampage. They especially demonized Crazy Horse, now denouncd for ongoing vicious plunder, rape, and murder of white settlers.

It was all lies, but military procurements rose in response, and war industry profits went back up.

Did somebody mention Gaddafi and his alleged Viagra-fueled rape squads?

Crazy Horse. Most graphics: Click to enlarge.

There's more, including the insanity of sending plutonium into space, of mining on other planets, and of planning to control--militarily--the solar system. Then there's the U.S. military's explicit acknowledgement (in case there was any doubt in your mind) that their purpose is to advance the interests of the plutocrats that control the transnational corporate capitalist stystem. (Defend the United States nation against attack? How quaint!)

Notes, credits, & links

I recorded Bruce Gagnon live in Wethersfield, Connecticut, on August 20, 2011. I have slightly condensed his talk for radio.

Bruce on the Web: http://www.space4peace.org/. His recent book, Come Together Right Now: Organizing Stories from a Fading Empire (revised ed., 2008), is available through his site: http://www.space4peace.org/sales#books

An earlier talk by Bruce Gagnon, also recorded live, was broadcast on New World Notes in May 2010. The Web page has photos, information, and links for listening or download: http://newworldnotes.blogspot.com/2010/05/bruce-gagnon-on-endless-war-and-economy.html .

Bruce Gagnon

New World Notes is produced under the auspices (Latin for "aegis") 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. See the gray sidebar on the right ("CONTENTS [Links]") for a table of contents.

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: The United States Space Command, author of Vision for 2020, is now the Joint Functional Component Command for Space (JFFC Space), within the United States Strategic Command.  ("U.S. Space Command" must have sounded far too clear.)  Below: Amen!

Coming soon (Tuesday air debut date shown)
  • September 20 -- Bruce Gagnon, Part 2--recorded live in Wethersfield, Connecticut, August 20, 2011
Catch New World Notes (all times Eastern):

A-Infos Radio Project http://www.radio4all.net
Posted by at No comments:

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Celebrities


New World Notes News
Vol. 4, No. 36 -- September 3, 2011

To download an audio file (save it on your hard disk): 1. Place your cursor over the link (above). 2. Click your right mouse button. A small menu appears. 3. On the small menu, select "Save Target As...." A "dialog box" appears. 4. The dialog box shows the folder where your computer proposes to save the file. Either remember this folder or else select a folder you prefer. Then click on "Save."


This week in New World Notes, radio program #183, September 6, 2011

Celebrities 


In brief
An interesting look at our fascination with celebrities ... and corporate marketers' exploitation of this fascination to sell products. In fact our attraction to celebrities appears rooted in our evolution: the closer our ancestors got to the alpha male, the more likely they were to survive. The show includes parts of the documentary film Starsuckers and Chris Hedges' critique of Michael Jackson's funeral.

Michael Jackson. Most graphics: Click to enlarge.

Notes, credits, & links
New World Notes is produced under the auspices (Latin for "counter") 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. See the gray sidebar on the right ("CONTENTS [Links]") for a table of contents.

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.
Chris Hedges. He described Michael Jackson's funeral
as "a variety show with a coffin."

Coming soon (Tuesday air debut date shown)
  • September 13 & 20 -- Bruce Gagnon--recorded live in Wethersfield, Connecticut, August 20, 2011
Catch New World Notes (all times Eastern):

A-Infos Radio Project http://www.radio4all.net
Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)