Saturday, August 27, 2011

Can This Honeymoon Be Saved? (R)


New World Notes News
Vol. 4, No. 35 -- August 27, 2011


This week in New World Notes, radio program #182, August 30, 2011

Can This Honeymoon Be Saved?

In brief

Progressives are increasingly alarmed at Obama's actions & inactions. Using a wide variety of audio soures, we explore The Audacity of Betrayal & the government's astounding lack of "change we can believe in." This installment focuses (though not exclusively) on war, the military, and "defense" spending.

Because the subject is such a bummer, I tried to make the show itself fun. You'll get to hear, among other sound sources, Amy Goodman; The Dixie Chicks; Obama Girl; an Al-Jazeera documentary; the trailer for the film, War of the Roses; and me.

This week's show is a replay of NWN #82, from September 2009.
Notes, credits, & links

New World Notes is produced under the auspices (Latin for "Freedom of Information Act") 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)
  • September 6 -- Celebrities
Catch New World Notes (all times Eastern):

A-Infos Radio Project http://www.radio4all.net
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Friday, August 19, 2011

Peaceful Atom: Early Daze


New World Notes News
Vol. 4, No. 34 -- August 19, 2011


This week in New World Notes, radio program #181, August 23, 2011

Peaceful Atom: Early Daze


In brief
In the early 1950s the federal government began strongly encouraging civilian uses of nuclear technology--good news for reactor makers General Electric and Westinghouse! "Atoms for Peace," the massive sales campaign was called.

President Eisenhower gave an important speech on the subject at the United Nations. The Post Office issued an "Atoms for Peace" commemorative first-class stamp (3 cents!) in 1955. In March 1956, Mechanix Illustrated magazine featured a profusely illustrated article, "Why Don't We Build an Atoms-for-Peace Dirigible." Not even a question mark.

A nuclear-powered blimp. What could be more sensible?

Yes, the propaganda was flowing fast and furiously. As I recall, "Our friend, the atom" was a slogan in wide use. As for nuclear-generated electricity, the watchword was, "Too cheap to meter!"

This week, in another nice audiocollage, Virtual Renderings explores the wild promises made made for civilian nukes--and the very scary reality behind the propaganda--from 1950 through the meltdown at Three Mile Island in 1979. Sound sources include old propaganda films, news reports, interviews from documentary films, and some music--as usual, all very nicely woven together.
Most graphics: Click to enlarge.

Notes, credits, & links
Dozens of Virtual Rendering's *audiocollages* are available, without charge, here: http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/contributor/2102

New World Notes is produced under the auspices (Latin for "thumb") 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: from Mechanix Illustrated, March 1956.
Below: Nuclear power plant.

Coming soon (Tuesday air debut date shown)
  • August 30 -- Can This Honeymoon Be Saved?
Catch New World Notes (all times Eastern):
A-Infos Radio Project http://www.radio4all.net
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Saturday, August 13, 2011

Cheap Junk & the Deindustrialization of America (R)


New World Notes News
Vol. 4, No. 33 -- August 13, 2011


This week in New World Notes, radio program #180, August 16, 2011

Cheap Junk & the
Deindustrialization of America

Annie Leonard (from NWN #48, "The Story of STUFF")

In brief
We explore the connections among ubiquitous cheap junk merchandise, domestic unemployment and poverty, starvation wages abroad, pollution everywhere, the destruction of the environment, the deindustrialization and Third-World-ization of America, and the ever-increasing wealth of the already-rich. Was there a vote on all this that somehow I missed?

Includes unflattering words on G.E. by labor leader Marie Lausch & a passage on IKEA from Ellen Ruppel Shell's book, Cheap.
Above: Marie Lausch at UCONN, November 14, 2009.
Below: Ellen Ruppel Shell
.
Notes, credits, & links

Music added: Anne Feeney, "Brave New Christmas"

Connecticut United Electrical Workers Union president Marie Lausch recorded by me at a symposium on converting Connecticut to a peacetime economy held at the University of Connecticut, Storrs, November 14, 2009. Shell passage as reprited by the Toronto Globe & Mail, July 19, 2009, condensed for radio by me.

This is a replay of NWN #98 (January 2010).

"New World Notes" is produced under the auspices (Latin for "table") 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)
  • August 23 -- Peaceful Atom: Early Daze
Catch New World Notes (all times Eastern):
A-Infos Radio Project http://www.radio4all.net

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Friday, August 5, 2011

More Voices from "Lifting the Veil"


New World Notes News
Vol. 4, No. 32 -- August 5, 2011


This week in New World Notes, radio program #179, August 9, 2011

More Voices from
"Lifting the Veil"

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
In brief

More selections from Scott Noble's interesting new documentary video about the betrayal of the American people by their political system--including both major parties. With some good explanations of (1) the financial industry lunkheads now put in charge of the US Treasury and (2) how the growing wealth of the rich comes from the pockets of the middle and working classes.

Voices heard include those of Noam Chomsky, commentator Chris Hedges, political cartoonist Ted Rall, Senator Bernie Sanders, and economist Richard Wolff. Plus some TV commercials and news clips.

Don't miss the news clip about the $175 hamburger sandwich you can buy for lunch at the Wall Street Burger Shoppe--complete with both black and white truffles and a sprinkling of gold leaf. Yum!
Above: the $175 hamburger. Below: Noam Chomsky.
(Click to enlarge)

Notes, credits, & links

The two-hour video is available, without charge, here.

New World Notes is produced under the auspices (Latin for "first floor") 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.
Below: "Lifting the Veil of Ignorance." That's Booker T. Washington, to the right.

Coming soon (Tuesday air debut date shown)
  • August 16 -- Cheap Junk and the Deindustrialization of America
Catch New World Notes (all times Eastern):

A-Infos Radio Project http://www.radio4all.net
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Monday, August 1, 2011

To DOWNLOAD an Audio File

Here's a sample link to experiment with (to NWN #318)


To download an audio file (save it on your hard disk):

1. Place your cursor over the link.

2. Click your right mouse button. A small menu appears.

3. Windows Explorer: On the small menu, select "Save Target As...."
    Firefox: On the small menu, select "Save Link 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."

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Sunday, July 31, 2011

Dog Day Afternoon at the Movies


New World Notes News
Vol. 4, No. 31 -- July 31, 2011


This week in New World Notes, radio program #178, August 2, 2011

Dog Day Afternoon
at the Movies


Archer City, Texas. The Royal Theater was gutted by fire in 1965, shown in The Last Picture Show in 1971, and reopened in 2001.

In brief

Three short documentary films on fossil fuels, pollution, and the environment:

1. 300 Years of Fossil Fuels in 300 Seconds by the Post Carbon Institute

2. The Story of Cap & Trade by Annie Leonard

3. The Story of Electronics by Annie Leonard

Notes, credits, & links

All 3 videos are available on YouTube.

New World Notes is produced under the auspices (Latin for "long-suffering 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. 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.
From The Last Picture Show.

Coming soon (Tuesday air debut date shown)
  • August 9 -- More Voices from "Lifting the Veil"
Catch New World Notes (all times Eastern):

A-Infos Radio Project http://www.radio4all.net
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Sunday, July 24, 2011

Voices from "Lifting the Veil"


New World Notes News
Vol. 4, No. 30 -- July 24, 2011


This week in New World Notes, radio program #177, July 26, 2011

Voices from
"Lifting the Veil"


Three segments from Scott Noble's fine new documentary video about the betrayal of the American people by their political system.

1. A heartbreaking collection of Obama campaign promises--every one of which he broke. Get out of Iraq immediately; stop torture; close Guantanamo; bail out the people, not just the investment banks; renegotiate NAFTA; develop clean energy sources . . . and more. Everything Americans yearned for he promised. And we're still yearning.

2. Discussion by various figures of how US politics is controlled by--and serves only--Big Money.

3. A stunning speech at a war protest demonstration (D.C., December 16, 2010) by commentator Chris Hedges--on the meaning of the word "hope." Given The System's betrayal of democracy, hope requires the people to engage in public acts of nonviolent resistance to "the corporate state," he explains. (Hedges and more than 100 veterans then chained themselves to the White House fence and were arrested.)

The musical score in the background makes Hedges' speech even more stunning and inspiring. Hedges' remarks are preceded by a few on similar themes by John Pilger (2009).
Notes, credits, & links
The 2-hour film is available, without charge, online: http://www.metanoia-films.org/compilations.php

New World Notes is produced under the auspices (Latin for "radar") 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.
Antiwar demonstration, Washington, D.C., December 16, 2010.
Our installment--and the film--end with Chris Hedges'
stirring speech (below). Click to enlarge.

Coming soon (Tuesday air debut date shown)
  • August 2 -- Dog Day Afternoon at the Movies
Catch New World Notes (all times Eastern):

A-Infos Radio Project http://www.radio4all.net
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Saturday, July 16, 2011

Glen Ford


New World Notes News
Vol. 4, No. 29 -- July 16, 2011

This week in New World Notes, radio program #176, July 19, 2011

Glen Ford


Three brief and good talks on current events by Glen Ford, one of America's most astute--and hardest-hitting--Progressive political commentators.

Ford exposes the phoniness of the 2-party system (which resembles professional wrestling more than politics): both parties serve Finance Capital and imperialism.

Then Ford exposes the barrage of US government lies about Gaddafi, Libya, and the US wars in Africa. And he denounces the corporate press's decision to--yet again!--trumpet the lies and never question them.

Above: Glen Ford

Notes, credits, & links

Music added: David Rovics, Evening News

Hear and read more by Glen Ford--and other good commentators--at http://www.blacksgendareport.com/

New World Notes is produced under the auspices (Latin for "inflexible deadlines") 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.
Click to enlarge.

Coming soon (Tuesday air debut date shown)
  • July 26 -- Voices from Lifting the Veil
Catch New World Notes (all times Eastern):

A-Infos Radio Project http://www.radio4all.net
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Friday, July 1, 2011

Technology and Society

New World Notes News
Vol. 4, No. 27 -- July 1, 2011

This week in New World Notes, radio programs #174-175, July 5 & 12, 2011

Technology and Society

The Antichrist, in the shape of Steve Jobs, holds a recent
"smart phone" variation, the iPad.

The new "smart phones" such as Apple's iPhone have been revealed to be excellent devices for spying on the phones' owners. So this might be a good time to hear Dr. Neil Postman's celebrated and witty lecture, "Technology and Society" (1998).

Postman proposes six questions that society--and individuals--ought to consider before deciding to adopt any particular new technology.

Part 1 (NWN #174) includes some of Postman's introduction and his discussion of the first four questions.

Part 2 (NWN #175) includes

1. the final two questions and Postman's remarks on the relationship of TV and religion;
2. a news article on yet another spooky aspect of smart phones;
3. remarks by technology-law expert Jonathan Zittrain on the government's use of other "smart" wireless technology to spy on citizens (plus more bad news about the iPhone).

Above: Neil Postman in 1998.
Below: Should the U.S. taxpayer have subsidized construction of a supersonic passenger jet ("SST") to compete with the Anglo-French Concorde (1976-2003)? Postman applies two of his six questions to the proposal. Exactly what problem does this new technology solve? And exactly whose problem is it?

Notes, credits, & links

For many years a professor at New York University, Neil Postman wrote extensively on educational theory and theory of technology, as well as other works of cultural criticism. He died in 2003.


Postman spoke at Calvin College in January 1998. This lecture is available as 7 videos on YouTube. Jonathan Zittrain spoke at the University of Hartford on October 20, 2010 (recorded by me).

A good deal of Zittrain's October 20 lecture appears in New World Notes #142.

Music added (to Part Two): from Bruce Cockburn, If I Had a Rocket Launcher.

New World Notes is produced under the auspices (Latin for "spreading chestnut 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.
Above: Technology-law expert Jonathan Zittrain.
Below: Further thoughts by Neil Postman. (Click to enlarge.)

Coming soon (Tuesday air debut date shown)
  • July 19 -- Speaking Truth to the Disempowered: Glen Ford
Catch New World Notes (all times Eastern):

A-Infos Radio Project http://www.radio4all.net
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Saturday, June 25, 2011

John Pilger


New World Notes News
Vol. 4, No. 26 -- June 25, 2011

This week in New World Notes, radio program #173, June 28, 2011

John Pilger


Empire, Obama, and America's Last Taboo: a fine speech by the Australian documentary filmmaker and social critic John Pilger. He spoke in San Francisco in July 2009--just 6 months into the Obama administration.

The talk is about U.S. imperialism ... Obama's continuation or extension of Bush's evil policies ... Obama's record of fealty to Wall Street and the military-industrial complex ... and the failure of the Left to protest & fight back.

Pilger ends with praise for the wisdom & ethics of the majority of America's people--unlike its pundits and "leaders."

 Two illustrations by David Dees

Notes, credits, & links

New World Notes is produced under the auspices (Latin for "unisex bathroom") 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)
  • July 5 -- Technology and Society, Part 1
Catch New World Notes (all times Eastern):
A-Infos Radio Project http://www.radio4all.net

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Saturday, June 18, 2011

George Carlin Tribute


New World Notes News
Vol. 4, No. 25 -- June 18, 2011

This week in New World Notes, radio program #172, June 21, 2011

George Carlin Tribute


George Carlin died three years ago, on June 22, 2008. Lacking much formal education, he proved to be an impressive thinker and political analyst. Originally a hit as a middle-of-the-road, Hollywood comic, his political thinking moved leftwards over the years. By the 1990s, he was America's preeminent Progressive comic and satirist--and more popular than ever. This tribute includes four of Carlin's finer routines from the 1990s, with introductions by me.

The routines presented are these (the titles are mine):

1. Religion = B.S.
2. Airlines English
3. War on Homelessness
4. Euphemisms


Notes, credits, & links

Two other fine Carlin routines--"They Own You" and "The Class System in the U.S."--are included in New World Notes #164 ("They Warned Us!," April 24).

Thanks to Scooter, of "The innerSide" on KPFT-FM, Houston, for the first Carlin routine.

New World Notes is produced under the auspices (Latin for "benign neglect") 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)
  • June 28 -- John Pilger
Catch New World Notes (all times Eastern):
A-Infos Radio Project http://www.radio4all.net
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