Community Currency - 07/29/10

Powered by Podbean.com

Download this episode (right click and save)

Art, Passion, Politics, Praxis with Deborah Barndt - Community Arts Practice Co-ordinator, Professor of Environmental Studies at York University. Deborah was a student of the 60s in the U.S. civil rights, anti-war, and women's movements; studied in comparative sociology in the U.S., France, and Peru; plunged into 25 years of social justice activism in popular education programs in Nicaragua, the U.S., and Canada; taught at universities in the U.S., Quebec, and Ontario; has a passion for the arts and her work as a photographer.

Click to read more ...

Community Currency - 07/22/10

Download

Countdown to Zero - Time To Retire Nuclear Weapons with Marylia Kelley, Executive Director of Tri-Valley CAREs, founded by concerned neighbors living near Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, one of two locations where all US nuclear weapons are designed. They monitor nuclear weapons and environmental clean-up activities throughout the US nuclear weapons complex, with a special focus on Livermore Lab and the surrounding communities. Their overarching mission is to promote peace, justice and a healthy environment. Their goals include - Convert Livermore Lab from nuclear weapons development and testing to socially beneficial, environmentally sound research. End all nuclear weapons development and testing in the United States. Abolish nuclear weapons worldwide, and achieve an equitable, successful non-proliferation regime. Promote forthright communication and democratic decision-making in public policy on nuclear weapons and related environmental issues, locally, nationally and globally. Clean up the radioactive and toxic pollution emanating from the Livermore Lab and reduce the Lab's environmental and health hazards

Click to read more ...

Community Currency - 07/15/10

Download

Sharing with Neal Gorenflo, publisher of SHAREABLE.net a nonprofit online magazine that tells the story of sharing. They cover people, places, and projects bringing a shareable world to life. In a shareable world, solutions like clothing swaps, childcare coops, potlucks, carsharing, community gardens, and cohousing can make life more fun, green, and affordable. When we share, not only is a better life possible, but so is a better world. They tell the success stories of Zipcar, Wikipedia, Kiva, open source software, Freecycle, and Creative Commons, and show what’s possible when we share. They show that we don't act merely for our own good, but go out of our way to contribute to the common good. They show that we can solve the social and environmental crises we face, and thrive as never before. They show that a new world is emerging where the more you share the more respect you get, and where life works because everyone is motivated to help each other.

Neal Gorenflo is a former market researcher, stock analyst, and Fortune 500 strategist. A revelation in 2004 inspired Neal to leave the corporate world to help people share through Internet startups, public events, and a circle of friends committed to the common good. Through this circle, Neal met those who would co-found SHAREABLE .net with him. Neal also serves on the board of nonprofits Independent Arts & Media and ForestEthics, and is a Strategy Fellow at FAS.research and a member of Stanford's Persuasive Technology Lab. He lives in Mountain View, California with his wife Andrea, a pediatrician, and young son Jacob. The show opens with Neal explaining the experience/epiphany/crisis which transformed his life.  He also quantifies the growing shift that is happening to move humanity towards sharing, referencing an excellent article he wrote entitled Ten Ways Our World is Becoming More Shareable.

Community Currency - 07/08/10

Download

Magic, Myth, Sustainability with Willi Paul, creator of Planet Shifter Magazine, an online magazine that focuses on teaching sustainability practices through the use of art, mythology, music and writing.

Willi Paul is an early online community pioneer and collaboration designer, including work in community analysis, goal setting processes, and digital-face-to-face decision making.

An appreciation of Joseph Campbell lead him to interview rock musicians and publish on the role of alchemic dynamics in mythology in popular music. He wrote the reservoir: rock music and mythology over a decade ago and continues to seek and creative the narratives and myths that help humanity through its own rites of passage to an Age of Sustainability, where nature and man can live in harmony. His article and new myth, co-authored with David Metcalfe: The Leatherneck Clan and the Black Sea Men: Building a Mythology Generator for the Sustainability Age explores the current crisis in the Gulf and how it beckons new heroes, new solutions, new narratives at a critical moment when an eco-disaster of almost unimaginable proportions threatens the Gulf, our country, the oceans, the entire biosphere.

Willi Paul is a Green Business Certified Consultant and strategic vision planner, writer and program designer for environmental planning, and has been involved with civil engineering and non-profits for over 25 years. His heroic passion, wide ranging technological and creative skills, fuel his work. He has done over 210 interviews spanning the gambit of art and sustainability including Ed Begley, Jr. on grey water systems; author Eric Roston on Carbon; Steve Kilbey (The Church) on rock music and mythology; and author Dennis William Hauck from the Alchemy Guild, and has a wealth of experiences, stories, and wisdom to draw from at planetshifter.com.

He wrote Who Has the Keys to the Mythological Reservoir? in preparation for this radio show. We discuss the power of music and lyrics, including the music of Rebecca Cross who wrote and performed the theme song for the Community Currency radio show.  We discuss the meaning of sustainability, sacrifice, story, myth, Cameron's film Avatar, the meta-narrative of the battle of Seattle where "teamsters and sea turtles" trumped the World Trade organization and the Story of the Battle turned into the Battle of the Story in the unfolding power-struggle of which we are all conscious or unconscious participants.

Community Currency - 07/01/10

Download

Plunder  with Danny Schechter, author of the book- Plunder- The Crime of Our Time and the documentary Plunder. The film and book looks at the largest financial heist in history. Danny Schechter, director of In Debt We Trust, the film that warned of the collapse. Schecter has probed deeply into the complex web of fraud and crime that he shows played a major, if largely unreported, role in bringing the economy down. He is calling for "jail-outs" not "bail-outs." His four-year investigation focuses on three interconnected cesspools of corruption: what the FBI calls an “epidemic of mortgage fraud,” predatory and deceptive securitization by Wall Street, and insurance, involving credit default swaps and irresponsible leveraging and market manipulations. Enabling this crime wave were regulators who didn’t regulate, ratings agencies and accounting firms that did not do their jobs, and a media that largely looked the other way. In this conversation we look at the larger global situation, the power of multinational corporations over government officials throughout the world, as well as the media and at organizing people to stand up to the forces that are threatening them and all of us.

Danny Schechter, hosts The News Dissector on Progressive Radio Network.He also founded MediaChannel and has been a broadcast and print journalist, and is an internationally recognized speaker and writer on media issues. His work has been honored with Emmy awards, the IRIS award, the George Polk Award, the Major Armstrong Award, and honors from the National Association of Black Journalists. Mr. Schechter was the news director and principal newscaster for WBCN-FM, an on-air reporter for WGBH, and a news program producer and investigative reporter at CNN and ABC. He is the author of several books, including " Embedded: Weapons of Mass Deception" (Prometheus) which was the inspiration for the documentary: WMD- Weapons of Mass Deception.

Danny has a B.A. in Labor History, Cornell University, 1964; MA in Political Sociology London School of Economics,  l968, Harvard University  Nieman Fellowship in Journalism, 1978; Honorary Ph.D. Fitchberg College, l991

Community Currency - 06/10/10

Download

Splitting the Sky Versus George W. Bush Trial Conclusion with Professor Anthony J. Hall, author of The American Empire and the Fourth World- The Bowl With One Spoon, professor of Globalization Studies at the University of Lethbridge. Splitting the Sky, also known as Dacajeweiah and John Boncore, a Mohawk, a principal leader of the Attica rebellion, a leader within the American Indian Movement with the League of Indigenous Sovereign Nations, in particular at Gustafen Lake BC, author of The Autobiography of Dacajeweiah, Splitting the Sky, From Attica Lake to Gustafsen Lake is also a 9/11 Truth researcher, advocate and speaker; he began the show a bit tired from an all night drive, and described what shaped his life and decision to take action. On March 8, 2010, Splitting the Sky stood trial for his action last year when he attempted a citizen's arrest of former President George W. Bush, who was scheduled to give a talk in Calgary, Canada. Lawyers Against the War stated prior to the visit that Bush should be either barred or detained for condoning the use of torture at overseas jails. The lawyers stated that Bush should be arrested and tried for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Splitting the Sky was brutally arrested for his action. Splitting the Sky 's trial ended on the second day, when Cynthia McKinney arrived to testify on his behalf.

On June 7, 2010, Splitting the Sky was sentenced in Calgary. Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark had flown to Calgary to speak on behalf of Splitting the Sky. On April 3, at a meeting of over 150 lawyers, legal scholars and human rights campaigners, Ramsey Clark, founder of Indict Bush Now, was chosen to be the chairperson of an international campaign to investigate war crimes committed by officials from the Bush administration. Representatives at the meeting held in Beirut, Lebanon, came from all over the world. The campaign will investigate the lies, deceit and manipulation leading up to the Iraq war; the conduct of the war itself against an essentially defenseless country; and the horrors of the continued occupation.

For more details, see http://www.splittingthesky.net/. Anthony Hall's article-

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=16377  Citizen's Arrest of George W. Bush for War Crimes- The Trial of "Splitting the Sky", and the videos of the event with Cynthia McKinney and Splitting the Sky http://atomicnewsreview.org/2010/03/11/cynthia-mckinney-meets-splitting-the-sky-at-calgary-university/ .

Community Currency - 06/03/10

Download

Free Gaza Movement Show. With Dr. Bill Dienst and Darlene Wallach, members of the Free Gaza Movement, a human rights group that in August 2008 sent the first international boats to land in the port of Gaza in 41 years. They sought to break the siege of Gaza, to raise international awareness about the prison-like closure of the Gaza Strip, and pressure the international community to review its sanctions policy, and end its support for continued Israeli occupation. Their non-violent/direct action has raised awareness and inspired solidarity towards the plight of the Palestinian people. The Israeli attack upon the flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza began in international waters during the night of May 31, 2010. At least 9 people were killed and fifty were injured. Israel took most of their equipment, cameras, cell phones, the boats...and threw 600 people into detention centers in Israel, and have tried to deport most of them, but still holds several people as prisoners. On June 2, 2010, the UN Security Council called for impartial, credible investigation of the Israeli attack upon the boats and requested the immediate release of the ships as well as the civilians. One more boat, the MV Rachel Corrie is still en route to Gaza with Nobel Peace Laureate, Mairead Maguire on board, as well as Denis Halliday who was UN Assistant Secretary-General from 1994-98, and awarded the UK Gandhi Peace Prize.

Click to read more ...

Community Currency - 05/27/10

Download

Pharmawhores with Len Horowitz and Sherri Kane. PHARMAWHORES : The SHOWTIME Sting of Penn & Teller, is a damning expose of the petrochemical-pharmaceutical industrialists; Wall Street’s white-collar criminals, the bioterrorists in Hollywood and the news media, tracing their story from NYC and Vegas to the Orient, London, and Paris. (The film website is- http://www.pharmawhores.com/Wake_Up_or_Die.html ).

Click to read more ...

Community Currency - 05/20/10

Download

Understanding Deep Politics with Charlotte Dennett and Professor Anthony J. Hall.  In the wake of  the conference entitled "Understanding Deep Politics- Revealing the Driving Forces Behind World Events and Creating Alternative Solutions"whose goal was to discover the deeper roots of our current crisis, challenging the mainstream perceptions of political reality, to reveal the hidden forces behind many widely accepted historical and current events. The presenters, included David Ray Griffin, Cynthia McKinney, Peter Dale Scott, Barrie Zwicker, Dahlia Wasfi and Ellen Brown and have been posted at http://www.understandingdeeppolitics.org. 

Click to read more ...

Community Currency - 05/13/10

Download

Understanding Deep Politics with Dr. Dahlia Wasfi who will be one of the featured speakers at the Understanding Deep Politics Conference this weekend, May 14-16, in Santa Cruz, California. Dr. Dahlia Wasfi is an internationally known speaker and activist. Born in the United States to an American Jewish mother and an Iraqi Muslim father, she lived in Iraq as a child, returning to the U.S. at age 5. After graduating from Swarthmore College with a B.A. in Biology in 1993, she earned her medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1997. Dr. Wasfi has made two trips to Iraq to visit her extended family since the 2003 "Shock and Awe" invasion, including a three month stay in Basrah in the spring of 2006. She has brought her eyewitness account of life under occupation to over 200 audiences in twenty-two United States, Capitol Hill in D.C., Ontario and British Columbia, Madrid, Spain in 2007, and the 3rd International Iraq Conference in Berlin, Germany, in March 2008. Based on her experiences, Dr. Wasfi is speaking out in support of immediate, unconditional withdrawal of American forces from Iraq and the need to end the occupation “from the Nile to the Euphrates.” Her website is Click to read more ...

Community Currency - 05/06/10

Download

The Accountability Movement with Charlotte Dennett author of Th e People v. Bush: One Lawyer's Campaign to Bring the President to Justice and the Nationwide Grassroots Movement She's Encountered Along the Way, and co-authored with her husband Gerald Colby - Thy Will be Done: The Conquest of the Amazon: Nelson Rockefeller and Evangelism in the Age of Oil. She has been practicing law since 1997, with an emphasis on personal injury litigation and suing the government under the Freedom of Information Act. She's also been a reporter in the Middle East. She was inspired by a conference convened at the Massachusetts School of Law in September 2008 which drew together lawyers and activists to shift their focus "From Impeachment to Prosecution" which evolved into The Robert Jackson Steering Committee, http://lawsnotmen.org/, and works to bring about the criminal prosecution of top government officials in the United States whom there is probable cause to believe have committed war crimes.  The committee was named in honor of the sentiments of universal accountability to the rule of law articulated by former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson at Nuremberg. 

Charlotte also ran for Attorney General of Vermont in 2008 with the support of Vincent Bugliosi, the legendary criminal prosecutor and bestselling author of The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder. Her website is http://chardennett.org/.

Community Currency - 04/29/10

Download

The Future of Money and Technology with social entrepeneur Bruce Cahan, a strong advocate for high transparency, accountable banking, utilizing the emerging semantic web to inform people of the environmental and social impact of their purchases and Mira Luna, founder and coordinator of Bay Area Community Exchange, both participants of the recently held Future of Money and Technology Summit in San Francisco.

Click to read more ...

Community Currency - 04/22/10

Download

"Myths of Our Times" with Elizabeth Gould, co-author, with her husband Paul Fitzgerald of Invisible History: Afghanistan's Untold Story http://www.invisiblehistory.com/the-book. Elizabeth Gould and Paul Fitzgerald were the first American journalists to visit Afghanistan after the Soviet invasion. For decades they have watched a myth being constructed about Afghanistan's history, current state, and future woven into being with little regard for truth and reality. Their book, film, articles, speeches, mission for decades has been to help the Afghan people's story reach receptive ears to avert war, terrorism, occupation. Most recently Elizabeth and Paul were threatened by a representative of one of the most notorious known terrorists in Afghanistan, after they wrote a post on their blog entitled- Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, Messiah of Darknesshttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/elizabeth-gould/gulbuddin-hekmatyar-the-m_b_525305.html . Elizabeth explores the history and construction of the Afghan myth in this show and advises us to be aware of the complexity and historical context before jumping to conclusions on the basis of slim pieces of information, woven together by the corporate media. The upcoming Understanding Deep Politics Conference http://understandingdeeppolitics.org/  will expand upon this subject of fabricated realities and challenging the forces acting with impunity that have declared war on civilians throughout the world.

Community Currency - 04/15/10

Download

"World Consciousness" with Rashan Barcuse , author of the book- Solomon's Proof- A Psycho-Spiritual Journey to World Consciousness.  We have learned that the heart generates a more powerful electromagnetic field than the brain.  The field can also be seen in the heavens, in the Cat's Eye Nebula.  Rashan explores the convergence of science and spirituality in his novel which is an engaging examination of relationships, the human psyche, the integration of the male and female aspects of all people, the visible and the invisible, the drama, masks, rituals, that we observe and participate in on the world stage.  In this show, we discuss a range of subjects from taxes, governance, media, technology, to art, theater, and the evolution of consciousness that is currently taking place.  The Solomon's Proof website is "http://www.solomonsproof.com".

Community Currency - 04/08/10

Download

"Monetary Reform" with Stephen Zarlenga, author of the book- The Lost Science of Money - The Mythology of Money - The Story of Power.  Zarlenga has over three decades of practical experience in the world of finance and spent over twelve years doing the historical research to write his book.  The final chapter is the solution he offers based upon his knowledge and understanding of money, and the failures of past attempts at monetary reform.  His idea is modelled upon the work of other economists, and has been written into legislative language which should someday come before Congress. He believes that daunting though the struggle may appear, we must not give up because our future depends on changing our deeply flawed monetary system.  He founded the American Monetary Institute, which strives to educate the public and Congress about money and the need for reform. They have organized excellent conferences,  where experts and researchers have pooled their knowledge and expanded awareness on the need for reform. He condemns most economists for obscuring the basic facts about money, how it is created, its structural flaws, which transfer wealth from the many to the few.  He believes that governments not banks should create money, that the Federal Reserve should be nationalized, that private banks should not be allowed to create money out of thin air, siphoning wealth from others, and that governments have the right to create money and should spend it into existence on infrastructure projects that benefit people. The American Monetary Institute's website is www.monetary.org.  The next annual Monetary Reform Conference will be held Sept. 30 - Oct. 3rd in Chicago.

Community Currency - 03/25/10

Download

"The Gift Economy" with Charles Eisenstein, author of the book- The Ascent of Humanity- The Age of Separation, the Age of Reunion, and the convergence of crises that is birthing the transition. Charles is currently writing an expansion of the hopeful ideas of Humanity's reunion with nature and a rediscovery of the "gift economy."  He sees humanity making the transition from adolescence towards adulthood, overcoming the crises which currently threaten us ans seem somewhat insurmountable.  While noting the increasing problems caused by technology, he also sees how approriate technology can help us move towards a genuine healing phase where much of the damage humanity has caused can be remediated.  His website is  http://www.ascentofhumanity.com He will be conducting "Seeding Gift Culture" workshops and retreats in April and speaking at the upcoming  http://futureofmoney.com/moneyconference/ Future of Money and Technology Summit in San Francisco on April 26th.

Community Currency - 03/18/10

Download

Money, Money, Money" with Mike Nickerson, author of the book- Life, Money and Illusion- Living on Earth as if we want to stay. Mike is a visionary activist who was a co-director of the Institute for the Study of Cultural Evolution back in the 70's. His book and this show are an exploration of the human nature, our civilization, illusions and new indicators to help us navigate through the growth/evolutionary process.  Mike Nickerson is a longtime environmental activist, popular educator and the author of three books on sustainability including Bakavi: Change the World I Want to Stay On and Planning For Seven Generations: Guideposts for a Sustainable Future. He is a founding member of the Green Party of Canada and helped draft the Canada Well-Being Measurement Act. His website is http://www.SustainWellBeing.net.

Community Currency - 03/11/10

Download

Splitting the Sky Versus George W. Bush" and the Calgary Principles with Splitting the Sky (John Boncore), and Professor Anthony J. Hall, author of The American Empire and the Fourth World- The Bowl With One Spoon.  On March 8, 2010, Splitting the Sky will stand trial for his action last year when he attempted a citizen's arrest of former President George W. Bush, who was scheduled to give a talk in Calgary, Canada.

Click to read more ...

Community Currency - 03/04/10

Download

Public Banking with Michael Sauvante, CEO of CEED- Community Energy & Economic Development, and Executive Director of the Commonwealth Group  ( http://www.commonwealthgroup.net). Our guest, Michael Sauvante has more than 30 years experience in new venture creation. An entrepeneur, technology innovator, champion of transparency, corporate responsibility; he is one of the rare people imbedded successfully in the corporate world who is actively working to transform it.

Click to read more ...

Community Currency - 02/25/10

Download

The Possibility of Creating a State Bank in California with Ellen Brown, author of The Web of Debt- The Shocking Truth About Our Monetary System and How We Can Break Free, and Laura Wells, running for the nomination of the Green Party for Governor of California.  Ellen wrote an article entitled- <Click to read more ...