The Solution Zone - 12/16/10

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Will New Whistleblower Restrictions and Secrecy Laws Be Coming Down The Pike in the Wake of WikiLeaks? And --- Fight SB 372 – A Poison Pill for Whistleblowers.

Cables Release Laws Proposed in Wake of 

Guest: Stephen Kohn – Executive Director – The National Whistleblowers Center www.whistleblowers.org

Stephen Kohn discusses the secrecy of the current and former White House administration and points out that without the ability to hold those who abuse their power and violate the constitution, accountable through whist blowing and the exposure of secret, but illegal, activities, will we have nothing more than an “elected dictatorship.” In the United States of America.

In the wake of the WikiLeaks recent release of diplomatic cables and the arrest of Julian Assange in London, the U.S. Government is likely to clamp down even tighter on whistleblowers and either eliminate, or severely diminish protections that currently exist.

U.S citizens need to be prepared to speak out against any new legislation that further restricts our first amendment rights of free speech, and our ability to access and publish documents through The Freedom of Information Act. 

The National Whistleblowers Center www.whistleblowers.org encourages citizens to take action against the recent passage of Senate Bill 372 – The Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act, which actually destroys numerous existing whistleblower rights rather than enhancing them.

Take action at: http://www.capwiz.com/whistleblowers/issues/alert/?alertid=20736501&type=co

The Solution Zone 12/09/10

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Wikileaks and 911 What If?

Guest: Coleen Rowley - Former FBI Special Agent, Whistleblower and winner of the Time Magazine 2002 Person of the Year award.

Colleen Rowley, recently co-wrote a Los Angeles Times op-ed titled, "Wikileaks and 9/11: What if? 

In the midst of this battle between the rich powerful and well connected and WikiLeaks those who seek to expose the truth about their secretive and illegal actions. Former FBI Agent and whistleblower Coleen Rowley discusses the Wikileaks media smear and explains how crucial information might have , had it been leaked by FBI whistleblowers before 911,  actually prevented the terror attacks. 

The Solution Zone - 12/02/10

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Guest: Author David Swanson

Swanson’s New book War is a Lie and Upcoming White House War Protest:

Author and blogger David Swanson (www.warisacrime.org) discusses the upcoming Dec. 16 White House war protest sponsored by Veterans for Peace, which may invlove civil disobedience, and his newly released book WAR IS A LIE.

Veterans for Peace: – Stop These Wars: Washington War Protest: Dec. 16th - http://www.stopthesewars.org/

Veterans for Peace members will be participating in the civil resistance event outside the White House December 16 that will bring together several military activist veterans, peace groups and invidudals including, Daniel Ellsberg, Medea Benjamin, Ray McGovern to protest the endless wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Follwing the rally in Lafayette Park, many will attempt to chain themselves to the fence outside the White House in protest.

Book: War is a Lie www.amazon.com/War-Lie-David-Swanson/dp/0983083002

In his latest book War is a Lie, author David Swanson’s unmasks the true nature of war and sets out to expose, in painstakingly documented incidences, the propaganda, government lies, and long embraced myths that have regularly been used to justify all wars for which historical records exist.

David Swanson lays forth a convincing moral argument that war is an institution that serves no purpose except to benefit the powerful interests who profit financially and politically from waging it.

The Solution Zone - 11/18/10

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Harry Potter Alliance – Good vs. Evil Battles in the Real World

Guest: Andrew Slack , Executive Director for the Harry Potter Alliance

www.hpalliance.org

Topic: On the opening night of the newest Harry Potter film we feature a true to life good verses evil parallel called the Harry Potter Alliance; a unique and extraordinarily successful activist organization that has effectively used themes from the Harry Potter books to mobilize young people to action ion issues of social justice. 

The network, comprising well over 100,000 people and more than 70 active chapters across the world, has funded five cargo planes full of medical supplies sent to Haiti, raising over $123,000 for earthquake victims. And distributed over 55,000 books to communities across the world. 

In its current deathly Hallows Campaign the HPA is seeking to battle 7 Horcruxes: starvation wages, LGBT inequality, suicide, depression, bullying amongst teens, and ending genocide in Sudan.

The Solution Zone - 11/11/10

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Veterans, Soldiers and Heros

Christiane discusses Veteran’s Day and our skewed prerspective, viewing  soldiers as heros and justifying endless war in the name of freedom...

The Solution Zone - 11/04/10

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Midterm Election Results: The Highest Bidder

Guest: Robert Koehler,  Award winning peace journalist http://commonwonders.com/

Bob discusses results of the midterm elections and the pervasive influence of corporate contributions which will now, in the wake of the Citizen’s United case,  goes undisclosed

 His latest book Courage Grows Strong At The Wound Bob discusses life, love, his wife’s battle with cancer and how to bring the concept of peace into government.  

Solution Zone - 10/28/10

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Peter Richardson fills in for Christiane Brown and discusses the reason behind the economic meltdown and how it relates to the global economy.

Guest: Richard Locker, Economic geographer from the University of Californian-Berkley discusses California role in the national meltdown for housing defaults and product production.

Solution Zone - 10/21/10

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Peter Richardson fills in for Christiane Brown and discusses the legalization of  marijuana and the California proposition 19 outcome ramifications.

Guest: John Geluardi , Author of "Cannabiz, the Explosive Rise of the Medical Marijuana Industry."

The Solution Zone - 10/14/10

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“The campaign of the century: Upton Sinclair’s Race for Governor of California and the Birth of Media Politics”

Guest: Greg Mitchell, Author  and blogger for the Nation Magazine online http://www.thenation.com/blogs/media-fix

Solution Zone - 10/07/10

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The Solution Zone 09/30/10

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Over 100,000 expected at One Nation Working Together March in DC, Oct. 2^nd 

David Swanson –  Author, DayBreak, Blogger at www.Warisacrime.org

Thousands will come together Saturday October 2^nd One Nation Working Together March in Washington, including faith leaders, workers, labor leaders and peace advocates, whose goal is to refocus our nation  the importance of jobs, education and justice for all.  Major themes for the rally  include  health care not warfare, investment in jobs, and commitments not to cut, weaken, or privatize Social Security. Activist and blogger David Swanson notwarisacrime.org and PDA, the Progressive Democrats of America discusses the upcoming rally and the  frustration of progressives with the state of our nation and do nothing politicians.

About David Swanson:

David Swanson is the author of the book "Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union" and of the introduction to "The 35 Articles of Impeachment and the Case for Prosecuting George W. Bush," by Dennis Kucinich. Swanson is Co-Founder of the websites, Warisacrime.org, AfterDowningStreet.org, nocreator of ConvictBushCheney.org. He is  Washington Director of Democrats.com, a board member of Progressive Democrats of America, amd former campaign manager for Congressman Dennis Kucinich. 

The Fair Elections Now Act – 

Bob Edgar – President, Common Cause

Good news - the Fair Elections Now Act, legislation to take the hunt for big money and influence of special interests out of elections, has moved out of committee with more than 160 co-sponsors, the furthest that legislation of this type has ever gotten in Congress 

Our political process has turned into a special interest funded circus. The nations biggest industries spend several billion dollars each election cycle lobbying politicians, and funding campaigns. In 2008 candidates with the most money won in 9 out of 10 contests. 

Bob Edgar – President of Common Cause discusses how The Fair Elections Now Act, would create a citizen funded election system that would make running for office accessible to ordinary people and get elected our officials out of the fundraising game.

About Bob Edgar:

Bob Edgar has been is the president and CEO of Common Cause since 2007 with a long history of leadership and public service, including 12 years in Congress, elected first to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1974 to represent the Seventh Congressional District of Pennsylvania. Bob was part of the congressional class nicknamed "the Watergate babies," those elected in the wake of the Watergate scandal and who led sweeping reforms of Congress.

Solution Zone - 09/23/10

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Proposition 19 – Strange Bedfellows – Why Are California Law Enforcement And Big Alcohol Groups Coming Together To Fight Against Legalizing Marijuana?

Paul Armantano – DeputyDirector,  NORML www.norml.org

Today Control of California’s marijuana market is unregulated, untaxed and in the hands of criminal enterprises.

Proposition 19 seeks to put it in the hands of licensed businesses by legalizing adult use and cultivation of limited amounts of cannabis, and allowing local governments the option of regulating its commercial production and retail distribution. 

Surprisingly anti prop 19 funding has made strange bedfellows of Law enforcement: The California Police Chief's Association and the California Narcotics Officers Association, and Alcoholic Beverage Distributors, who have donated thousands of dollars to Public Safety First, a group which lobbies against the Passage of Prop. 19.

On the program Paul Armentano, deputy director of NORML discuss these anti Prop donors, what is in the proposed law and the arguments against it.

About Paul Armentano:

Paul Armentano is the deputy director of NORML (the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws), and is the co-author of the book Marijuana Is Safer: So Why Are We Driving People to Drink (2009, Chelsea Green).

Paul is an expert in the field of marijuana policy, health, and pharmacology and is a frequent contributor to Alternet.org, High Times, The Huffington Post, and the Washington, DC newspaper The Hill. He has served as a consultant for Health Canada, the Canadian Public Health Association. His work has appeared in over 500 publications, including more than a dozen textbooks and anthologies.

The Failure of The Disclose Act & John Boehner’s ties to K-Street Lobbyists 

Craig Holman – Public Citizen,  Govt. Ethics Lobbyist: http://www.citizen.org/

The Supreme Court decision in the Citizen’s United Case has allowed corporations to now directly fund political campaigns. The Disclose Act would have required public disclosure of corporate campaign donations in elections, but on the day of this broadcast failed to get the 60 votes necessary to block a Republican filibuster. As a result campaigns will not be required to divulge where their funding comes from. This relates directly to the political aspirations of Ohio Congressman John Boehner who is likely to be the next Speaker of the House; few beyond the Washington DC beltway know about John Boehner’s incredibly cozy ties to K-street lobbyists, Craig Holman Govt. Ethcis Lobbyist For Public Citizen discusses both topics.

About Craig Holman:

Craig Holman, Ph.D. Government Affairs Lobbyist for Public Citizen.  He serves as the organization’s Capitol Hill lobbyist on campaign finance and governmental ethics. Previously, Holman was Senior Policy Analyst at the Brennan Center for Justice, New York University School of Law. Dr. Holman worked closely with reform organizations and the Democratic congressional caucus of the 110th Congress in drafting and promoting the “Honest Leadership and Open Government Act,” the new federal lobbying and ethics reform legislation signed into law on September 14, 2007.

Solution Zone - 09/16/10

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US DRONE WAR – Protestors on Trial

Guest: Kathy Kelly -  Noble Peace Prize Nominee: http://vcnv.org/

Even with desparate situation in Pakistan, due to the flooding, there has been no let up by the Obama administration on the drone attacks in that country. 66 drone strikes have occurred in Pakistan this year, and in this September alone there have been at least 12.

Kathy Kelly- Coordinator of Voices for Creative Non-Voilence as well as thirteen other antiwar activists held a ten-day vigil last April outside of the Creech air force base in Indian Springs Nevada, and then entered the base to give letters of protest to the commanders there. Inside the base they were arrested and taken into custody charged with criminal trespassing. Their trial took place the day before this program aired. We discuss the result of that trial and the US drone program, as a whole. 

About Kathy Kelly:

Kathy Kelly is Coordinator for Voices for Creative Nonviolence, a campaign to end U.S. military and economic warfare. 

In 2009, she lived in Gaza during the Operation Cast Lead bombing; later that year, Voices formed another small delegation to visit Pakistan, aiming to learn more about the effects of U.S. drone warfare on the civilian population and to better understand consequences of U.S. foreign policy in Pakistan. Kathy’s most recent trip to the region, in 2010, included a visit to Afghanistan, focusing on surgical centers serving victims of war.

New Study Finds Wild Tigers on the Brink of Extinction - How the Global Conservation Act Can Help

John Calvelli – Wildlife Conservation Society: www.wcs.org

Wild tigers are on the brink of extinction. Victims of brutal poaching and habitat loss.

John Calvelli of the Wildlife Conservation Society discusses a new peer-reviewed paper by the group that reveals that most of the world's last remaining 3,500 wild tigers -- are now clustered in just six percent of their available habitat. The survival of the tigers in these specific areas has now become the last hope and greatest priority for conservation and recovery of the species. 

This fall, world leaders will gather in St. Petersburg, Russia, for the Global Tiger Initiative Summit, to negotiate a plan to save tigers from extinction. Tigers greatest advocate, if passed, will be the US Global Conservation Act of 2010, which would require the six federal agencies that conduct conservation programs around the world to pursue a unified strategy to stop illegal wildlife poaching and to reverse environmental destruction endangering tiger populations. 

About John Calvelli:

As the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Executive Vice President of Public Affairs John oversees government and community affairs, communications, and marketing. He serves as a member of the Executive Committee of the International Conservation Partnership (ICP). The ICP helps conservation organizations to coordinate policy initiatives with a focus on educating the U.S. Congress and appropriate governmental agencies on global conservation needs.

Solution Zone - 09/09/10

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IRAQ – AN AMERICAN KILLING FIELD -THE TRUTH ABOUT OUR OCCUPATION

www.liberatethis.com

The US occupation of Iraq is a humnitarian catastrophe. Even with the so-called withdrawl of American “combat” troops, the imperialist mission continues, laying the foundation for 14 permanent military bases.

The truth about the occupation is vastly different from the mainstream media version of events. Dr. Dahila Wasfi, an American writer and activist and public speaker of Jewish/Iraqi heritage, who blogs at www.liberatethis.com, discusses the reasons behind the US occupation, the devastation our country has caused in southern Asia through sanctions and military force, and US efforts to control the resources of that region for the benefit of Exxon Mobil and British Petroleum.

Dr. Dahlia Wasfi a US writer, activist, blogger and public speaker was born to a Jewish-American mother, and a Muslim-Iraqi father,[1] Wasfi and spent her early childhood in Iraq, which was then under Saddam Hussein. She 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 22 states in the US as well as Canada; Madrid, Spain in 2007; and the 3rd International Iraq Conference in Berlin, Germany, in March 2008.

Solution Zone - 09/02/10

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PAKISTAN DEADLY FLOODS – Why Doesn’t the World Care? http://www.relief4pakistan.com/

One fifth of Pakistan is submurged under water. The flooding has caused the most devastating natural disaster in recent memory – surpassing the Haiti earthquake, and the 2004 Tsunami. 20 million people are in need of aid, yet donated are amazingly low. Compared to 31 million  raised by americans  for the Red Cross in the Haiti earthquake,  the American Red Cross only been able to raise $10,000 for Pakistan's flood relief?  We discuss the reasons.

Snehal Shingavi:  Assistant professor of South Asian literature at the University of Texas in Austin. He writes extensively about India and Pakistan for such publications as Counter Punch, Z Net, the International Socialist Review, and Left Hoo. 

PAKISTAN FLOOD AID – WHERE TO DONATE

These groups are doing great work, and where your donation will be used well:

Mercy Corps: http://www.relief4pakistan.com/

UN Relief: World Food Program: https://www.wfp.org/donate/pakistanflood

UNICEF: http://www.supportunicef.org/site/pp.asp?c=9fLEJSOALpE&b=1023561

UNHCR: http://www.unhcr.org/emergency/pakistanfloods/global_landing.html

http://www.savethechildren.org/emergencies/asia/pakistan-floods-2010/
Pakistani civil society:

* TCF Relief: Donate here: http://www.thecitizensfoundation.org/floodrelief.html

* Edhi Foundation. Contact here: http://www.edhifoundation.com/contact.asp

* Karachi Relief Trust. Contact/Donate here: http://www.karachirelief.org/donation.htm

International Organizations and NGO’s

* UK’s Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC), which is an alliance of 13 British NGOs, including British Red Cross, Action Aid, Merlin, Oxfam, Islamic Relief and Christian Aid. You can donate here: http://www.dec.org.uk/donate_now/

* UNHCR, which is a UN organization, with whom I have worked directly on several occasions, is the UN’s premier humanitarian organization. You can donate to UNHCR’s Pakistan flood fund, here: http://www.unhcr.org/emergency/pakistan/global_landing.html

* Islamic Relief has one of the lowest administrative cost ratios among all international humanitarian NGOs. You can donate here: https://www.islamicreliefusa.org/SSLPage.aspx?pid=499

* International Committee of the Red Cross/Crescent. Donate online, here: http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/iwpList2/Help_the_ICRC?