Monday

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Monday November 10, 2008 @ 6:30pm

Alternative Radio - Winter Soldier- Testimonies from Iraq War Veterans

The Winter Soldier investigation originally took place in Detroit in 1971. Vietnam War veterans testified about war crimes they had committed or witnessed. In 2003 the United States invaded Iraq on false pretenses. Not one of the many allegations to justify the attack was true. In an endless war and occupation no one has been held accountable. The president says, "I don't regret it at all." The vice-president says the war is "succeeding brilliantly." Representative Dennis Kucinich has introduced 35 articles of impeachment against the president. As one comic remarked, "Is that all?" Thousands of American troops have died, tens of thousands have been wounded, war costs may exceed $3 trillion. The war has come home in tragic ways. Divorce, depression, PTSD, domestic violence and suicide rates are high among returning veterans. Taking the name Winter Soldier, dozens of war veterans gathered in Silver Spring, MD, to talk about their experiences.

Date recorded: 15 Mar 2008

Monday November 17, 2008 @ 6:30pm

Alternative Radio - Benjamin Barber - Runaway Capitalism

Our great leaders tell us what we already know, The economy is "sour." But no worries. At the end of the day all will be well. Just keep on shoppin.' Capitalism is the only game in town. Growth for growth's sake, without any attention paid to its consequences, is producing what one Canadian writer calls "The Cancer Stage of Capitalism." And like a cancer it will keep metastasizing until it kills its host. The economic system is predicated on constant expansion and growth. The gospel of consumerism is an unsustainable paradigm. What is required is a radical rethinking of basic assumptions. Yet virtually no politician is willing to speak the hard truth to citizens. They are tinkerers at best, suggesting cosmetic changes such as buying a hybrid car and recycling paper and glass. Other than that it's business as usual.

Benjamin Barber is a well-known scholar and political theorist. He is the author of many books including the bestseller Jihad vs. McWorld. His latest book is Consumed: The Fate of Citizens under Capitalism Triumphant.

Monday November 24, 2008 @ 6:30pm

Alternative Radio - Tahira Abdullah: Pakistani Women

According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, the human rights situation for women in that country is grim. The assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto while she was campaigning in late December 2007 captured world headlines but violence against women continued unchecked throughout the country. The murder of Zille Huma Usman, the Punjab province's Minister for Women's Development, by a religious zealot, was another example of women's insecurity. But the killing of prominent women masks the thousands of acts of violence carried out in silence and where men often go unpunished. Women are vulnerable and lack power particularly in rural areas where they are the targets of acid attacks, burning, rape and honor killings. In a strongly patriarchal culture women's voices are generally muted. But some Pakistani women are fighting back.

Tahira Abdullah is a prominent women's rights activist and development worker based in Islamabad.