Monday's @ 1:00pm    
January 2010
Alternative Radio   

 Each Monday we bring you timely and informative 
 discussions by leading experts, activists, and scholars who address
 some of the toughest issues facing our nation. These programs come
 from two source. The first is Alternative Radio, produced by David
 Barsamian, and featuring internationally recognized leaders and
 scholars who address current public policies and the effects of these
 policies on the individual who live under them. 

 Contact Info: Ph # 1-800-444-1977     www.alternativeradio.org

                       AR,  P.O. Box 551, Boulder, Colorado  80306

For more information on Alternative media sources and for book, magazines, and an audio library of many Alternative Radio and other Alternative programs click here to contact the Civic Media Center. Other Alternative Media sites include Institute for Global Communications, the Direct Action Media Network, or the Physicians for a National Health Program,  29 E. Madison, Suite 602,  Chicago IL, 60602. ( web site www.pnhp.org   email is pnhp@aol.com),  The News Press,  The Coalition of Immokalee Workers,  www.publicintegrity.org,  www.empirenotes.org,  www.tompaine.com, www.truthout.com,  and  www.commondreams.org,  Sister Helen Prejean.

Monday January 4, 2010 @ 1:00pm

Alternative Radio - Medea Benjamin - What Do Afghans Want?

      Afghanistan is a war of necessity, Obama tells us. One of the justifications for the invasion was to liberate Afghan women from Taliban oppression. As Arundhati Roy of India commented, We are being asked to believe the U.S. marines are actually on a feminist mission. Beyond puppets in Kabul, we hear little from Afghans themselves. Instead, there is a media parade of U.S. military, government officials, and think tank experts who talk about tactics. The right of the United States to invade and occupy other countries is never brought up much less challenged. So the discussions focus on: How many troops do we need? What should we do in Helmand Province? Are air strikes counterproductive? Does Gen. McChrystal have the right plans? In all of this Afghans barely count. What do they want and in particular what do Afghan women want?
      Medea Benjamin is co-founder of Global Exchange and CODEPINK. She frequently travels to and documents human rights violations in the Third World. She has lectured and written extensively on international issues and has been to Afghanistan a number of times.

Monday January 11, 2010 @ 1:00pm

Alternative Radio - Norman Solomon: Afghanistan - Endless War
     Operation Enduring Freedom, the name of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan is looking more like Operation Enduring Disaster. "The New York Times" reported, "General McChrystal’s plan is a blueprint for an extensive American commitment to build a modern state in Afghanistan, where one has never existed, and to bring order to a place famous for the empires it has exhausted. This effort would most likely last many more years, cost hundreds of billions of dollars and entail the deaths of many more troops." Notice the "Times" does not mention Afghan deaths and costs to Afghan society. And that is typical in U.S.-centric formulations. Afghans are mere extras on the set, moving in the shadows, called out by the director from time to time to utter a few lines, have chimerical elections and then disappear again. Imperialism is a serious movie.
     Norman Solomon, co-chair of the national Healthcare Not Warfare campaign, is an independent political commentator and media critic. The National Council of Teachers of English honored him with the George Orwell Award for Distinguished Contribution to Honesty and Clarity in Public Language. He is director of the Institute for Public Accuracy, a consortium of policy researchers and analysts. He is the author of many books including "Target Iraq," "War Made Easy, and "Made Love, Got War."

Monday January 18, 2010, 2009 @ 1:00pm

Alternative Radio - Thomas Frank - Conservatism: Making Government Fail
     Ronald Reagan led the rhetorical charge against government. It was the Reagan Revolution. Remember his 1981 inaugural address when he said, "Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem." Reagan ushered in the era of free market ideology, unfettered and unregulated capitalism, tax cuts for the wealthy, supply side economics and trickle down theories, The ideas of Milton Friedman and Alan Greenspan were ascendant. Their pronouncements were greeted with reverence and awe. Look around today and witness the carnage: unemployment, debt, bankruptcies, foreclosures and a hollowed out manufacturing base. Historically, conservatives use government as a convenient punching bag and rail against its unbridled evils. But when it comes to corporate subsidies and bailouts for the rich and powerful they quickly transform themselves and feed at the government trough with great appetite. The hypocrisy is impressive.
      Thomas Frank, founding editor of "The Baffler" magazine, is a columnist for "The Wall Street Journal." He's the author of "One Market Under God," "What's the Matter with Kansas?" and "The Wrecking Crew."

Monday January 25, 2010 @ 1:00pm

Alternative Radio - Dahr Jamail – GI Resistance
       At Nuremberg the plea of, "I was just following orders" was not accepted by the tribunal. That raises the question: What are soldiers to do when faced with orders they know to be against international law and basic morality? Today, reports of U.S. troops refusing orders, of active duty soldiers refusing deployment and speaking out against the wars and occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan have trickled into the mainstream media. What makes GIs deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan decide to resist, file for conscientious objector status, or even serve prison sentences to avoid taking part in these wars and occupations? There are devastating societal consequences beyond the many deaths and severe physical and psychological wounds. Suicide rates and domestic violence among returning vets are high. As the wars drag on more and more GIs are asking questions and are resisting.
       Dahr Jamail is an award-winning independent journalist who went to Iraq to report on the war and occupation. His articles appear in "The Guardian," "The Nation" and other journals and magazines. He is the author of "Beyond the Green Zone: Dispatches from an Unembedded Journalist in Occupied Iraq" and "The Will to Resist: Soldiers Who Refuse to Fight in Iraq and Afghanistan."

Be sure to join us in February 2010 for more from Alternative Radio