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Foreign Policy

Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control

Presentation & book signing by: Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CodePink and Global Exchange

Thursday, June 21, 2012 7pm
Sierra Arden United Church of Christ
890 Morse Ave, Sacramento (Morse & Northrup).

A growing menace, robotic warfare has been used to murder hundreds of civilians in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen - and now may be coming to a Police Department near you.

"It's a way of waging war without putting U.S. lives at risk. It's a way of waging war without letting the American people know we're even at war. It's a way of waging war that lets the CIA and other secret organizations have control-don't even have to go to Congress. It's a tremendous abuse of executive power. And it's killing a lot of innocent civilians. And the American people need to know about it." -- Medea Benjamin

What did the West do to succeed?

Submitted by sgl on Thu, 05/03/2012 - 12:12pm
Niall Ferguson

The economist and historian Niall Ferguson argues that Western civilization came to dominate the world by developing and using six concepts: competition, science, the rule of law, modern medicine, consumerism and the work ethic. As the rest of the world adopts these concepts, the less the west dominates it. Mr. Ferguson discusses the historic power of several western empires and their inevitable decline with author, reporter, and cultural critic Susan Jacoby.
Source: After Words: Niall Ferguson, "Civilization: The West and the Rest," hosted by Susan Jacoby


Stephen Zunes

Stephen Zunes on the Middle East

Stephen Zunes discusses with Scott Horton the Arab Spring as the culmination of decades of peaceful rebellion against tyrannical governments. He explains how violent revolutions tend to breed more violence and result in authoritarian governments. He comments on how the Bush administration helped to bring down a few of Middle East/North African dictators without meaning to.
Source: Scott Horton Interviews Stephen Zunes



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An Expose Of Petroleum Pigs And Finance

Submitted by sgl on Thu, 04/26/2012 - 2:28pm

Greg Palast presents his investigation of the BP oil spill and talks about the corruption that permeates the oil industry, the financial sector, and government. Greg plays the part of a hard-bitten detective.  He participated in five movies and authored four books including Armed Madhouse and The Best Democracy Money Can Buy.
Source: Vulture's Picnic

The world fears the U.S.

Ex-Senator and former U.S. presidential candidate Mike Gravel says the U.S. is like a drunkard who charges to war with any country who might pose a threat.
Source: 'World fears US as a war-hungry drunk' - ex-Senator


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Wild Weather

Submitted by sgl on Thu, 04/19/2012 - 10:11am

2011 has been marked by extreme weather. In the U.S. alone, a record dozen disasters caused more than $1 billion in damage. One area acutely threatened by climate change is food production, where decades of steady gains could be reversed.

Speakers are
Chris Field, Director, Department of Global Ecology, Carnegie Institution for Science
Dave Friedberg, Founder & CEO, The Climate Corporation
Karen O'Brien, Professor of Sociology and Human Geography, University of Oslo
Michael Oppenheimer, Professor of Geosciences and International Affairs, Princeton
Greg Dalton is the moderator and Vice President of The Commonwealth Club of California and founder of Climate One
Source: Wild Weather

Dahlia Lithwick

An Analysis of the NDAA

What is in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012 that President Obama recently signed into law accompanied by a signing statement? Dahlia Lithwick explains the bill’s contents. She is a contributing editor at Newsweek and a senior editor and legal correspondent at Slate, where she specialized in covering the U.S. Supreme Court and judicial issues.
Source: January 4 - The GOP Candidates and God's Plan; The Backlash Against Putin; An Analysis of What is in the NDAA

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End the 21st Century Crusades

Submitted by sgl on Thu, 04/05/2012 - 9:58am
Seymour Hersh

Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist Seymour Hersh is interviewed by Steve Scher

Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Seymour Hersh is responsible for exposing many of the biggest stories in the 20th century, and he is still hard at work. Hersh alleged that senior officials were waging a crusade overseas, protecting Christianity from the Muslim.
Source: Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist Seymour Hersh

The natural gas business is booming, sometimes with deadly results. Host Bruce Gellerman sniffs out the cracks in the nearly two million miles of pipeline that run under our cities.
Source: Rampant City Gas Leaks

There are more than a third of a million miles of natural gas transmission pipelines in the U.S., and more to come. But sometimes they rupture, devastating homes and lives. Bruce Gellerman speaks with investigative blogger Frank Gallagher, editor of NaturalGasWatch.org, about the hazards of this vast system.
Source: The Explosive Growth of Natural Gas Networks



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ABOUT FACE - Military Resisters Turn Against War

A book talk with Jeff Paterson of Courage to Resist

Tuesday, March 27, 7 P.M.

Time Tested Books, 1114- 21st Street, Sac.

From raw recruits to war resisters.
How ideas about justifying war change.
Intimate looks at personal transformations.
The courage to stand up and say a resounding NO.
A book about GI resistance from the Vietnam War to Bradley Manning and WikiLeaks - including interviews with Noam Chomsky and Daniel Ellsberg.

A look at Iran, Iraq and suicide terrorism

Submitted by sgl on Thu, 01/19/2012 - 11:31am
The Other Scott Horton

Scott Horton Interviews The Other Scott Horton

The Other Scott Horton is an international human rights lawyer, professor and contributing editor at Harper’s magazine. They discuss the assassination Iranian nuclear scientists and the justification for the assassination of Anwar al-Awlaki's sixteen year old son and unchecked executive power.
Source: Scott Horton Interviews The Other Scott Horton


Adam Lankford



Scott Horton Interviews Robert A. Pape and Adam Lankford

Two professors and authors debate the root cause of suicide terrorism and whether it results from U.S. foreign policies and military occupations or is instead a manifestation of personal mental health issues.
Source: Scott Horton Interviews Robert A. Pape and Adam Lankford


Gareth Porter

Scott Horton Interviews Gareth Porter

Gareth Porter, independent historian and journalist for IPS News, discusses the 20 year U.S. campaign of death and destruction in Iraq. He also talks about how Nouri al-Maliki tricked the Bush administration into negotiating a troop withdrawal deadline and why the gigantic U.S. embassy is destined to become a museum of U.S. atrocities.
Source: Scott Horton Interviews Gareth Porter



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Ralph Nader and the Billionaires

Submitted by sgl on Thu, 01/12/2012 - 8:46am

Two billionaires, Ted Turner and Peter Lewis talk with Ralph Nader. They discuss the activism, Iraq War, marijuana, hemp, nuclear power and health insurance and more.

Ralph Nader is the founder of the consumers' rights movement. He played a key role in the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Freedom of Information Act and the Consumer Product Safety Commission. He has harshly criticized the two major political parties for preserving a campaign finance system that makes them both dependent on wealthy contributors.


Ted Turner

Ted Turner founded of the cable news network CNN and the cable channel TBS. He owns 2.1 million acres of land across 12 states and also 100,000 acres in South America. According to Forbes magazine he is worth $2.1 billion. The United Nations Foundation was started with a $1 billion grant from Ted Turner to support the United Nations in executing its programs worldwide.


Peter Lewis

Peter Lewis is the chairman and CEO of Progressive Corporation, the fourth largest U.S. personal auto insurer and he's worth $1.05 billion. He has donated multi-millions to Princeton University, Marijuana Policy Project, American Civil Liberties Union, MoveOn and many more charities and political groups.
Source: RALPH NADER, TED TURNER & PETER LEWIS



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Life and Death in Afghanistan

Submitted by sgl on Thu, 01/05/2012 - 10:44am
Gareth Porter

Scott Horton Interviews Gareth Porter

Gareth Porter, independent historian and journalist for IPS News, discusses the expansion of U.S. drone strikes. Initially the strikes were limited to Al Qaeda and Pakistani Taliban but now they include groups allied with the Pakistani military. He states that U.S. economic conditions will force military budget cuts and curtail the empire of bases and he asks for a citizens’ movement to end war and empire.
Source: Scott Horton Interviews Gareth Porter


Anand Gopal

Scott Horton Interviews Anand Gopal

Independent journalist Anand Gopal discusses the American creation of an unsustainable Afghanistan that’s guaranteed to collapse when U.S./NATO money stops flowing. He reminds us of the fact that Afghan corruption gets worse as foreign aid increases.
Source: Scott Horton Interviews Anand Gopal


The War in Libya

Submitted by sgl on Thu, 12/29/2011 - 10:43am
Jeremy Scahill

Scott Horton Interviews Jeremy Scahill

Jeremy Scahill discusses Yemen, President Saleh, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Al Qaeda, Obama, Bush, Ed Schultz, Libya.
Source: Scott Horton Interviews Jeremy Scahill


Congressman Dennis Kucinich

Scott Horton Interviews Rep. Dennis Kucinich

Rep. Dennis Kucinich discusses his attempt to provoke debate in Congress concerning the authority to declare war. He voted to defund the Libyan War.
Source: Scott Horton Interviews Rep. Dennis Kucinich


Glenn Greenwald

Scott Horton Interviews Glenn Greenwald

Glenn Greenwald talks about Obama and War Powers Act and the Libyan War. He also comments on WikiLeaks Julian Assange and journalism.
Source: Scott Horton Interviews Glenn Greenwald


Nick Turse

Scott Horton Interviews Nick Turse

Nick Turse discusses how JSOC, the Joint Special Operations Command became the president’s own private army. He also comments on why the precision airstrikes in Libya were probably guided by special operations forces on the ground.
Source: Scott Horton Interviews Nick Turse



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Rage and rebellion across the Islamic world

Submitted by sgl on Thu, 12/15/2011 - 12:10pm

I must confess that I have my own views of the Muslim world. Like most countries they want self-determination. That is the process by which a country determines its own statehood and forms its own allegiances and government. Self-determination is an idea that can't killed with bombs or bullets or autocratic leaders.

Robin Wright

Robin Wright talks with Charlie Rose about the Islamic world
Source: Robin Wright


Al McCoy

SubordiNations

Al McCoy talks about how empires are maintained, why the U.S. empire is in decline, and what the consequences might be depending on how we respond to that decline. Al McCoy is a professor of history at the University of Wisconson–Madison, and author of 'Policing America's Empire: The United States, the Philippines and the Rise of the Surveillance State,'
Source: TomCast for April 24, 2011: SubordiNations

Robin Wright talked about the recent Middle East uprisings and she responded to telephone calls and electronic communications.
Source: Rock The Casbah

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Ralph Nader and the Police State

Submitted by sgl on Thu, 11/24/2011 - 11:42am

Scott Horton Interviews Francis Boyle

Francis Boyle discusses how in 2004 the FBI and CIA tried to make him an informant to betray his Arab and Muslim legal clients. His refusal landed him on several terrorism watch lists and guaranteeing him a lifetime of harassment when traveling. He asks if we are already living in a police state, which will become a military dictatorship after one more major terrorist attacks. Currently Professor Boyle lectures on international law at the University of Illinois College of Law.
Source: Scott Horton Interviews Francis Boyle


Ralph Nader

Ralph Nader talks with Bob McChesney

Ralph Nader was named by The Atlantic as one of the 100 most influential figures in American history, and by Time and Life magazines as one of the hundred most influential Americans of the twentieth century. Nader has organized millions of citizens into more than 100 public interest groups to advocate for solutions. His efforts have helped create laws, regulatory agencies, and federal standards that have improved the quality of life for generations of Americans. Because of Ralph Nader we drive safer cars, eat healthier food, breathe better air, drink cleaner water, and work in safer environments.
Source: Ralph Nader on Media Matters with Bob McChesney


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Artists Challenge Ten Years of War

Submitted by billl on Sat, 10/08/2011 - 4:21pm

For ten years, the U.S. has been at war in Afghanistan. The human cost continues to mount.

This short video, using mural images from AFSC's Windows and Mirrors Exhibit (http://windowsandmirrors.org), makes a powerful statement about the human cost of the war in Afghanistan. Visit the WAM website to see all the artwork - and to join AFSC's efforts to end the war.

The Afghanistan War after 10 years

Submitted by sgl on Thu, 10/06/2011 - 3:14pm
Ray McGovern

Ray McGovern and Prof. Jonathan Stevenson talk to Peter B. Collins. They talk about Afghanistan and Gen. David Petraeus. McGovern served 27 years in Army intelligence and at the CIA.


Jonathan Stevenson

Professor Stevenson teaches strategic studies at the Naval War College, and has a background as a journalist. He notes that the generals are becoming bolder in overstepping their roles, and that presidents are becoming more passive to this kind of behavior. They talk about Iraq, Afghanistan, Egypt, Libya, Bahrain and Syria.

Source: Two Critical Views of Gen. Petraeus: Ray McGovern and Prof. Jonathan Stevenson; plus Will Durst on Birthers



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What Would Gandhi Do?

Submitted by sgl on Thu, 09/29/2011 - 12:40pm
Mohandas K. Gandhi

Gandhi was born Oct. 2, 1869. In celebration of his 142nd birthday, this program explores non-violent resistance through the eyes of Gene Sharp and includes a few short excerpts from the movie Gandhi.


Gene Sharp

What Would Gandhi Do About Iraq and Weapons of Mass Deception?

It doesn’t have to take guns and tanks to effect change, according to Sharp. Sharp was interviewed by Tom Ashbrook in late 2002 before the second Iraq War.

Gene Sharp is president and founder of the Albert Einstein Institution, a nonprofit organization that promotes non-violent struggle in the face of dictatorship, war, genocide and oppression.
Source: What Would Gandhi Do?

Gene Sharp speaks on civilian-based defense

He asks why hasn’t war been abolished? He notes that nuclear deterrence is a desperate and bankrupt policy and power derives from obedience and cooperation of people, not from violence.
Source: Gene Sharp Lecture on Civilian-Based Defense

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