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AUDIO: Coup in Honduras - eyewitness report

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 04:15:56 PDT

Toni covers the Honduran coup

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AUDIO:Simon Butler on Population Control in Response to Climate Change

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 01:23:31 PDT

Recently a discussion has surfaced about whether population control schemes could feature in the policy aims of the Australian Climate Change movement.

Simon Butler is an analyst and contributor to Green Left Weekly who argues that the proponents of population control schemes completely miss the underlying causes of climate change.

Julia started by asking Simon about the history of such schemes and the lessons we can learn about their previous implementations.

This talk was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 10th of June.

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Original audio source (Simon Butler.mp3)

AUDIO:Chiapas - Blitz on Human Rights: Julie Webb reports

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 23:57:35 PDT

7.4Mb. 100kbps mono. 12 mins

Julie Webb, journalist for "Scoop" gives us an update on the increasingly tense situation in Chiapas, particularly the harassment of the Human Rights organisation Fray Bartholome de las Casas, by Mexican government security and paramilitary forces. Chiapas peasants are living on land that the neo-conservative 'developers' want to get their hands on, and human rights organisations like 'Fray Barta' is often the only thing standing between them and outright pillage.

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Original audio source (JulieChiapas22_Jun_2009.mp3)

Activists condemn massive Taser roll-out

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 07:03:45 PDT

Community activists in the Illawarra have condemned the NSW budget allocation of $10 milllion for more Taser stun-guns. They've renewed calls for a ban on the weapon after the death of a Queensland man last Friday who was shot 28 times with a Taser by police.

Chris Williams, Socialist Alliance convener in Wollongong, said: 'The government has been warned many times about the lethal potential of Tasers. This latest death in Queensland proves yet again the danger involved. The Rees government should reverse this allocation immediately and declare a ban on the use of Tasers.

'In addition to being dangerous, Tasers will be used disproportionately on the already marginalised. Last year's review of Tasers by NSW Ombudsman, Bruce Barbour, found that the weapon has most commonly been used against people with mental health issues. What a disgrace given the inadequate funding for mental health in this country', said Williams.

Jess Moore, Resistance organiser in Wollongong, said: 'Given the proven danger of Tasers, this $10 million roll-out is just outrageous! The Rees government has consistently under-resourced our schools, hospitals and public transport system, and yet it is spending a huge sum of money on this dangerous and controversial weapon.

'Research by Amnesty International shows that Tasers have been used by police officers against children, the mentally ill and the physically disabled. They have been used against people who are restrained. This money should be spent on services to assist the mentally and physically disabled, not on potentially lethal weapon that has been proven to be used on them.

'There is no independent research showing that Tasers are safe but there is a lot of hard evidence that they kill. How many people will have to die before Tasers are banned? They must be stopped from being used!' Moore concluded.

For more information contact Chris Williams on 0425 329 963 or Jess Moore on 0416 232 349

Or visit http://www.socialist-alliance.org/illawarra/

Background Queensland:
Queensland's Police Minister is rejecting claims he covered up details about the use of stun gun, in an incident in which a man later died. He's revealed that he, the Police Service and the police union knew on Monday that the Taser had been used 28 times.

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Original audio source (20090618-PM3-taser-scandal.mp3)

House insulation, survival and sustainability.

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 06:44:01 PDT

New Zealand houses: draughty and deadly [ABC Science Show]

Houses in New Zealand don't protect their occupants from the temperate climate of high rainfall and strong westerly winds. The houses' designs are based on those from other parts of the world. And now adverse health effects have been measured. More people die in winter than summer, a higher proportion than in other countries. Even Siberia's houses offer more protection from winter conditions.

The same could be said about Australian housing and how the norm here is neither comfort suited to the climatic conditions nor the pressing rigors of sustainability in the face of Climate Change.

The question is, I suggest, how useful is Rudd's Energy Efficient Homes Package?

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Original audio source (ssw_20090606_1213.mp3)

AUDIO/VIDEO: Ben Peterson in Nepal

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 15:34:39 PDT

April of this year, after ten years of “people’s war”, the Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M) was swept into power with a clear democratic mandate to make changes to the country’s socio-economic structure.

May saw the Maoists leave government in frustration after their proposed changes were systematically impeded by established elite power structures backed by foreign interests.

Julia spoke to Ben about the circumstances surrounding the Maoist’s decision and the effect of this on the Nepalese political landscape. Julia started by asking Ben for some background on the Maoist movement.

Ben Peterson is a Resistance member reporting on the political situation in Nepal for Green Left Weekly. You can read Ben’s blog here.

This talk was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 27th of May.

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Original audio source (Ben Peterson.mp3)

Video:

Audio: The Rise of China and the Demise of the Capitalist World Economy By Minqi Li

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 14:52:53 PDT

Audio files. Minqi Li is Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Utah and the author of The Rise of China and the Demise of the Capitalist World Economy among other publications. This lecture was delivered at the Marxist School of Sacramento on 21 May 2009.

Source:Creative i

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Original audio source (3911-1-minqui_li_mx_sch_5-21-09.mp3)

AUDIO:Building Bridges: Tariq Ali - Afghanistan/Pakistan - Danger Ahead

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Sun, 31 May 2009 18:13:45 PDT

The west's 'good war' in Afghanistan has turned bad. Spreading the war to Pakistan was a disaster. for A local solution involving all the powers in the area, rather than a neocolonial one, is needed.

Speaker: Tariq Ali

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Original audio source (123-1-tariqalintl.mp3)

AUDIO: El Salvador - can the left take power? Comment from CISPES

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Sun, 31 May 2009 16:26:42 PDT

Burke Stansbury, coordinator of CISPES (Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador) is about to fly into El Salvador to see the inauguration of the FMLN backed President of El Salvador. The election of Mauricio Funes as President has created a sense of political turmoil ... and hopes. Burke puts this event in perspective.

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Original audio source (BurkePt1Inauguration29_May_2009_08_37_14.mp3)

AUDIO:Renewables -- the other climate debate

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Sun, 31 May 2009 16:14:26 PDT

This audio is useful as an overview of some of the spin engineered as part of the clean energy debate and how it is totally constrained within the profit motive.

Background Briefing:Wall to wall coverage of carbon trading has eclipsed another scheme aimed at overhauling Australia´s dirty power industry. How to find tens of billions of dollars to get renewable energy to take over from coal power. Is Australia locked into a second best scheme, and why aren´t we following the lead of world leaders in Europe? Reporter Di Martin. Download Documents Benefits and costs of the expanded renewable energy target ACT electricity feed-in tariff - estimates of costs and payback period Pacific Hydro´s submission to the renewable energy target exposure draft legislation Selected pages from a market modelling report on generator revenue impact of alternative GHG policies

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Original audio source (bbg_20090308.mp3)

AUDIO: Michael A. Lebowitz. -- What would Marx say?

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 17:24:51 PDT

Is it time to dust off a copy of Das Kapital and revisit Marx´s analysis of capitalism's ills?
Late Night Live hosted a discussion with Michael A. Lebowitz.

Lebowitz was a guest speaker at the World at the Crossroads Conference in Sydney on the Easter weekend and is now touring other centres.

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Original audio source (lnl_20090414_2218.mp3)

Guests
William Coleman
Reader at the School of Economics of the Australian National University; editor of Agenda: a Journal of Policy Analysis and Reform

Michael A. Lebowitz
Professor emeritus of economics at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada

Further Information

The Path to Human Development - Michael A. Lebowitz
Publications

Title: Beyond Capital, Marx's Political Economy of the Working Class
Author: Michael A. Lebowitz
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan (Second Edition, 2003)

AUDIO: Capitalism and Climate Change -- Ian Angus

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 22:19:18 PDT

Ian Angus is the editor of climateandcapitalism.com and founder of the Eco-socialist International Network.

He is also associate editor of Socialist Voice and the director of the Socialist History Project.

Ian was on tour in Australia (Perth poster left) in the run up to the World at a Crossroads conference to be held in Sydney on the Easter weekend.

Ian’s talk addressed the link between our capitalist economic system and the degradation of our environment. This talk was recorded at the Adelaide South West Community Centre on Sunday the 5th of April.

This talk was broadcast on Radio Adelaide on the 8th of April

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Original audio source (Ian Angus.mp3)

AUDIO: Salvadoran Journalists - English voiceover

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 22:47:18 PDT

Journalism - Salvadoran style

Tough biddies (still sparking strong) and young enthusiasts are out there doing tough journalism in a tough country. There's gonzo, and there is survivalist in the world of journalism. There are broadsheets and pamphlets in El Salvador, but we are talking to journalists the more mature ones) who have survived journalism in a Civil War, and others, from the younger generation who see the point.

El Diario Co-Latino is the end product of a newspaper that has been bombed, bankrupted, set on fire, and generally persecuted. It has also been the training ground of young journalists who are not prepared to sell out to financial interests, graduates from the National University of El Salvador, that has refused to sell out to neo-liberal interests. There are over 50 'private' universities in San Salvador many of them controlled byformer military officers of the former regime - a retirement break for US accredited generals and colonels who have been afforded 'impunity' for their role in gross human rights violations. Remains to be seen if the new government can reconstruct the neoliberal 'plantation', or whether the Universities can still generate a critical, committed, and honest journalist.

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Original audio source (ColatinoHISTORY.mp3)

AUDIO:The Folkways Collection: Woody Guthrie, Segment 1

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 23:48:49 PDT

(SmithsonianFolkways)

An original folk hero, Woody Guthrie transformed the folk ballad into a vehicle for social protest. Guthrie wrote literally hundreds of songs, many of them now revered classics, including the unofficial anthem "This Land Is Your Land." He was also a major influence on music superstars such as Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan. Moses Asch, who recorded much of Guthrie's material, thought of Woody as nothing less than a full-blown genius. Program eight is devoted to a portrait of this giant in American music.

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AUDIO: Life as a Salvadoran wharf laborer - English Voiceover

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 22:43:50 PDT

(Shortened interview with English voice-over by Warwick Fry)

(Note: This is a stereo recording with the English voice-over in the right hand channel. If the Spanish language background is too loud or distracting it can be faded down by turning up the right channel and fading down the left channel. Spanish speakers might want to do the opposite)

Meeting Gregorio from the Salvadoran Dockworkers Union (STIPES) was an unforgettable experience. Gregorio quietly and matter of factly exposes the Dickensian conditions imposed on Salvadoran wharf laborers since a military intervention in 2001 - supposedly to improve Port security after September 11 in New York, but in reality to break up the 40 year old dockworkers Union and force the wharf workers to work under a 'contract' system that yields them at best US$36 a month. Gregorio's account is a quietly understated expose of the true nature of the ARENA government that has run El Salvador for the last 20 years. Gregorio is cautiously optimistic that the new government which comes into power on June 1st might offer some change in the horrendous working conditions of these men.

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AUDIO: Sounds of a Salvadoran Election - Red Sunday: March 15 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 05:28:53 PDT

An eyewitness account of election day in San Salvador. As an accredited international observer Warwick Fry spent 15 hours at a voting centre recording his impressions, then followed the massive 6 hour street party that erupted as the results were announced, declaring a convincing FMLN victory.

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AUDIO El Salvador -- Post election review from CISPES

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 19:53:56 PDT

North American Nestor, and Australian Nick Everett recall Sunday March 15 2009, the sweeping FMLN electoral victory (in spite of attempts at fraud) and their experience as international observers of the tense ballot. They assess what this significant and historic result could mean for El Salvador, both regionally, and internationally.

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More Australians in El Salvador - Ovidio Orellanos

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 15:11:20 PDT

The day before the elections a group of Australian volunteers met at one of the FMLN headquarters to prepare themselves for their role of international mobservers. Many of them were Salvadorans who had been forced to emigrate to Australia as political refugees, in the 1980s. They were keen to be present at a time when the ARENA `party, founded by the people responsible for their forced exile had to face an electoral defeat.

Ovidio Orellanos is a Guatemalan by birth. The death squads of El Salvador modelled themselves on a similar movement in Guatemala, called ¨The White Hand¨. Ovidio tells us what these elections mean to him.

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Australians in El Salvador - Juan Campos

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 15:10:26 PDT

Juan Campos is a Salvadoran who spent two years in prison and was tortured in the early 1980s. He was rescued by Australia´s special humanitarian program and has lived in Australia ever since. Juan was one of the 15 Australian´s who came to El Salvador to observe the critical Presidential elections. He explains to community radio what these elections mean to Salvadorans, and people like himself.

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Australians in San Salvador

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 01:23:47 PDT

A strange mix of tension and exuberance in the days leading up to the Presidential elections in El Salvador on Sunday March 15. A number of Australian observers are here, including a team of Australian Salvadorans who were forced to seek refugee status in Australia at the height of the civil war of the 1980s. There are high hopes that this election will close that chapter of Salvadoran history for once and for all, but there are fears too, that this government, one of the last bastions of the ultra right and fascism remaining in Latin America, will not lose gracefully. Walking around the streets of San Salvador Latin Radical producer, Warwick Fry, bumps into Jim McIlroy and Coral Wynter, who flew over to El Salvador from Venezuela. In Warwick´s hotel room, they discuss their experiences and their view of events here in San Salvador, including the 300,000 strong rally in support of FMLN candidate Mauricio Funes, last Sunday.

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Stolen wages: still very much stolen from Indigenous Australians

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 06:14:43 PDT

In Queensland, it was the law for 70 years that Aboriginal people were sent to work but were paid only a fraction of their wages, while the government held the rest of the money in trust. During the Protection Era the government gave itself the power to send Aboriginal men, women and children out to work where and when it saw fit. It was the legal guardian of all Aboriginal children under the age of 21 and dictated where and how people lived, whom they could marry, even what they ate. In 2002 the Beattie government made Aboriginal workers an offer. Those still living who could pass an eligibility test would be entitled to a one-off payment of between two and four thousand dollars. In exchange, those workers would sign away their rights to future litigation to recover their wages. Now that the government wants to settle the issue, we listen to the stories of some of the three generations who worked under 'the Act'. This program was shortlisted in the audio/visual category for the 2008 NSW Premier's History Awards.

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Biodiversity and carbon offsets:everything has a price

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 03:21:57 PDT

Background Briefing

Di Martin: Australia is pricing things we've never tried to price before. We've heard about pricing carbon. But what about ecosystems, and even biodiversity itself?
Biodiversity is the way all bugs, plants and animals coexist. It keeps nature healthy, which keeps people alive. Clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, healthy soil to grow food.
But with too much carbon in the air, too many water licences issued on the Murray-Darling, too much bush bulldozed, Australia's biodiversity is failing.

Our economy may fall over, but it's not just about the financial meltdown. Nature is seizing up, and it's costing big bucks. Putting a dollar value on nature might help, but how much is a bacterium in a lake really worth?

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Venezuela votes for change again! - Referendum: Lara Pullin

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 19:18:13 PST

The Venezuelan people established another benchmark this month by approving a constitutional amendment in a popular plebiscite that removes the two term restriction on candidates for political office. While this has been trumpeted in the US and conservative media as an attempt by popular President Hugo Chavez to make himself 'President for Life', nothing could be further from the truth. As Lara Pullin points out, the Australian, French, and the constitutions of a number of other countries allow for indefinite re-election (as opposed to 'appointment') of politicians (witness the Mezies years) so it is hard to see what the fuss is about. Lara tells us what this means to the Venezuelan people and why they voted the way they did in the referendum.

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El Salvador - Critical Elections, Update on the Presidential race.

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 19:17:15 PST

Burke Stansbury of CISPES is on the line from Washington with and update on the upcoming Presidential race on March 15 in El Salvador. CISPES is sending a team of 60 observers in an attempt to prevent the ARENA party's attempts at electoral fraud, that marked the January Municipal and Legislative Assembly elections. There are fears that ARENA will stop at nothing to win, in spite of a commanding lead by the opposition FMLN in the popularity stakes.

CISPES is trying to pressure the US government and the new Obama administration to negate the propaganda fear campaign by ARENA claiming that an FMLN electoral victory will lead to 'punishment' by the US.

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El Salvador - 1st election results: a view from the ground

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Riley) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 16:24:36 PST

As this goes to air Salvadorans are breathlessly waiting the final count on the vote for the Mayor of El Salvador - a surprisingly close result given that the FMLN incumbent Mayor was leading in the polls and ARENA was trailing. It now looks as though the ARENA candidate has a chance, and the surprise result feeds a widely held belief that ARENA has resorted to fraudulent tactics in a desperate bid to win.

The good news for the FMLN is that it appears they have won a majority of seats in the Legislative Assembly, in spite of the fraudulent tactics of the ARENA government candidates. Amanda Blake was on the spot as an official observer, and as part of a delegation from CISPES (Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador). She spoke with community radio as the first results started coming in, and gives her nervous prognosis for the Presidential round coming up on March 15

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FMLN becomes largest force in El Salvador’s legislative assembly