None of them were alive the last time Texas was located outside the borders of the US, but they’re demanding to go back to that status. They’re angry at the Obama administration, frustrated with the United States, and lately – they’ve managed to get a bit of national attention. They are the Texans calling for secession from the United States, and Forrest Wilder of the Texas Observer has been looking into who they are, the issues they’re concerned with, and just how far they might get.
His blog Forrest for the Trees on the Texas Observer site
We mention the Texas National Movement
Forrest’s video of a recent demonstration
*Note: file codes for my program will from now on start with ctrp.
Charter schools in NYC are getting alot of attention over the past few years for the quality of education they are providing and the methods they use to do so. But what do we know about charter schools and how they function?
My guest today is Catherine Barufaldi of the Explore Charter School in Brooklyn, NY. For just over 2 years now she has worked at a successful charter school and has a lot to say about what sets her school apart from traditional public school. In this program she talks about her experience while also explaining what exactly is a charter school and what do they mean for the future of education in the US.
The bottle might look unique and the image might be of a ecological alternative style bottled water company, but is that the whole story? Investigative journalist Anna Lenzer examined Fiji Water in her recent piece for Mother Jones, looking into the details of who owns the company, their environmental record, as well as their relationship with the nation of Fiji and its military government. She joins me to explain her experience and what she learned.
Useful links:
The Article: Spin the Bottle
Response from Fiji’s PR person and other followup info
Details about the holding company (Roll International) that owns Fiji Water
Fiji suspended from Commonwealth
Anna also mention’s the BBC’s programming about Bottled Water
Part II of my interviews with hackers at HAR2009 earlier this month. Once again I’m asking people from different countries how their healthcare system works. This time I speak with a Brazilian, a Slovakian, a Dane, and a Swiss person, who tell me their experiences with insurance, doctors, hospitals and much more.
If you haven’t heard part 1, I recommend you go back and hear it first before listening to these. The point of doing these interviews was not to somehow gather examples of how public or national healthcare is great, rather it is to show people throughout the world, especially in the US where the government could possibly adopt a public insurance option, how it works (well or not so well) for other nations.
Anytime you find yourself at an open air international hacker festival you are sure to be surrounded by people from all over the world. Being located in the Netherlands, most campers come from somewhere in Europe, though plenty of North Americans and a few South Americans as well as Asians manage to make the trip.
With the mainstream media abuzz with reports about the struggle in the United States to adopt a public health insurance option, I have been wanting to present testimony from regular people who have lived their entire lives in nations with national healthcare or other kinds of healthcare systems. How does it work in their country? What are the problems? How much do the basic things like doctor visits, hospital stays, and so on, cost? I set out to find campers from different countries, to ask them these questions. This is part 1 of what I learned.
People in the US and around the world are used to getting their fruits and veggies from California. But will Cali be able to deliver if their water system collapses?
My guest Dr. Juliet Christian-Smith, Senior Research Associate with the Pacific Institute’s Water Program, joins me to discuss their report “Sustaining California Agriculture in an Uncertain Future”. The report lays out how the state’s agriculture can survive through water conservation and new irrigation methods.
We get into large and small scale farms as well as the role of the federal, state, and local government. Above all is the question of whether or not producers will do what needs to be done, or are we looking at the end of an era.
The Report: Sustaining California Agriculture in an Uncertain Future