It might seem like an impossible battle, but it is actually possible for people outside the United States who suffer from the activities of an American company, organization, or government, to take their fight to a US court room. And that is just what a group of Villagers from Indonesia have been trying to do for the last few years.
This podcast is to explain the case of the Villagers from Aceh versus Exxon-Mobile, one of the world’s most powerful oil companies which stands accused of sponsoring torture, rape, and kidnapping in Aceh. How could such crimes have happened? How is it that a group of people in another country can actually seek justice in a US court? This podcast explains the issues involved, the Alien Tort Act which makes it possible, and the progression of the case until now.
I also recommend reading my sources, Scotusblog and articles by David Corn of the nation, among others.
Throughout the world, television is still a constant companion for millions, if not billions, of people. Yet in the age of the internets and iphones, there seems to be little discussion in the media about the significant effects TV has on the human brain and creativity in general.
Mitch Altman likes to be provocative and he loves tricking people into choosing to do that which they actually WANT to do versus what television or groups of people tell them to do. His invention, the TV-B-Gone has become a global phenomenon, and in this podcast we talk about why the television could and should be turned off, and how brain waves work. We also get into the effects of television on children, the importance of meditation, and much more.
Lots of governments and supranational organizations like the UN have websites, yet few are really understandable or usable for the average person. At the 24C3 in Berlin this past weekend, I sat down with Julian from undemocracy.com . His work has helped create a place on the internet where anyone can search, link, and read about who said what at the United Nations, in order to better understand what our nations are doing on the international level.
We Discuss:
- The problems with the regular UN website
- Documents, votes, statements
- Searchability, linkability
- What was necessary to create undemocracy.com
- connections with wikipedia
- His UK parliamentary project, http://www.publicwhip.org.uk/
- NExt steps
- Appeal to the public
Should journalists and activists who seek change in the world inform the public and expect action? Or should they be launching campaigns complete with talking points and strategy? This podcast features a special extended interview with my friend John Aravosis of Americablog.com and it focuses on how you can change a country and at what cost such change can occur.
We Discuss:
- Informing the public versus manipulating the public
- The tactics of US conservatives
- The lack of tactics from US liberals
- Global Warming
- Human Rights in China
- Playing on emotion
- Passing laws versus changing culture
- Holidays and Consumerism
My guest on this particular podcast is one of my closest friends on this earth – Leah. It just so happens that she also works at a women’s center in Philadelphia where women can have abortions. This podcast is about her experience working day-to-day, and what it is like both inside and outside the type of place that is so controversial for some Americans. We recorded this during my recent visit to Philadelphia, and (I confess) I was very honored to have such a candid and educational interview with such a special friend.
We Discuss:
- The Womens Center
- Legal questions related to abortion in the state of pennsylvania
- Type of People
- The people outside the center
- Other types of Places
- Abortion in Holland
- Private versus Public centers
- Violence and intimidation against women
- Lake of Fire
Not all labor struggles get the news coverage that the writers get. While in Hollywood they fight their battle, in West Virginia and Kentucky nurses have also been on strike. My guest on today’s podcast is Richard Negri, a journalist and labor activist; the person behind unionreview.com
We discuss:
- How the strike began
- Who is involved
- The situation on the ground
- Violence against union members
- Public opinion
- The big picture
- Decline of Labor versus Rise of Unions
- The use of new media t cover labor issues