Just over a year ago, Michelle Bachelet was elected the first female president of Chile. A moderate socialist, there were high expectations about social programs and a more progressive Chilé. However things have not gone as many imagined, and in the last year there has been a sort-of revolt against the president from many social groups. This podcast tells that story.
Guest: Rosario Lizana of Global Voices Online
We Discuss:
-Bachelet’s popularity
-Problems with the education system
-Public Transport Revolt
-The president before
-The situation for women
-The media versus the blogs
-Pasqua Lama goldmine
-The silver lining?
-Argentina
note: There will be no special 200th episode, too much time is wasted on the self-congratulating process in the blog-pod-vlogosphere. However, thanks to everyone out there who has listened and still listens to my program, its an honor to part of your listening routine.
Media coverage of the French elections has spiraled into the typical who looks tougher who will lose reporting, as is the norm for mainstream media today. But there are real policies that will harm or help real people throughout and France, depending on the outcome. In this podcast, with the help of Chris of Americablog and Jessica in London, we will identify what changes will come and what it means for French, as well as the effect on Europe.
I recommend Chris’s latest post on round 1 election results
Also Mentioned: Opendemocracy.net
We Discuss:
-The top issues that will HAVE to change regardless of who’s elected
-The economy and jobs
-The 35 hour work week
-The green movement, or lack there of
-The Health system
-Transport
-Selling “American Style” to the French
-Racism as an election tool
-Europe Union issues
Like much of the population in Zimbabwe, students are suffering a great deal at the hands of the government. Their struggle for human rights, academic freedom, justice, and representation is reaching out across borders and continents. In this podcast I sit down with Tendayi Lynnet Mudehwe, information and publicity secretary of ZINASU, the Zimbabwean National Students Union.
We Discuss:
– The circumstances for students in Zimbabwe
– Healthcare, Student Fee’s, and Rights
– Mugabe, who supports him?
– The goal of travelling to Europe
– The role of outside countries
– How close is change?
– The dangers that activists face
ZINASU Website
Clips used from SW Radio Africa
While I may have spent alot of time and energy going to New Orleans and getting into contact with organizations and volunteers to better understand the situation there, some of the best resources are right here on the internets. I’m speaking of the New Orleans bloggers, those keen observers and investigative reporters for the laundry list of concerns in their city. This program features two excellent bloggers from that community, The Gentilly Girl and Ray in New Orleans. Listen in as we discuss:
-Where is the money?
-What has been rebuilt/not rebuilt and why
-Jobs
-Housing
-Mismanagement of funds
-The Pumps scandal
-Israeli military personnel
-Police
-Abandoned homes and laws
-What needs to be done immediately
It has been said in post Katrina discussions, that you can’t sue the Army Corps. But in fact, you can and New Orleanians are doing just that. Meanwhile people being held at the city jail are reporting the most horrifying and hazardous conditions. Tune in and listen as I visit the Common Ground Legal Clinic and talk with volunteers about the legal issues and prison conditions.
My Guests:
Soleil, advocacy coordinator at the Common Ground Legal Clinic
Wil, volunteer at the Clinic, law student, Capital University-Ohio.
We Discuss:
-What the clinic does
-What legal problems residents have
-HUD Lawsuit
-The Army Corps of engineers
-Public Housing, how New Orleans is selling it all
-Work and poverty in NOLA
-The long term view for the clinic
-The conditions at the city lockup
-People being released and what they say about the experience
-Potential Lawsuit
-VOlunteering for common ground
These days, you won’t often find the mainstream media talking about the rebuilding process in and around new olreans. There is even less of a chance they’ll bring up a widely known yet under reported issue: the destruction of the wetlands in Louisiana.
In this show, my guest Laura of the Common Ground Wetlands Restoration program, sat down with me in the upper nine-ward to talk about just how the relationship between the wetlands and the surrounding region has changed over the past decades and what the volunteers are doing in an effort to counter these changes.
We Discuss:
– The Mississippi River and flooding
– The bayou
– Canals, Levees…
– The oil and gas activity
– Government plans and actions
– What the organization is doing
– Who are the influential players
– What kind of progress has been made
– Information for those interested in volunteering
And I mention a book “Bayou Farewell” as recommended by a reader