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December 11 - The Military on Our Streets?; Is Hugo Chavez Close to Death?; Occupy Student Debt
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We begin with an analysis of the Defense Authorization Bill that the President has threatened to veto, with Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson who was Secretary of State Colin Powell’s Chief of Staff and went public with his knowledge of torture approved by the Bush Administration. We look into provisions in the bill that appear to increase the role of Guantanamo Bay rather than close the place that has become synonymous with torture, as well as provisions that allow for American citizens to be arrested on U.S. soil and be held indefinitely without trial. We also explore other aspects of the bill that appear to make a war with Iran very likely and will drive up the price of oil in an election year. |
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Then we look into rumors swirling around in Venezuela that Hugo Chavez is close to death. Javier Corrales, a professor of Political Science at Amherst College and author of “Dragon in the Tropics: Hugo Chavez and the Political Economy of Revolution in Venezuela” joins us. With Presidential elections scheduled for October of next year, we examine the likelihood that the terminally ill leader will not run, but without any clear succession in place, the possibility of civil unrest looms. |
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Then finally we explore the role of student debt in the “occupy” movement with Andrew Ross, who is Professor of Social and Cultural Analysis at NYU and one of the organizers of the Occupy Student Debt Campaign. With student debt reaching one trillion dollars this year and the White House apparently buckling under pressure from well-connected lobbyists representing the for-profit colleges, we examine the reversal of reform of a 30 billion dollar predatory industry that thanks to its friends on Capitol Hill, is allowed to make enormous profits as a private enterprise that is 90% funded by the taxpayer. Meanwhile, more often than not, they provide students with a worthless education while saddling them with a mountain of debt. |
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| MUSIC: Dirty Projectors - Police Story; Cancion de Hugo Chavez; The National - Bloodbuzz Ohio; Vampire Weekend - The Kids Don't Stand A Chance |
December 8 - Europe on the Brink; Does Iran Have the Latest U.S. Spyplane? Killing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
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We begin with the make-or-break European summit now underway in Brussels and speak with Charles Kupchan who was director for European Affairs on the National Security Council in the Clinton Administration. With the German Chancellor saying the euro has lost credibility and the French leader warning there is no turning back, we try to find out if their apocalyptic words will be met with credible deeds and a global economic crisis will be avoided in the next 24 hours as the deadline to come up with a plan to shore up the Euro looms. |
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Then we look into the apparent loss of a top-secret U.S. spy drone over Iran that appears to have been captured largely intact by the Iranians who claim their army’s “electronic warfare unit” hacked into the stealth RQ 170 Sentinel’s controls and landed it 140 miles inside their territory. An expert on defense, space and intelligence policy, John Pike, the Director of GlobalSecurity.org joins us to try to assess the damage to the CIA from this incident that appears to be both a diplomatic embarrassment and an intelligence setback for the U.S. |
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Then finally we address the Senate’s rejection of Richard Cordray who the White House nominated as the first head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Bartlett Naylor, the financial policy advocate at Public Citizen joins us to discuss the Republican’s apparent allegiance to Wall Street over Main Street and their efforts to kill a new agency created to combat unfair, deceptive and abusive lending practices that brought about the 2008 financial crisis which continues to depress the real economy while bailed-out, bonus-bloated banking gamblers in the Wall Street casino laugh all the way to the bank. |
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| MUSIC: Caberet - Money Makes The World Go Around; Janelle Monae - Cold War (Clams Casino remix); Modest Mouse - Perfect Disguise; Modest Mouse - Paper Thin Walls |
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December 7 - The Militarization of America's Police; A Victory For "Move To Amend"; The Congo Poised For More Violence
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We begin with the militarization of America’s police forces and examine how some of the most advanced lethal and non-lethal military equipment in the world is going to police forces across the country to be used against U.S. citizens. Rania Khalek, a Washington D.C.- based writer for Alternet joins us. She has an article at Alternet “Pepper Spray, Taser, and LRADS – What’s Behind the Explosion of “Less Lethal’ Weapons For Crowd Control”. |
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Then we speak with Mary Beth Fielder, the founder and coordinator of “Move To Amend LA” who spearheaded the successful effort to get the L.A. City Council to approve a resolution to amend the constitution to deny corporations personhood. |
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Then finally we speak with a Congolese activist about the disputed elections in the Congo that are likely to spark a new round of violence in a country where millions have died, despite the presence of the world’s largest contingent of U.N. peacekeepers. Jacques Bahati, the Policy Analyst for the Africa Faith and Justice Network joins us. |
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| MUSIC: Dirty Projectors - Rise Above; Bright Eyes - Cartoon Blues; TV On the Radio; The Very Best - Warm Heart of Africa |
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December 6 - Obama Channels Teddy Roosevelt; Russia's Rigged Elections; The "Occupy Our Homes" Movement
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We begin with the President’s speech today in a small town in Kansas that was the site of a famous speech by Theodore Roosevelt in 1910. James Kloppenberg, professor of history and chair of the History Department at Harvard University joins us. He is the author of a new book “Reading Obama: Dreams, Hope, and the American Tradition”. We discuss the populist tone the president is now adopting asking for “a fair shot and a fair share” and whether Obama will follow Teddy Roosevelt’s example and go after the big monopolies and powerful interests now defined as the 1%. |
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Then Nina Khruscheva, the granddaughter of a former Soviet leader, joins us to discuss the Russian elections and the demonstrations that followed them. She is just back from Moscow and we gauge the level of disgust and fatigue the Russian people have for the revolving door leadership of Putin and Medvedev whose United Russia party is widely reported to have engaged in massive fraud, prompting Secretary of State Clinton to condemn the elections and call for a full investigation. |
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Then finally we are joined by two activists involved in the “Occupy Our Homes” movement who tried to prevent the eviction of a homeowner and support the re-occupation of a foreclosed home by its previous owner today in nearby Southgate and Riverside. Peggy Mears a Community Organizer with ACCE (the Alliance for Californians for Community Empowerment) spearheaded one of the actions and Chase Golding, one of the organizers of “Occupy LA” who was involved in the other action, will address how the occupy movement is now engaging in occupying foreclosed homes. |
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| MUSIC: Conor Oberst and The Mystic Valley Band - Roosevelt Room; Eugène Pottier - The Internationa; The Thermals - Here's Your Future; Dirty Projectors - Temecula Sunrise |
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December 5 - Vetoing a Bill That Will Raise Gas Prices in an Election Year; Bickering Among Iran's Rulers; "Huntsman is the Only Electable Republican"
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We begin with an analysis of the $662 billion Defense Authorization Bill the President threatens to veto. Lawrence Korb, who was Assistant Secretary of Defense in the Reagan Administration and is now a Senior Fellow at the Center For American Progress, will look into provisions the White House opposes that would deny terrorist suspects, including American citizens, the right to a trial and subject them to indefinite detention, as well the bill’s imposition of harsh sanctions on Iran that could drive oil prices way up in an election year. |
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Then we examine internal bickering among Iran’s ruling elite that has paralyzed statecraft as radical elements in the regime take excessive risks to score petty victories over their domestic rivals. Dr Trita Parsi, the author of “A Single Role of the Dice: Obama’s Diplomacy With Iran” joins us to discuss this dangerous brinksmanship as outside pressure on Iran’s nuclear ambitions intensifies. |
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Then finally businessman Stanley Weiss joins us. The founding chairman of B.E.N.S., Business Executives For National Security, a non-profit group dedicated to a more rational business-like approach to excessive defense spending, he has an article at the Huffington Post, “Huntsman is the Only Electable Republican” which argues against conventional political punditry that John Huntsman could eventually be the last man standing in the Republican presidential race. |
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| MUSIC: The Clash - Know Your Rights; Miras Jame Eshgh; Black Sabbath - Electric Funeral; Frank Sinatra - Send in the Clowns |
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