There are cool things you can do with these files. You can burn CD's with them and give them to your friends, even the conservatives and libertarians. Most will find this material fascinating, trust me.
If you make a standard audio CD, usually only one of these interviews will fit - maybe two. However, if you burn the MP3 files to a data CD they will ALL fit. That's an enormous amount of information you can pass around. The .MP3 files will play on most newer CD players.
You can, of course, play the files on your PC by simply clicking on the link. If your PC is configured to use Microsoft Windows Media Player for this, you might need something better. All versions of Media Player have a history of locking up and freezing Windows. Try Winamp or Total Recorder, or any software that came with your CD drive or PC. For more information regarding Microsoft quality, click here.
Peak Oil: We begin with a subject that will almost certainly prove to be the most important issue of our times. The Left usually does not cover this subject adequately, accusing the energy industry of excess greed due to the record profits reported. The reality is that demand has overrun supply, and that the world is no longer able to meet this demand with increased production. Instead, oil production is about to go into irreversable decline, along with all industrial economies. The talk is by Richard Heinberg, author of The Party's Over.
American Theocracy: This is the latest book by Kevin Phillips. He was Nixon's political strategist in the 60's, and predicted the conservative politics that has defined the last two decades. Though he is still conservative, he is now one of the harshest critics of the Republican Party. In this new book, he discusses three overlapping problems facing the country: 1) Oil dependence and Peak Oil 2) Massive consumer and government debt 3) the intrusion of Rapture Christianity in government and foreign policy.
The Impact of Agricultural Subsidies on Corn: A fundemental principal of economics is the balance between supply and demand, which only occurs at the market price. Anytime you subsidize something, you get more of it - often too much. Agricultural subsidies drive down the price of the commodity that is subsidized, making it cheaper for the domestic producers who supply it. It also forces unsubsidized competitors (such as foreign farmers) out of business when prices are forced below their costs. This is the case in Mexico, where 2 million corn farmers are unemployed and seeking work in the US. Our corn subsidy is the sole cause of the "illegal immigrant" problem. It is also the sole cause of our epidemic in obesity, with all its attendant health risks (heart disease, diabetes, etc.). Corn is cheap starch, and corn syrup is a cheaper sweetener. Not only is junk food massively overproduced, but corn is force fed to all poultry and livestock, increasing the fat content and the health risks of eating protein. Corn also requires a high amount of fossil fuel energy to fetilized and produce. Click the link. It's a fascinating rant.
A Debate on Foreign Policy: This moderated debate is dated, and was held in 1988 between the neoconservative Richard ("cakewalk") Perl, former Reagan administration Defense Department official, and Noam Chomsky, prominent lefty intellectual and writer. Chomsky cites specific internal administration documents which illustrate the economic goals of American foreign policy. This presents an excellent overview of how the stated goals of our foreign policy differ from the reality, and in a context where a noted neocon intellectual provides responses.
The End of America - 10 Steps Toward Implementing a Dictatorship: Naomi Wolf has studied the steps taken by dictators to seize control of a country and shut down dissent. She examines totalitarian governments on both the left and the right, and dictators such as Stalin, Mussolini, Hitler and Pinochet. There are certain things they all do in their early stages, and America is doing them now under Bush.
Robert Fisk: This link is to a recent interview with Robert Fisk, without doubt the most experienced journalist covering the Middle East. He has a thorough knowledge of the historical context of current events. We will update this link from time to time, so it will always retrieve a current analysis.
The Power of Nightmares: We would love to show this entire 3 part documentary at one of our meetings, but it is waaay too long. It was produced by BBC, and is an excellent history lesson on how governments have come to use FEAR as the primary motivation factor in advancing their agendas. The whole series is now on-line. Just click the link and it will play in most browsers.
Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity: Ray McGovern is a retired CIA insider. During his career, he was a high level analyst and advisor to Presidents Carter, Reagan, Bush I, and Clinton. He does not like the reckless foreign policy our government is pursuing, and speaks for many of his colleagues. In a previous Bush administration, the small group of extremists we now know as "Neocons" were refered to as "The Crazies" - and were properly ignored. The new knucklehead has put them in charge.
BlitzKrieg over Lebanon: We have many recent links on this breaking story, each providing very different perspectives. We will try to keep this section of the site current.
John Dean: Conservatives Without Conscience: Former Nixon aide, John Dean, writes about the new breed of conservative (neo-conservative) and how it differs from the former (limited government) variety as exemplified by Barry Goldwater. This is a study of authoritarianism, and this link is to an interview with the author.
British Ambassador fired for exposing Torture: Craig Murray was the Ambassador to Uzbekistan, which is a former Soviet republic in Central Asia adjacent to Afghanistan. The newly independent country is a repressive dictatorship and an ally of the United States in the "War on Terror". It is also a part of the rendition program, where people are sent to be imprisoned and tortured. As part of his job, he was privy to the information gleaned from terror suspects when they were tortured. What's interesting here is that the content of forced confessions was forwarded to Bush administration officials to be used for their propaganda value in justifying the war. So why is the torture even necessary? Couldn't they just falsify the paperwork? The mere fact that such material is needed to make the case for a "War on Terror" raises the question of whether the terrorist threat has much in the way of real substance.
Seymour Hersh: He recently spoke in Houston. With contacts throughout the Defense and Intellegence establishments, Seymour Hersh has more insight into how decisions are made than most of us. In this talk, he goes into the decision making process that led us into the war in Iraq, and the chain of command responsible for the policy of torture. He also discusses the devastating effect the war is having on the troops.
The One Percent Doctrine: Pulitzer prize winning journalist Ron Suskind outlines the Cheney doctrine used in defining foreign policy. It goes something like this: "If there's even a one percent chance that WMD's have been given to terrorists, we need to treat it as a certainty - not in our analysis or preponderance of evidence, but in our response." This set the stage for the policy of proceeding with preexisting foreign policy agendas with little to no evidence. In other words, facts are fixed around the policy.
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man: John Perkins has written an excellent book documenting how America's foreign policy really works. We use a three layered approach to securing access to the CHEAP natural resources our economy depends on. 1) We make a deal with the leadership of third world countries. 2) If that doesn't work, we either assissinate the leader or stage a coup de'tat. 3) When we can't penetrate the country's leadership to achieve #2, we go to war. Here is the link to the book review.
Regime Change: The war in Iraq was never about WMD's. Former UN weapons inspector, Scott Ritter, outlines the history of America's drive to intervene in Iraq through both Democratic and Republican adminstrations. He now says we are preparing to attack Iran, though our motive for doing so has since greatly diminished: Iran has apparently dropped plans to open an international oil bourse pricing their oil in Euros.
Presidential Signing Statements: Bush thinks he is totally above the law. Instead of vetoing legislation he doesn't like, he adds fine print to the to declare that he will not enforce it - such as the ban on torture. American Bar Association President Michael Greco discusses the organization’s new report criticizing the president’s unprecedented use of signing statements. Greco also speaks out on presidential power, domestic surveillance, Guantanamo and torture.
Enron: Where's the Money? This is an interview with Catherine Austin Fitts, a former managing director of the Wall Street investment bank, Dillon Read. She was also appointed by George H.W. Bush as the Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. In the interview, she discusses the Enron scandal, and what is not being done in the investigation.
The Decline of Journalism: Journalist Laurie Garrett is a Pulitzer Prize winning writer who worked for Newsday from 1988 to 2005. After her resignation, Amy interviews her on the decline of journalism standards at major newspapers.
The Fellowship: A secretive group known as The Fellowship, or “The Family,” is one of the most powerful Christian fundamentalist movements in the United States. The Family’s devoted membership includes congressmen, corporate leaders, generals and foreign heads of state (including some dictators). Author Jeff Sharlet profiles the group in his book The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power.
Fooled Again: This book, by Mark Crispin Miller, is subtitled How the Right Stole the 2004 Election & Why They'll Steal the Next One Too (Unless We Stop Them). It is the first major work of what will eventually be several - documenting the election irregularities of 2004.
Bush Family History: This is another interview with Kevin Phillips. This interview with Amy followed the release of his earlier book, American Dynasty. Here, he documents the history of the Bush family through four generations.
Martial Law in New Orleans: When help finally arrived in New Orleans, did anybody bring food? water? medicine? No. They brought Guns. In New Orleans, we witnessed the first experiment where the Federal Government (under FEMA and NorthCom) takes control of state and local law enforcement in the administration of Martial Law.
NorthCom: This is the new military command center responsible for Homeland Security in North America. In partnership with FEMA, they will impose Martial Law in any future civilian crisis.
NSA Surveillance: Former Texas gubernatorial candidate, Rahul Mahajan, demonstrates that we have a President who thinks he has the right to order government agencies to violate the laws of Congress - specifically (in this case) the FISA Act.
Electronic Gadgets & Privacy: Bruce Schneier is a security expert. Here, he gives at talk here in Houston about the trend toward more and more surveillance. He puts it all together, from the cameras that watch us and our cars wherever we go, to the digital records of all we do or say on the Internet. He projects this trend into the future, and discusses the potential for abuse.
The Environment: This was a talk given in Houston by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on a wide variety of environmental issues. This speech is packed with information and passion.
Chemicals and Your Health: An informative discussion was aired by Sue McDonald regarding the chemicals in products we buy and their effect on your health. She also presents a FREE Monthly Seminar for 4 hours on Saturday afternoons.
Fascism & Capitalism: This is an important history lesson. Here, Michael Parenti explores the origins of 20th century fascism with the history of Mussolini's Italy and Hitler's Germany. Both regimes were placed in power and beholden to industrial magnates that benefited from the exercise of state power.
Forgotten War in Africa: Over 2 Million dead, and nobody cares because they are neither American nor Israeli. The situation in the Republic of Congo is horrible and ongoing, yet does not rate a mention in the media. There are economic reasons for this war which involves vast mineral wealth and the unfortunate population that lives on top of it. The interview is with Alexis Motunda, national secretary for Congo's main opposition party, as well as to journalist Johann Hari of the UK Independent, and the Congo Education Council's Tshimanga John Metzel.
The Religious Right: They intend to take over, and comprise a huge portion of Bush's base. The most conservative faction is not interested in the future of our country - they want nothing less than Armageddon, which is why they love Bush's foreign policy. The talk is by Mark Crispin Miller regarding the drive to abolish the separation of Church and State, and establish Theocratic control of our country.
Mega-Churches Unite and form Washington Lobby: Christians United for Israel has only one objective: to support Israel's provocative foreign policy and make the war big enough to bring the world to their desired climax. The current project is Iran. Iraq wasn't bad enough. Something is wrong with this picture. Their vision for America is best described in the "Left Behind" book series. Though they may succeed in destroying America, how does this make them worthy of Rapture and everlasting life? And Bush is one of them?
Steven Colbert at Bush's side: This guy has balls. At the Whitehouse Correspondent's Association Annual Dinner, this comedian sat directly next to George W. Bush and delivered a stinging comedy routine in front of all of Bush's peers. He jabbed at his foreign policy, sagging popularity numbers, compliant media, Katrina response and other issues all over the map. The crowd was laughing throughout the rant, while Bush sat quietly ready to explode.
Greg Palast in Houston: Palast is an investigative journalist for BBC, best known for uncovering the degree of minority voter suppression in the presidential elections of both 2000 and 2004. In this talk, he brings us up to date with aspects of the 2004 contest, and also reveals details about our policy in Iraq relating to controlling their oil.