Wednesday, May 28, 2014

The Myth of the Good Wars with Howard Zinn

Howard Zinn was a radical American historian, political scientist, social critic, activist and playwright. Howard is best known as author of "A People’s History of the United States". Howard was active in the movements for civil rights, civil liberties and the anti-war movements in the United States.

During World War II, Zinn was a bombardier in the 490th Bombardment Group. Howard's targets included Berlin, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary as well as Royan, a seaside resort in southwestern France which on which he dropped napalm.
Source: YouTube: Howard Zinn - Myth Of The Good Wars (Three 'Holy' Wars)


Veerabhadran Ramanathan
The Pursuit of a Climate Change Solution

Atmospheric scientist Veerabhadran Ramanathan pursues the goal of a climate change solution thru both political and social change with a variety of world leaders.
Source: uctv: Scientific Authority Meets Moral Authority - Lifting the Blanket: The Pursuit of a Climate Change Solution

Download or Play Myth Of The Good Wars Part 1
Download or Play Myth Of The Good Wars Part 2
Download or Play Myth Of The Good Wars Part 3
Download or Play Myth Of The Good Wars Part 4



Music includes Hungry Beast - I'm A Climate Scientist, David Rovics - Contras Kings And Generals, Capitol Steps - Someone Dumber Might, Leonard Cohen - Democray, Capitol Steps - Hang Down Your Head Mark Foley, David Rovics - Hills Of Tennessee Waiting For The Fall, Capitol Steps - You Don't Bring Me Floriculturally Diverse Polyfragrant Soilistically Challenged Multipetaled Victims Of Pesticidal Food Chain Chauvinism, Dispatch - The General, Ryan Harvey - In the Blink of an Eye, Jesus - 1977(Movie), Oscar Romero(Movie) - Stop the Repression, Dolly Parton - 9 To 5, Mariachi Vargas - El mariachi, Herb Alpert - Slick, George Krupa and His Orchestra - Drum Boogie

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Who Is To Blame For The Financial Crisis?

The financial crisis is also known as the Great Recession of 2008. Remember the rescue of investment bank Bear Stearns in March 2008 and the failure of Lehman Brothers in September 2008?

According to a study of 54 countries, there has been an increase in suicide deaths as a result of the recession. The study cites that there were an estimated 5,000 additional deaths resulting from suicide in the year 2009 alone. Six people debate the motion "Blame Washington More Than Wall Street For The Financial Crisis".

For The Motion: from left to right Niall Ferguson, John Steele Gordon, Nouriel Roubini

For The Motion: Niall Ferguson, Laurence A. Tisch Professor of History at Harvard University, a senior research fellow of Jesus College, Oxford University, and a senior fellow of the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. Niall is the author of Paper and Iron, The House of Rothschild, The Pity of War, The Cash Nexus, Empire, Colossus (2002) and The War of the World (2006), Niall also writes regularly for newspapers and magazines all over the world. Ferguson has written and presented four highly successful television documentary series for British television: Empire, American Colossus, The War of the World, and, most recently, The Ascent of Money. He and his wife and their three children divide their time between the United Kingdom and the United States.

For The Motion: John Steele Gordon, Author and Commentator on New York's Business and Financial History. John's books include Hamilton's Blessing: the Extraordinary Life and Times of Our National Debt (1997), The Great Game: The Emergence of Wall Street as a World Power, 1653-2000 (1999), and An Empire of Wealth: The Epic History of American Economic Power (2004). John's next book will be a history of the world economy. John is also a frequent commentator on Marketplace, the daily public radio business-news program, and has appeared on CNBC, PBS, ABC's 20/20, Bloomberg, and C-SPAN television.

For The Motion: Nouriel Roubini, Professor, Economics and International Business, Stern School of Business, New York University. Nouriel is a professor of economics and international business at the Stern School of Business, New York University, and co-founder and chairman of RGE Monitor, an economic and geo-strategic information service.


Against The Motion: from left to right Alex Berenson, Nell Minow, Jim Chanos

Against The Motion: Alex Berenson, Investigative Reporter for the New York Times. Alex has been a business investigative reporter for the New York Times since 2000. Alex is the author of three novels and one non-fiction book, The Number, an explanation of how Wall Street's obsession with short-term profits damages markets and all of America.

Against The Motion: Nell Minow is the editor and co-founder of The Corporate Library, an independent corporate governance research firm. Previously, Nell was a Principal of Lens, a $100 million investment firm, President of Institutional Shareholder Services, Inc. and an attorney for the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Justice. In 2007 Directorship magazine named Nell one of the 20 most influential people in corporate governance. Nell has authored more than 200 articles and co-authored three books, most recently the 4th edition of an MBA textbook called Corporate Governance, published in 2008.

Against The Motion: Jim Chanos, Founder and Managing Partner of Kynikos Associates. As the largest exclusive short selling investment firm, Kynikos provides investment management services for both domestic and offshore clients. Jim opened Kynikos Associates in 1985 to implement investment strategies he had uncovered while beginning his Wall Street career as a financial analyst with Paine Webber, Gilford Securities and Deutsche Bank. Throughout his investment career, Jim has identified and sold short the shares of numerous well-known corporate financial disasters. Jim's celebrated short-sale of Enron shares was recently dubbed by Barron’s as “the market call of the decade, if not the past fifty years.”
Source: intelligence2 Debates: BLAME WASHINGTON MORE THAN WALL STREET FOR THE FINANCIAL CRISIS



Jerry Brown
The West Coast Action Plan

California has a cap and trade system to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Governor Jerry Brown tells Steve Curwood that by joining up with neighboring states and British Columbia, California hopes to encourage the rest of the country to put a price on carbon.
Source: living on earth: Jerry Brown and the West Coast Action Plan

Richard Denison
EPA Scraps Chemical Safety Rules

Blocked for years by the White House Office of Management and Budget, two chemical safety rules have been dropped altogether by the EPA. Environmental Defense Fund’s Richard Denison tells Steve Curwood why this is bad news for public health.
Source: living on earth: EPA Scraps Chemical Safety Rules

Mary Pipher
Living With Eco-Anxiety

We are living in the times of global climate change, species extinction, and habitat loss. As a result, many people these days feel eco-anxiety. Psychologist and author Mary Pipher's latest book is called The Green Boat: Reviving Ourselves in our Capsized Culture. She explains to Steve Curwood how we can save the earth and restore our mental health at the same time.
Source: living on earth: Saving Ourselves- The Green Boat

Download or Play Blame Washington Or Wall Street Part 1
Download or Play Blame Washington Or Wall Street Part 2
Download or Play Blame Washington Or Wall Street Part 3
Download or Play Environmental Reports


Music includes David Rovics - Shut Them Down, What Have You Done, Capitol Steps - California Gay Men, David Rovics - Vanguard, Capitol Steps - Juan Nation, In The Dark, Michael Mansfield - Vietnam, Michael Franti - Bomb the World, Ryan Harvey - The Violence of War, John Fogerty - Deja Vu All Over Again, David Rovics - Whoever Wins In November, The Mariachi Brass featuring Chet Baker - Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Does Freedom Of The Press Extend To State Secrets?

The First Amendment protects freedom of the press. Are there limits of freedom of the press concerning national security and accountability? Four people debate the motion "Freedom Of The Press Does Not Extend To State Secrets."

Michael Chertoff
For the motion: Michael Chertoff, who is a former Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Michael also served as a federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and as a federal prosecutor for more than a decade.

Gabriel Shoenfeld
For the motion: Gabriel Shoenfeld, who is Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute. Gabriel is the author of "Necessary Secrets: National Security, the Media, and the Rule of Law," which questions whether the press should be prosecuted for revealing information that might endanger national defense.
Alan Dershowitz
Against the motion: Alan Dershowitz, who is Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. Alan recently joined the legal defense team for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

David Sanger
Against the motion: David Sanger, who is Chief Washington Correspondent for The New York Times. In a 27-year career at the paper, David has reported from New York, Tokyo and Washington, covering issues surrounding foreign policy, globalization, nuclear proliferation and Asian affairs.



Moderator: John Donvan, who is an author and correspondent for ABC News. Source: intelligence2 Debates: Freedom Of The Press Does Not Extend To State Secrets

Download or Play Freedom Of The Press Part 1
Download or Play Freedom Of The Press Part 2
Download or Play Freedom Of The Press Part 3
Download or Play Freedom Of The Press Part 4



Music includes David Rovics - New Orleans, Capitol Steps - Battle Hymn of the Tea Public, Gandhi Tells British Authorities To Leave India, Ani Difranco - Tis Of Thee, General Douglas MacArthur - 4-20-1951, Phil Ochs - I Ain't Marching Anymore, Malcolm X - 3-29-1964, Capitol Steps - I'm So Indicted, Huey Long - 12-11-1934, Roy Zimmerman - I Approve This Message, Joan Baez - Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, Johnny Cash - Gettysburg Address, Lenard Cohen - Everybody Knows, Monty Python - Always Look On The Bright Side, Krista Branch- I am America, Willie Nelson - Stardust, Jose Alfredo Jimenez con Mariachi Vargas - Mexican Hat Dance

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Should universal health coverage be the U.S. Federal Government's responsibility?

Art Kellermann
For: Art Kellermann Professor of Emergency Medicine and Associate Dean for Health Policy at Emory University

Art works at the ER of Grady Memorial Hospital, Atlanta’s only public hospital and Level I trauma center. Art is a member of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies and co-chaired the IOM’s Committee on the Consequences of Uninsurance, which issued six comprehensive reports on this topic between 2001 and 2004.
Paul Krugman
For: Paul Krugman Professor of Economics & International Affairs, Princeton and Centenary Professor, London School of Economics and Op-Ed Columnist at The New York Times

Paul is the author or editor of 20 books and more than 200 papers in professional journals and edited volumes, many of them on international trade and finance. He is a recipient of the John Bates Clark Medal from the American Economic Association, an award given every two years to the top economist under the age of 40, and was named “the most important political columnist in America” by the Washington Monthly.

Michael Rachlis
For: Michael Rachlis Physician and Health Policy Analyst

Michael has consulted to all ten Canadian provinces, the federal government, and two Royal Commissions. He has also been invited to address two US Congressional committees. He is an associate professor with the University of Toronto Department of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation and the Dalla Lana School of Public Health. Rachlis is the author of three national bestsellers on the Canadian health care system.

Michael F. Cannon
Against: Michael F. Cannon Cato Institute's Director of Health Policy Studies

Michael served as a domestic policy analyst for the U.S. Senate Republican Policy Committee, advising Senate leadership on health care. His articles have been featured in the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, Yale Journal of Health Policy, Law, and Ethics, and Forum for Health Economics & Policy. Michael is co-author of Healthy Competition: What’s Holding Back Health Care and How to Free It.

Sally C. Pipes
Against: Sally C. Pipes President and Chief Executive Officer of the Pacific Research Institute

The Pacific Research Institute is a California-based think tank founded in 1979. Sally is an expert in the Canadian and American health systems and she writes, speaks, debates and gives invited testimony on key health care issues facing America. Sally is the author of Miracle Cure: How to Solve America’s Health Care Crisis and Why Canada Isn’t the Answer, in addition to numerous op-eds, TV, and radio appearances.

John Stossel
Against: John Stossel FOX Business News Anchor & Commentator

The host of “Stossel,” a weekly program airing Thursdays at 10 PM EST and midnight on Fox Business Network. John has received 19 Emmy Awards and has been honored five times for excellence in consumer reporting by the National Press Club. John also appears regularly on Fox News Channel providing signature analysis. Prior to joining FBN, John co-anchored ABC’s primetime newsmagazine show, 20/20. Earlier in his career, John served as consumer editor at Good Morning America and as a reporter at WCBS-TV in New York City. He is a graduate of Princeton University, with a B.A. in psychology, and his economic programs have been adapted into teaching kits watched by more than 12 million students every year

Moderator: John Donvan Author and correspondent for ABC News.

See the video at http://vimeo.com/8232945
Source: Intelligence Squared U.S.: UNIVERSAL HEALTH COVERAGE SHOULD BE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S RESPONSIBILITY

Download or Play Universal Health Coverage Part 1
Download or Play Universal Health Coverage Part 2
Download or Play Universal Health Coverage Part 3
Download or Play Universal Health Coverage Part 4


Music includes The Slackers - Propaganda, Michael Jackson - They Don't Care About Us, Freeman Z - New Orleans, Saul Williams - Act III Scene 2 (Shakespeare), Eric Bogle - And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda, Peggy Seeger - Agent Orange, Richard Nixon 9-26-1952, Martha Schlamme - Johnny I Hardly Know You, Tracy Chapman - Heaven's Here on Earth, Peter Tosh - Mystery Babylon, Eric Gales - May This Be Love, Lyndon B. Johnson - We Shall Overcome, Devoted Spirits & George Duke - Who Knows