8 O'Clock Buzz

On December 10, in between impeachment hearings, Democratic legislators and the White House announced they had reached a compromise on the United States Mexico Canada Agreement, USMCA, which seeks to replace and update the 25-year old North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA.  The treaty now heads to Congress for a full vote. Amanda Countryman is an Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics at Colorado State University and has been studying the USMCA.  She joined Monday Buzz host Brian Standing on December 16, 2019.

 

 

The Trump administration’s war against science is well known — Martha Kinsella from the Brennan Center for Justice talks about rules being considered which would restrict the EPA’s requirement to consider scientific studies in their regulations… under the guise of “transparency”.

Lily Zheng, co-author of the book “The Ethical Sellout: Maintaining Your Integrity in the Age of Compromise” talks about her new book and how jobs, friends, family and other social relationships may conflict with one’s identity, beliefs, and values — and how to live with the compromise.

Charter schools have been an expensive experiment in education, costing over $500 Million for schools that never opened or have gone defunct, according to Carol Burris from the Network for Public Education. That group has recently issued a new report, and she talks with Jan about the fraud and waste in that program.

The holidays are upon  us, and that means that once again, the rotunda of the Wisconsin Capitol will again echo with the sounds of hundreds of tubas and euphoniums.  That’s right, Tuba Christmas is here again, and we have a special live preview right here on the 8 O’Clock Buzz. Crowded into our middle studio at WORT, we have no less than six brass instruments and their players, ready to go.  Don Deal, director of Madison’s Tuba Christmas, and no less than six other tuba and euphonium players crowded into the WORT studios for the Monday Buzz on December 9, 2019.

On Sunday, December 8th, as many as 800,000 protestors organized by the Civil Human Rights Front flooded the streets of Hong Kong, marking the 8th month of pro-democracy civil disobedience.  Many marchers carried signs reading “five demands, not one less,” referring to the protestor’s list of demands, which include:

* Investigation of police brutality;

* Release of arrested protestors;

* The resignation of Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam, and;

* Popular election of the Hong Kong Legislative Council and Chief Executive.

The fifth demand, was the withdrawal of the proposed Fugitive Offenders law, which would have allowed for extradition of alleged criminals between Hong Kong, mainland China and Macau.  It was this law that started the protests, and on October 23, the Hong Kong Secretary for Security announced the bill had been withdrawn. Police responded to Sunday’s march with water cannons in an attempt to disperse the crowds, and there were reports of fires at the entrance to the High Court.  Middlebury College History Professor Paul Monod joined Monday Buzz host Brian Standing on December 9, 2019.

The book, “Lost Science of Money” looks at the mythology of money: where does it come from and who controls it. A study group from the Alliance for Just Money is reading this book and invites others to join in at the the main Library in Madison, Tuesdays at 1:00 PM. Mary Sanderson talks with Jan Miyasaki about some of the issues and mystery of money in out culture.

The House bill HR 2699, which authorizes transportation of spent nuclear power plant fuel to a interim storage facilities, passed a House committee on a voice vote. Passage of this bill, along with three others, would permit thousands of shipments of radioactive materials through towns and cities by rail, truck, and barge. Diane D’Arrigo from the Nuclear Information & Resource Service talks about the issues and hazards surrounding this process.

Jan talks with Martha Hennessey, one of the members of the King’s Bay Plowshares 7, about the group’s recent trial and conviction. They are currently awaiting sentencing for their activism and face a potential 25 year prison term.

Friday, November 30, “Black Friday” marked the official start of holiday shopping season, and the airwaves, internet, sides of buses and billboards are all flooded with messages to buy, buy and buy some more.  Crowds thronged some stores in the Madison area as early as 12:01 a.m. Friday morning to get a head start on the season of consumption. But does all that spending and consumer frenzy make us happy? Christine Whelan, Director of the Money, Relationships and Equality — or MORE — lab at the University of Wisconsin has built a career answering questions like that.  Christine joined Monday Buzz host Brian Standing on December 2, 2019.