Citizen Reporter

This is the story of how the painting came together, and how LV would file a lawsuit against Nadia. Demanding that she not show her artwork which contains images of their bag, and calling for her to pay an expensive penalty (€5,000 per each day the painting is shown) if she doesn’t take down her work.  The case is pending a decision in early May. In this podcast interview, we discuss the case as well as Nadia’s work in relation to Darfur.

Nadia’s website which includes info on her Darfur initiatives which you can be a part of,  as well updates about the case.

In post Katrina New Orleans, prisons and the justice system suffer from a long list of problems, many of which were there before the floods. They’re also the subject of a battle being fought by community leaders to change and fix how crime is addressed in a city fighting to rise again.

My guest for this podcast is Jordan Flaherty, a journalist and community organizer based in New Orleans, where he works on an impressive list of social issues. His book, Floodlines: Community and Resistance from Katrina to the Jena 6 focuses on the struggle of people in New Orleans, the stories of community and culture that do not often reach the mainstream media.

Several weeks following our initial interview with Matthew Dons following the Earthquake-Tsumani and subsequent Nuclear Accident in Japan; we’re back again to do an update. Together we discuss the Japanese media, food supply, the rescue-emergency workers, and the behavior of the nuclear industry since this disaster.

Once again you can support the work of Tokyo Hackerspace in Tsunami relief, go to their website and learn more.

Citizenreporter.org’s West Africa correspondant isn’t too keen on walking the streets of Abidjan these days and she has to watch what she says, as the country is sharply divided by a political standoff. The standoff is between two presidents and their supporters. One the incumbent with his own dedicated citizenry, the other elected several months ago, internationally certified and recognized. How long can this standoff last? What can be done or is being done to resolve it? In the meantime, what does daily life consist of on the streets of Abidjan as well as for a longtime correspondant in her own neighborhood.

Joining me online from Abidjan, international journalist and prolific West Africa blogger, Pauline Bax.

Her work on bloomberg.com

Natasha Ezrow, Director of the International Development Studies Program at the University of Essex and author of Dictators & Dictatorships: Understanding Authoritarian Regimes and Their Leaders, has written about the important differences between dictators which we now see being played out by how they handle calls for reform.  She also lays out criteria for why types of leaders might flee a country before anyone is harmed, while others would stay til their last breath.