KPFA - Making Contact

A growing movement is demanding the United States do away with the death penalty. In 2012 voters had the chance to vote to replace California’s death penalty with life without the possibility of parole.  But while some saw the ballot measure as a way to end the death penalty, others saw life without parole as another kind of death sentence.
On this edition KALW reporter Nancy Mullane speaks to some of those on California’s death row and we hear from two opponents of the death penalty about where the movement to end executions goes next.

Featuring:

Sam Robinson, Public Information Officer lieutenant; Walter Cook, San Quentin State Prison inmate; Demitrius Howard, San Quentin State Prison inmate; Justin Helzer, San Quentin State Prison inmate; Christine Thomas, Campaign to End the Death Penalty; David Dow, University of Houston Law Center professor.

For More Information:

Life After Murder
www.LifeAfterMurder.com <http://www.lifeaftermurder.com

California Voter Guide

http://voterguide.sos.ca.gov/propositions/34/

National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
www.ncadp.org/

Death Penalty Focus
http://www.deathpenalty.org/

Death Penalty Information Center

http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/

Campaign to End The Death Penalty

http://www.nodeathpenalty.org/

Selective Empathy

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/03/selective-empathy/

Defeat of Proposition 34: California’s Death Penalty Battle Continues
http://www.mercurynews.com/crime-courts/ci_21951068/defeat-proposition-34-californias-death-penalty-battle-will

Prop 34 fails but signals the imminent demise of California’s death penalty
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/nov/09/proposition34-fails-california-death-penalty

Inside Death Row. At San Quentin 647 condemned killers wait to die in the most populous execution antechamber in the United States.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/INSIDE-DEATH-ROW-At-San-Quentin-647-condemned-2594023.php

Life without Parole, a Different Kind of Death Penalty
http://www.thenation.com/article/170852/life-without-parole-different-death-penalty

Nancy Mullane Walks Death Row at San Quentin State Prison
http://www.kalw.org/post/nancy-mullane-walks-death-row-san-quentin-state-prison

The post Making Contact – Life or Death: Ending the Death Penalty appeared first on KPFA.

Around the world communities are already facing the impacts of climate change.  Now international organizations, like the World Bank, are pushing a policy that asks polluters to offset their pollution by paying governments to protect forests.  But is it working?  On this edition, we take a closer look at this policy and ask, is it a plan to save the planet, or just sell it off? We’ll hear from indigenous activists and extracts from “A Darker Shade of Green: REDD Alert and the Future of Forests” by Jeff Conant, narrated by Dania Cabello.  A Darker Shade of Green: REDD Alert and the Future of Forests is a production of the Global Justice Ecology Project and Global Forest Coalition.

Featuring:

Anne Petermann, Global Justice Ecology Project director; Pavan Sukhdev, UN Environment Programme’s Green Economy Initiative  former head; Robert Zoellick, World Bank president; Gustavo Castro, Otros Mundos director; Osmarino Amancio Rodriguez, Rubber Tapers Union of Acre  president; Elder Andrade de Paula, Federal University of Acre professor; Leticia Yawanawa, Union of Indigenous Women of the Brazilian Amazon; Alegría De La Cruz, Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment attorney; Henry Clarke, West County Toxics Coalition director; Tom Goldtooth, Indigenous Environmental Network executive director.

The post Making Contact – Saving or Selling the Planet? REDD, Climate Change and Indigenous Lands appeared first on KPFA.

At overcrowded and underfunded public schools across the country high suspension rates are exacerbating existing achievement gaps. Often, chaosb in the classroom is to blame, keeping students from concentrating on their classes. On this edition we’ll hear excerpts from Russell Long’s film “Room to Breathe” which takes us to a middle school in San Francisco, California, that began teaching mindfulness in the hopes of giving students the skills they need to focus on learning.

Featuring: Ling Busch, guidance counselor at Marina Middle School; Megan Cowan, mindfulness teacher, students and teachers at Marina Middle School in San Francisco.

For More Information

Mindful Schools

http://www.mindfulschools.org/

Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn on Mindfulness

http://youtu.be/fEINtdXIqns

Reproducing Social Inequality through School Security

http://www.edweek.org/media/kupchikward-02security.pdf

“Mindfulness” meditation being used in hospitals and schools

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-06-07-meditate_N.htm

In the Classroom, a New Focus on Quieting the Mind
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/16/us/16mindful.html?ex=1183608000&en=3d87faf9c47eb9f2&ei=5070

The Garrison Institute

http://www.garrisoninstitute.org

UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center

http://marc.ucla.edu

Books:

Mindful Teaching and Teaching Mindfulness: A Guide for Anyone Who Teaches
Anything

http://www.wisdompubs.org/Pages/display.lasso?-KeyValue=33081&-Token.

The Mindful Child

http://books.simonandschuster.com/Mindful-Child/Susan-Kaiser-Greenland/9781416583004

The post Making Contact – Room To Breathe: From Chaos to Peace in the Classroom appeared first on KPFA.

For centuries, the Taos Pueblo people in New Mexico lived entirely off their land. Sustainable agriculture was a way of life, but U.S. federal policies helped put an end to that. Food wasn’t grown at the pueblos; it was trucked in. Traditional farming gave way to government subsidies and obesity rates soared. But recently, a surprising agricultural renaissance has taken root across the pueblos. On this edition, Making Contact’s Rita Daniels takes us to the Taos Pueblo in New Mexico to share a story of rebirth and renewal.

This program was partially funded by the Ben and Jerry’s Foundation, the Mitchell Kapor Foundation, and the Seed Fund at the Rudolf Steiner Foundation.

Featuring: Leonard Archuleta, Taos Pueblo Farmer and Red Willow Co-operative Member; Shirley Trujillo, Red Willow Farmers Market Manager; Joel Glanzberg, Native American Permaculture Teacher; Deryl Lujan, Taos Pueblo Rancher; Shawn Duran, Red Willow Education Center Director; Ezra Bales, Pueblo Day School Wellness Coordinator; Hillary Duran, University of New Mexico at Taos Student and Red Willow Education Center Intern.

For More Information:

Added Value & Herban Solutions
http://www.added-value.org/

California Institute for Rural Studies

“Hunger in the Fields – Food Access Issues Among Farmworkers in Fresno
County”

http://www.cirsinc.org/Documents/Hunger_in_the_Fields.pdf

Grassroots International – Funding Global Movement for Social Change

“Food for Thought and Action: A Food Sovereignty Curriculum”

http://bit.ly/4xiPhp

Heritage Radio Network

Internet-based radio station about food featuring leading farmers, food
mavericks, filmmakers, artists and tastemakers.

www.heritageradionetwork.com

Indigenous Permaculture Program

A fiscal-sponsorship project of ‘The Ecology Center’ to gain food security
and access to healthy and nutritious foods for local communities

http://www.indigenous-permaculture.com/

“Native Recipe for Health” by Gabriel Thompson

Yes! Magazine  (September 13, 2009)

The Tohono O’odham Nation tackles diabetes with a return to desert foods.

http://bit.ly/3yWUd1

Yes Magazine Food Issue (February 13, 2009)

Theme Guide:  Food for Everyone

http://bit.ly/3ajd8e

The post Making Contact – Native Harvest for a Modern World (ENCORE) appeared first on KPFA.

With nuclear power back on the agenda, three prominent female activists tell their stories:  Kaori Izumi was part of the grassroots campaign to shutdown Japan’s nuclear power plants, after the Fukushima disaster. Winona LaDuke, has spent much of her life working to oppose uranium mining on indigenous land.  And Alice Slater is part of a global initiative to ban nuclear weapons. On this edition, is the anti-nuclear movement on the rise? This is a special collaboration with Lynn Feinerman and Crown Sephira Productions.
 

Featuring:
Kaori Izumi, Japanese anti-nuclear activist, Winona LaDuke, Ojibwe activist, Alice Slater, Abolition2000 founder.

For More Information:

Women Rising Radio
 http://www.radioproject.org/
 

Shut Tomari
http://shuttomari.blogspot.com/search/label/English
White Earth Land Recovery Project
 http://nativeharvest.com/winona_laduke
 

Honor the Earth 

 http://www.honorearth.org/
 

Abolition 2000

 www.abolition2000.org
   

Nuclear Age Peace Foundation 

www.wagingpeace.org
 

Fukushima Update

 http://fukushima.greenaction-japan.org/2011/09/26/aileen-mioko-smith-kaori-izumi-kevin-kamps-from-beyond-nuclear-interviewed-by-thom-hartmann/
 

Fukushima reactor 4 requires urgent intervention; coalition calls for
emergency UN action to halt catastrophic release of radiation
http://www.naturalnews.com/035788_Fukushima_United_Nations_radiation.html

Japanese Fukushima Eye-Witnesses Challenge Capitol Hill Lawmakers and US Regulators to Stop Promotion of Nuclear Power

https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/09/19-2
 

Indian Point Community Teach-in at SUNY-Purchase
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYPZjDIMYCE

 Winona LaDuke on the Colbert Report 

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/173622/june-12-2008/winona-laduke
 

Alice Slater: Sustainable Energy Will Bring Peace on Earth, 3-21-12 

 http://nuclearfreeplanet.org/blogs/alice-slater-sustainable-energy-will-bring-peace-on-earth.html
 

The Folly of Mindless Science 

https://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/06/19-0

The post Making Contact – International Anti-Nuclear Activists appeared first on KPFA.

Who are the electors, anyway?  And will the United States ever join the rest of the world, and adopt a popular vote for president?  Yale University Law & Political Science Professor Akhil Reed Amar says the Electoral College discourages voting, lessens the power of the states, and could work to the disadvantage of either major political party.  On this edition, Professor Akhil Reed Amar speaks with Angela McKenzie of Initiative Radio about how the US constitution can be changed to create a more fair and just society.

Featuring:

Akhil Reed Amar, Yale University Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science; Angela McKenzie, Initiative Radio Host.

For More Information:

What is the Electoral College?
http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/about.html

America’s Unwritten Constitution: The Precedents and Principles We Live by

http://www.powells.com/biblio/62-9780465029570-0

Akhil Reed Amar discusses his book with Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas

http://www.booktv.org/Watch/13812/Americas+Unwritten+Constitution+The+Precedents+and+Principles+We+Live+By.aspx

National Popular Vote

http://www.nationalpopularvote.com/

National Popular Vote Interstate Compact

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Popular_Vote_Interstate_Compact

Gravel’s justice of choice: Amar

http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2008/feb/07/gravels-justice-of-choice-amar/
 

 
How the Electoral College Works

http://www.howstuffworks.com/electoral-college.htm

Initiative Radio

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Initiative-Radio-with-Angela-McKenzie/106581202712373

The post Making Contact – The Electoral College’s Dirty History appeared first on KPFA.

Around the world, students have been taking to the streets. They’re opposed to rising tuition fees and cuts to education.  On this edition, we’ll hear how students in Quebec, helped bring down the government and why Chilean students are back out on the streets again.  We’ll also speak to an activist in Puerto Rico who says she’s had enough of US-style higher education.

Featuring:

*Leah Pelletier-Marcotte*, McGill University student; *Michelle
Hartman<http://www.mcgill.ca/islamicstudies/faculty/tenure-stream-faculty/michelle-hartman>
*, McGill University professor; *Salome Natali*, Bois Boulogne College
student; *Jeremie Bedard Wein* CLASSE co-spokesperson; *Camila Vallejo*,
University of Chile Student Federation vice-president; *Noam Titelman*,
Catholic University Student Federation president

* *
For More Information:

CLASSE
<http://www.stopthehike.ca/>

http://www.stopthehike.ca/

International Students Movement

http://ism-global.net/

Students Gain After Strike in Puerto Rico
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/18/us/18students.html?_r=0   More Violence
in Puerto Rico as University Student Fee is Imposed
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/maritza-stanchich-phd/more-violence-in-puerto-r_b_810628.html
  Student Strike at University of Puerto Rico Enters 28th Day
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/5/17/student_strike_at_university_of_puerto
Quebec Student Protests: 2,500 Arrests And Counting
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/05/25/quebec-student-protests-arrests_n_1544938.html?ref=canada
  Casserole protests ring out across Quebec
http://montreal.ctvnews.ca/casserole-protests-ring-out-across-quebec-1.831119
  On Strike: Quebec Students Boycott Classes for 12 Weeks to Protest
Proposed Tuition Hikes
http://www.democracynow.org/2012/5/7/on_strike_quebec_students_boycott_classes
  Chilean Student Movement Awarded for Organizing Nation’s Largest Protests
Since Pinochet Era
http://www.democracynow.org/2012/10/16/chilean_student_movement_awarded_for_organizing
Dozens injured after clashes on day two of Chile’s strike
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/26/two-chile-nationwide-strike-violence
  Chile student protests point to deep discontent
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-14487555

Chile, the country Pinochet terrorised, is no longer afraid
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/aug/30/chile-pinochet-no-longer-afraid

The post Making Contact – Education Not For Sale appeared first on KPFA.

It took 40 years to build ACORN, the national community organization which at its peak had more than half a million members.  But it took just a few months to bring it down.  Now, local organizers are trying to rebuild from the ground up, while not forgetting the lessons they learned.*  *On this edition, the assassination of ACORN.  And a look at how the groups’ absence is affecting elections, poverty, and the continuing housing crisis?

Special thanks to Demos, and to Race, Poverty & the Environment.

Featuring:

*Steve Kest, *former ACORN executive director*; John Atlas, *author of *‘Seeds of Change’, *the *Story of ACORN*, *America’s Most Controversial
Anti-Poverty Community Organizing Group;** **Annie McKinzie & Bill Chorneau*,
former ACORN Oakland members; *Bertha Lewis*, former ACORN CEO and chief
organizer; *Morris Hilter,* *Denise Hilton, Travis*, ACORN Tampa members; *John
McCain*, US Senator; *Ina Gutierrez*, Interfaith Worker Justice deputy director of operations; *Tasha Alberty, *Oakland homeowner facing foreclosure*; Martha Daniels, *Oakland ACORN organizer;* Vivian Richardson, *San Francisco homeowner facing foreclosure*; Grace Martinez, *San Francisco ACCE community organizer;* Nealie Yarbrough, Ian Haddow*, San Francisco ACCE members.

For More Information:

Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE)

www.calorganize.org

Texas Organizing Project

www.organizetexas.org/

Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment

www.organizemo.org/

New England United for Justice

www.neunited4justice.org/

John Atlas

http://open.salon.com/blog/john_atlas

Seeds of Change: The Story of ACORN, America’s Most Controversial
Antipoverty Community Organizing Group by John Atlas

http://www.vanderbiltuniversitypress.com/books/387/seeds-of-change

The People Shall Rule: ACORN, Community Organizing, and the Struggle for
Economic Justice

http://www.vanderbiltuniversitypress.com/books/354/the-people-shall-rule

Demos

http://www.demos.org/

Race, Poverty and the Environment

http://urbanhabitat.org/rpe

Wade Rathke: Chief Organizer Blog

http://chieforganizer.org/

Interfaith Worker Justice

www.iwj.org/

Articles/Blogs/Videos/Audio:

 The fall of ACORN: A timeline – The Week

http://theweek.com/article/index/200161/the-fall-of-acorn-a-timeline

Can Obama Win Without ACORN? – Molly Ball – The Atlantic

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/09/can-obama-win-without-acorn/262761/

Who Needs ACORN?

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/victory_lab/2012/08/obama_get_out_the_vote_efforts_how_the_voter_participation_center_is_picking_up_where_acorn_left_off_.single.html

Anti-ACORN Messages Threaten Staff and Obama (AUDIO)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/m.s.-bellows/anti-acorn-messages-threa_b_136222.html

Transcript of Interview with Bertha Lewis

http://urbanhabitat.org/node/6926

The post Making Contact – COINTELPRO 101 (Part 1) ENCORE EDITION appeared first on KPFA.

Under President Obama more than 1 million people have been deported from the United States. We’re told many of those people are criminals who’ve broken more than just immigration law.  On this edition, producer Cory Fischer-Hoffman takes a closer look at how immigration and the criminal justice system work together, to detain and deport hundreds of thousands of people every year.

Alex Alvarez, deported immigrant; Abraham Paolos, Families For Freedom director; Tanya Golash Boza, author “Immigration Nation: Raids, Detentions, and Deportations in Post 9-11 America”, John Morton, Immigration and Customs Enforcement director; Michelle Fei, Immigrant Defense Project co-director; Lili Salmeron, Northern Manhattan Coalition for Immigrant Rights organizer.

For More Information:

Families for Freedom

http://familiesforfreedom.org/

Immigrant Defense Project

http://immigrantdefenseproject.org/

Videos, articles, etc:

‘Secure Communities’ and the U.S. Immigrant Rights Movement: Lessons from
New York State

https://nacla.org/blog/2012/7/11/secure-communities-and-us-immigrant-rights-movement-lessons-new-york-state

Immigration Nation: Raids, Detentions, and Deportations in Post 9-11 America

http://www.paradigmpublishers.com/books/BookDetail.aspx?productID=243384

As New York Debates Secure Communities Program, Study Challenges the
HomelandSecurity Policy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xcs79Aff6To

Detention Watch Network Deplores Latest Anti-Immigrant Hearing in Congress

http://detentionwatchnetwork.org/views/newsarchives

Restoring Community: A National Community Advisory Report on ICE’s Failed
“Secure Communities” Program

http://altopolimigra.com/s-comm-shadow-report/

The post Making Contact – The Penalty is Exile: How Immigration and Criminalization Collide appeared first on KPFA.

Fund Drive Special

The post Making Contact – Fund Drive Special appeared first on KPFA.