Mic Check Radio

Here we (U.S.A.) go again.  Remember during Gulf War II, George W. Bush famously used the term Coalition of the Willing when it came to the invasion and occupation of Iraq?  According to W's administration, these 48 countries were essential partners in this illegal war.  However, countries like Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau and the Solomon Islands didn't (and still don't) have standing armies to help out in the war effort.  Now, Barack Obama has gathered his own Coalition of the Willing II, this time with the war directed at ISIL.  But what exactly are the new coalition members doing in this vague, new chapter in the War on Terror? [Click to Listen]

Anastasia Pantsios published a fantastic article at EcoWatch about Ohio's shameful role at the forefront of the fracking industry.  The article is based in part on the U.S. Government Accountability Office report, Drinking Water: Characterization of Injected Fluids Associated with Oil and Gas Production (also known as GAO-14-957R) that examined the fracking industry in seven states. The good news is that the report documents the horrific conditions now present in Ohio due to the booming fracking industry.  The bad news is that there is 0 chance that the politicians in Ohio will do anything about this issue.  Why is that?  Because the American Legislative Exchange Council has helped the oil and gas industry pass laws in Ohio that will need repealed before any action can be taken. One law in Ohio classified solution injected into the Earth as a 'trade secret', so no one knows exactly what is seeping into the groundwater.  [Click to Listen]

In part 3 of our series on the education system in the United States of America, we take a look at the continued influence of Foundations - mainly the ones started and funded by the Carnegie and Rockefeller.  We also discuss the Columbia Teachers College and their project, the Lincoln Experimental School.  Then we look at the effects of the Progressive Education Associations "Eight-Year Study" and how it started the concept of the segmented school curriculum.  And let's not forget the power of uniform textbooks - and how Harold Rugg (through the Columbia Teachers College) was so well funded that 5 million of his textbooks were distributed nationwide.  Eventually, in 1952, the Reece Committee started investigating Foundations and their influence on public life.  When their report was published in 1954, it was summarily ignored.  Why was it ignored? Because, a scathing indictment of the power of capitalists in the United States and how they were (and are) warping the public education system for their own benefit wasn't a report those capitalists wanted anyone to know about.  Sound familiar? [Click to Listen]

In this clip show, we take a look at how the Corporate Media (CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, etc.) have used ISIS (or ISIL or IS) as the new international 'boogie man' in order to amp up the feelings of terror on the public and justify more military action in the Middle East.  The result is eerily similar to the build up to the invasion of Iraq in 2003.  The rhetoric used in these clip would be hilarious, if the end result wasn't death and destruction. [Click to Listen]

In part 2 of our series on the education system in the United States of America, we take a look at how compulsory schooling was legislated into existence and then financed.  From 1889 to 1906 William Torrey Harris was the Commissioner of Education for the United States of America.  That is an uninterrupted, 17 year stretch in which he shaped the teaching philosophy and legislation of an entire nation.  During his tenure there was an average of one high school opened per day.  That is a massive education boom.  But, what was his philosophy of education? And, who was helping to subsidize this massive infrastructure of new buildings, textbooks and teacher training?  The noted humanitarians (sarcasm) John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie, to name just the two main wealthy white guys we take a look at in this episode.  We wrap up part 2 with some choice quotes from a 1913 Special Commission appointed by the 62nd Congress to investigate the entity know as a "Foundation", both as a business model and the power it wields within society.  Hint: It's not good and it hasn't gotten any better in the 101 years since this report. [Click to Listen]

In the kick off episode for a series on the education system in the United States of America, we take a look at the Prussian education system that was established after that country's devastating defeat at the hands of Napoleon's military in 1806.  Decades after that system was up and running, Prussia was a serious force to be reckoned with in Europe.  The notoriety of their education system had piqued the interest of an American, elite, Protestant, politician named Horace Mann.  So much so, that Mann went to Prussia in 1843 to see how this "Three Tiered System" worked.  Upon his return, Mann (who was Secretary of the Massachusetts State Board of Education at the time) pushed very hard to implement what he had seen in Prussia.  The effects of which are still alive and well in today's compulsory public school system. [Click to Play]

Activist Cinema 10 - It's a double feature today as we take a look at two documentary films that compliment each other quite well.  The Weather Underground (2002) uses archival footage and interviews to look at the actions taken by the Weather Underground in the late 1960's and early 1970's.  A hardcore group of activists committed to the violent overthrow of the US government.  The second film is Pickaxe (1999), an on the ground look at the activists who took a stand to protect an old growth

forest from logging at Warner Creek in the Willamette National Forest

of Oregon, blockading the logging road and repelling the State Police.  A hardcore group of activists committed to non-violent resistance of US government policy. [Click to Listen]

In our third and final episode in the World Cup 2014: Capitalism, Corruption and Protest series we address the lack of protests in Brazil during the World Cup.  We also take an extensive look at the police state tactics of Brazil and what it means for a country to host a "mega event" such as the World Cup or the Olympic Games (for Brazil, this will be in 2016).  Surprise, surprise, United States private contractor extraordinaire Academi (formerly Xe and before that Blackwater) helped out with anti-terror training and Israeli security (NICE) firms help install and program an all seeing all spying system called "The Situator".  There is also the matter of how sovereign nations change their laws to suit the profit motives of this massive, massive non-profit known as FIFA.  [Click to Listen]

In part II of our World Cup 2014 series we take a look at the initial proposal the government of Brazil presented to FIFA and how the reality has shaped up all these years later...here a hint, the budget more than quadrupled. We specifically take a look at the construction at three of the 12 stadiums and the pit corruption, extortion and over billing they have all become.  We also touch on similar stadium projects from the World Cup 2010 in South Africa and the preparations for the upcoming World Cup 2022 in Qatar (which has already killed hundreds of workers).  [Click to Listen]

Our introductory episode covering the most watched (and most corrupt) sporting event in the entire world, the FIFA World Cup.  We start off looking at why soccer can and is an important sport, especially on the world stage.  Then we move into a brief overview of what has been going on in Brazil - both in the streets and within the halls of the Brazilian government at the request of FIFA officials - in the lead up to the World Cup of 2014, focusing on the Confederations Cup of 2013 and the corruption and protests that occurred during that event.  [Click to Listen]