Voices From The Frontlines

The Covid-19 Virus and the Attack on Black People in Amerika

The victory of Students Deserve. BLMLA, the LAUSD Board and Superintendent Austin Beutner—

Agreeing on Universal Passage for all Students for All Classes and Move to Graduation

The Bus Riders Union Campaign for Free Student Passes for All LAUSD Students and Free Public Transportation for All MTA Bus and Rail Riders

Social connection amid Social Distancing and the Revolutionary role of parenting, grandparenting, family and Diary of a Wimpy Kid at this point in history

Listen to the full show

Go to www.BLMLA.org for more information on Black Lives Matter's current campaigns and work. Visit their social media profiles: Twitter: @BLMLA Instagram/Facebook: @BLMLosAngeles

Go to www.thestrategycenter.org for more information on the Bus Riders Union's current campaigns and work. Visit their social media profile: Twitter/ Instagram: @Fight Soul Cities Facebook: @BusRidersUnion

Conversation with Talia Shire on her new film Working Man

Talia Shire, best known for her role as Connie Corleone in the Godfather Films and Adrian Balboa in the Rocky films discusses her new film Working Man. Also starring Peter Gerrety as Allery Parker and Billy Brown as Walter Brewer Working Man is a moving film about what happens to workers when their plants close down—a never ending story under capitalism with so many different plots and endings. This is a fine film and we thank Richard Alaniz from the KPFK Film Club for making the connection with the producers. Also reach out to the Strategy Center for the story of the most successful movement against plant closings in which Voices host Eric Mann was the lead organizer—along with Pete Beltran, Mark Masaoka and Jake Flukers, the Campaign to Keep GM Van Nuys Open. This is reflected in the wonderful film Tiger by the Tail directed by Michal Goldman. Working Man will be released on May 5th to video on demand. For more information visit www.workingmanmovie.com​​​​​​​

Fly Michael Fly

Eric Mann discusses The Last Dance—HBO’s 10 Part Documentary on the Chicago Bulls’ struggle to win their 6th NBA Title in 1997-1998 starring Michael Jordan. While there are many political themes that he will discuss throughout this commentary focuses on Michael Jordan’s impossible-to-believe-without seeing phenomenal athleticism, will, and athletic intelligence—and the great role played by University of North Carolina coach Dean Smith in helping Michael hone his skills and his worldview.

No Cars in LA and Free Public Transportation in LA—an Idea who’s Time Has Come

Join Eric as he asks your involvement in the Strategy Center and Bus Riders Union Campaign for No Cars in LA/Free Public Transportation campaign with the chance to win real victories during the COVID 19 crisis in which those demands are as practical s they are visionary and revolutionary. Check this out at theStrategycenter.org

The Covid Virus and the Attack on Black People in Amerika

The victory of Students Deserve. BLMLA, the LAUSD Board and Superintendent Austin Beutner—

Agreeing on Universal Passage for all Students for All Classes and Move to Graduation

The Bus Riders Union Campaign for Free Student Passes for All LAUSD Students and Free Public Transportation for All MTA Bus and Rail Riders

Social connection amid Social Distancing and the Revolutionary role of parenting, grandparenting, family and Diary of a Wimpy Kid at this point in history

Voices from the Frontlines: 

In Conversation with Gina Womack Director of Families and Friends of Louisiana's Incarcerated Children

Aired: March 31, 2020 @3pm PST

Today on Voices radio Eric will be hosting a conversation with Gina Womack, Director of Families and Friends of Louisiana's  Incarcerated Children (FFLIC). Gina will speak about FFLIC's work to release all incarcerated youth in Louisiana in light of the Corona Virus Pandemic.

We're working to have Voices from the Frontlines stay relevant during the COVID19 quarantine and encourage you help us builf the show. Please visit www.voicesfromthefrontlines.com to listen to all past shows. You can access the podcast of the show on Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud, Google Play, Stitcher, Tune In, and Blubrry.

Eric and Channing want to hear from you, please send letters to [email protected] in the next few weeks we're working to highlight the work of organizers working around issues exasperated by the COVID19 pandemic, and to bring you the latest medical news around COVID19, please reach out to us if you're working in this capacity, or want to make a connection. We have to have a better connection with groups, we'll also consider having regular corespondents on the show.

Eric offers a detailed review of our society as reflected by these two films. Listen to Eric and Channing talk about the film Sorry We Missed You, as they draw out the critical thought that takes place in the film, meant to make us think about our roles as consumer in this consumer culture.

We also welcome back Co-Host and Producer of Voices From the Frontlines, Channing Martinez. He talk to us about his City Council campaign. Welcome back Channing!!!

Read Eric's articles from CounterPunch, and take a listen to the show.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2020/01/31/films-from-the-frontlines-bong-joon-hos-parasite/

https://www.counterpunch.org/2020/03/06/films-from-the-frontlines-sorry-we-missed-you-ken-loachs-stirring-exposure-of-capitalist-speed-and-consumers-greed/

Eric in conversation with Zach Norris, author of the new book We Keep Us Safe: Building Secure, Just, and Inclusive Communities, an investigation of new ideas in ending the prison system and the mass incarceration of Black and Latino people.

Zach is the director of the Ella Baker Center in Oakland, a young veteran now in the larger social justice movement, and a graduate of the Labor/Community Strategy Center's National School for Strategic Organizing. We look forward to later "going to the phones" to hear the voices of our wonderful listeners who we hope are taking very good care of themselves and have our best wishes and love.

Today on Voices from the Frontlines:

Conversation with Yves Piat, director and screenwriter

“Nefta Football Club–nominated for best short film for Academy Award

Nefta Football Club–nominated for best short film (live action) for Academy Award.

Eric Mann, in-studio conversation with Yves Piat, director and writer of Nefta Football Club, nominated for Academy Award for short film, live action. In the south of Tunisia at the border with Algeria, two football fan brothers bump into a donkey lost in the middle of the desert. Strangely the animal wears headphones over its ears. The brothers journey to discover the significance of the white powder in its backpack while the donkey’s original masters desperately try to find it as well. This sets the scene for the brothers magical resolution of the mystery.

This is a clever, very funny, thoughtful, film set in Tunisia, along with another nominated film, Brotherhood by Meryam Joobeur that Eric has also viewed.

The Great Hope for a Free Student Pass on MTA Buses and Trains

Eric reports from the recent MTA meeting and the exciting motion for free student passes introduced by MTA board member Hilda Solis with support from Mayor Eric Garcetti and City Councilman Mike Bonin with the initiative of by LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner and LAUSD board members. This builds on the Bus Riders Union’s 20 year campaign for free public transportation for all MTA bus and train passengers. If this is passed in June it could be a great gift to students and parents and a chance to dramatically increase MTA ridership and dramatically decrease Greenhouse gases. We need Voices listeners to join the Bus Riders Union Free Public Transportation Coalition.

Eric will read sections from his essay, All Hail the Revolutionary King

Martin Luther King Jr. and the Black Revolutionary Tradition

Review of Parasite by Bong Joon-ho: A brilliant, terrific, pathbreaking film that raises the questions, "Who exactly is the parasite?" "Who are the parasites?" And, the hardest one of all, "How do you know that you are not a parasite????"

And if time allows, "The New York Times endorsement of Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar--who gives a damn!" (and if not, you get the point already).

Today on voices:

How do we build a movement against assassinations, and defending the humanity of General Quasem Soleimani.

As the strongest military power in the world with virtually no history of fighting a war on its own stolen soil, the U.S. is virtually impervious to the consequences of its brutality. The assassination of Iranian General Kasem Soleimani was a terrible act of inhumanity but even Iran's measured and in fact muted response indicates a terrible reality--after the U.S. murdered General Soleimani, even if one "American" life would be lost in self-defense the U.S. would launch merciless air strikes and murder countless civilians and soldiers. The U.S. does not a viable anti-war movement and with all the self-righteousness of groups calling for "no war in Iran" Nancy Pelosi dresses up to mock Arabs and Muslims and Bernie Sanders opposition to the murder as "an assassination that violates international law" is followed by the most racist and hawkish slander of every other government in the world—creating a de-facto support for or at least justification of Trump's act of murder.

Today we will examine this in great detail and again ask the supporters of Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Elizabeth Warren to engage this catastrophe with a sense of introspection and activism inside those campaigns.

(CNSNews.com) - Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a 2020 presidential contender, told CNN's Anderson Cooper Monday night that the missile attack on Iran's Gen. Qasem Soleimani was an "assassination" that violated "international law."

This week on Voices Radio: Eric talks about building up Voices From the Frontlines. We want feedback for the show. Email us at [email protected] with ideas, comments, questions, concerns, community information, etc. We are building a community and a movement. Also, if you hear us talking about organizations that are doing great work, please contact them and tell us about it. Change happens from every angle. Become a change maker.

CHALLENGE OF THE DAY: Get 5 friends to become Voices listeners, by first signing up on www.voicesfromthefrontlines.com, listen to us on Sound Cloud, Tune In, Apple Podcast, Stitcher and Google Play. Then like and follow up on Facebook and Twitter at EricMannSpeaks, and on IG, voicesfromthefrontlines. Here are the 5 asks; 

Send Eric an email

Get people to listen to the show, Tuesday’s from 3pm-4pm

Listen to the show.

Help others in the movement

Listen to the podcast if you don’t listen to the show.

Eric offers some really deeply rooted wisdom: The headline that the Nation Magazine published, “Trump’s Distraction by Assassination: The killing to Iran’s Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani [Qasem Soleimani] took the public’s attention away from Trump’s upcoming trial in the Senate. This new crisis, though, has no visible off-ramp. Eric points out omission of Soleimani’s humanity, by Nation Magazine, in this headline. Soleimani is a human being that was murdered by the US, not some excuse for a distraction. We must learn to recognize each others humanity FIRST!!! Eric talks about his commentary about Gen. Soleimani: The murder of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, is the latest of so many murder and assassinations beginning with the assassination of Native American leaders is part of the long tradition of the barbarism of US assassination of its political opponents. This democratic and republic tactic raised to a horrible crescendo by President Barak Obama through is escalation of his use of drone murders is rooted in the US imperialist effective ideology that the US is always under attack. The US has a department of defense. It used to be called the department of war, at least then, it was honest. The US doesn’t need any defense. The US is attacking every siege country. The US has CIA agents in the every country n the world. The work id under attack by our government and our system. This intern is deeply rooted in the mindset of the white-settler state and the white settlers themselves. When the US was built, it was built by white people coming from Europe to invade the Americas where there were already 100 million indigenous inhabitants. How can people come onto a continent of 100 million people and murder 90 million of them? The reason is because they believe that they were being attacked by the indigenous people? How can people believe that? Because the indigenous people rejected christianity so we have to murder them because they are attacking our religion. That is the thinking of the white-settler state. The aggressor is always the hurt party in the psychopathology of imperialism! Please note: No longer can we say that the white-settler state is white people anymore. At this point, it the the white settler state is a social formation of imperialism that implicates all of us unless we are active to resist it’s ideology, privileges, benefits and the complicity that we all share. 

Eric also examines Gwyneth Paltrow’s interview about her new luxury lifestyle brand, Goop. He reenacts the interview in a way that communicates the absurdly superficial and damaging parts of this society that prevent us from becoming self-aware and renders us hypnotized, complicate and active in imperialism.  

We also examine the new film Just Mercy about the life of Civil Rights Attourney Brian Stevenson. A film about courage, the racism of the US society, the cruel and unusual punishment of the death penalty, and the world. 

Take a listen to the whole show and tell us what you think!