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Archive 7: 2014

Shows Available from Pirate Television

Pirate Television is a weekly 58 min Public Access Television program broadcast in Seattle Washington USA.  Pirate TV challenges the Media Blockade by bringing you alternative information and independent programming that is unavailable on the Corporate Sponsor-Ship.  The show features talks, interviews and documentaries.

Some of the material seen on Pirate TV is obtained from other sources but most of it is locally produced and owned by us.  We are offering to sell copies of this material to support the operation.  If you would like to support the Pirate Television project you can obtain a copy of any of these tapes for a $20 donation (includes postage) in advance.  To obtain videotapes or DVDs, contact us first by email:

PirateTVSeattle(at)gmail.com

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DVDs of most of the recent Pirate TV shows are available.

This is a list of the material that was produced by us and does not include all the fantastic documentaries and other materials that we have broadcast.  Most source tapes are archived and can be accessed by special request.  If you are interested in a complete list of the actual shows for purposes of broadcast on other television stations, please contact us.  This material is also available in audio form for broadcast on the radio. 

With last summer’s large wildfires, global warming’s likely effects in the Northwest are becoming increasingly discussed. This panel discussion will analyze local climate change trends in our region, and give insight into how these will shape the Pacific Northwestern lifestyle. Hear about current local efforts underway to prepare for these changes, and learn more about what actions to take to make a difference in the future of regional climate change.

SPEAKERS: Dr. Amy Snover, University of Washington, Director, Climate Impacts Group Dr. Crystal Raymond, Seattle City Light, Strategic Advisor – Climate Change Adaptation Rhys Roth, Director, Center for Sustainable Infrastructure, Evergreen State College

Thanks to the Sustainable Path Foundation & Seattle Town Hall

Video by Todd Boyle

Professor Patrick Bond, School of Development Studies, University of Kwazulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa gave this keynote address at a recent conference on Climate Change and Global Health at the Department of Global Health at the University of Washington in Seattle.  Dr. Bond discussed climate change in the context of a social justice issue, addressed the reasons behind  the failure of global governance to deal with it, and laid out strategies for reparations and rebellion.

Patrick Bond is a political economist and prolific author with longstanding research interests and NGO work in urban communities and with global justice movements in several countries. He teaches political economy and eco-social policy, directs the Centre for Civil Society and is involved in research on economic justice, geopolitics, climate, energy and water.

Camera by Todd Boyle

Renowned peace activist David Hartsough talks about his life in the trenches of non-violent struggle.  He is Executive Director of Peaceworkers based in San Francisco, CA USA and is Co-Founder of the Nonviolent Peaceforce. He is a Quaker and member of the San Francisco Friends Meeting and has been working actively for nonviolent social change and peaceful resolution of conflicts since he met Martin Luther King in 1956.  Hartsough recently released a book about his life: Waging Peace: Global Adventures of a Lifelong Activist. 

Camera by Todd Boyle

Analyzing data from over 1,800 different policy initiatives from 1981 to 2002, the study concluded that although the rich and wealthy business interests get their way almost all the time, the wishes of ordinary citizens has virtually zero effect on policy and this is irregardless of which party is in power.

Since this trend has developed over several decades, it is not a direct result of Supreme Court decisions allowing more money in politics, such as Citizens United or McCutcheon v. FEC .  However, these decisions themselves might be seen as part and parcel of these trends.  These trends are due as Chris Hedges points out, to a gradual corporate coup d’état whereby, "all the institutions that make democracy possible have been hollowed out and rendered impotent and ineffectual."  This is not the same as pointing out that billionaires and wealthy business interests can outright buy elections which anyone who has been paying attention will notice that they clearly can and have.  But money doesn't just buy elections, it buys politicians. 

This week we are going to take a close look at this money influence nexus and its relationship with the media.  The show features two experts: Alan Durning, Executive Director of the Sightline Institute, and author of This Place on Earth: Home and the Practice of Permanence and Dave Ross, award winning news commentator for CBS Radio, morning news anchor at KIRO-FM, and host for many years of the Dave Ross Show.  Dave has particular inside knowledge because he also ran for Congress.

James Tracy: Organizing to Stop Displacement, Mon. 11/10 8-9 pm, Thurs. 1pm, Sun. 1am on SCM

Housing activist extraordinaire, James Tracey gave this talk to the Washington Tenant's Union in Seattle. The co-founder of the San Francisco Community Land Trust which uses public and private money to buy up housing stock and take it out of the real estate market talks about the San Francisco housing wars and the struggle to stop gentrification which is making housing costs sky rocket in Seattle and many metropolitan areas throughout the country. This process is being driven largely by out of state speculators coming in and buying up affordable housing stock and turning it to make quick profits. Tracy discusses ways to fight back. Author of the recent book, 'Dispatches Against Displacement', he is also a poet and co-author of 'Hillbilly Nationalists', 'Urban Race Rebels', and 'Black Power'.

Chris Bollyn: The Deception that Changed the World, Mon. 11/3 8-9 pm, Thurs. 1pm, Sun. 1am on SCM

Investigative journalist Christopher Bollyn, author of Solving 9-11, makes the case for why he believes the Israelis were behind the attack on the World Trade Center. In 2006, Bollyn was helping Professor Steven E. Jones when they found evidence of Thermite in the dust of the Twin Towers. Soon after Bollyn was attacked by undercover police at his home and left the country. 

Recorded 9/27/14 by Todd Boyle

Cornel West gave this talk to a packed house at the Seattle Town Hall a few days before his 10/13 arrest at the 'Moral Monday' Civil Disobedience Actions in Ferguson, MO.  West explores the phenomenon known as Black Prophetic Fire, offering an analysis of six well-respected African American leaders — Frederick Douglass, W. E. B. Du Bois, Martin Luther King Jr., Ella Baker, Malcolm X, and Ida Wells-Barnett as well as the great black musical geniuses that changed the world and wonders where that spirit went.  According to West, modern African American leaders are either incarcerated or, like President Obama, have been co-opted and “have no deep conviction.”  West traces the root of that spirit to love and sees hope in the current rebellions for a radical rekindling.

Thanks to Seattle Town Hall and Elliott Bay Books

Helen Caldicott: Fukushima's Ongoing Impact, Mon. 10/20 8-9 pm, Thurs. 1pm, Sun. 1am on SCM

Unbeknownst to most consumers of US corporate media, radiation in the ocean from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster has finally reached the United States’ West Coast, impacting fisheries along the Pacific Ocean. Three years later, these and other effects of Fukushima are only beginning to appear. Helen Caldicott, former President of the Physicians for Social Responsibility, examines the radiation-related health risks, and other lasting consequences of the calamity in her new book Crisis Without End. In this talk she sheds light on these trends, giving an overview of how they impact not only the people of Japan, but the United States and the rest of the world comparing it with the ongoing Chernobyl disaster which scientists estimate has so far killed over a million people. Caldicott also shares her judgement on how these lasting impacts should impact U.S. nuclear policy. A trained physician, Caldicott is also the author of several other books, including If You Love This Planet and The New Nuclear Danger.

Thanks to: Seattle Town Hall, Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility, and Elliott Bay Books

Michael Backes: Cannabis Pharmacy, Mon. 10/13 8-9 pm, Thurs. 1pm, Sun. 1am on SCM

With more than four million medical marijuana patients nationally, and increased legislation each year, understanding this field is more important than ever. Terminal cancer, chronic headaches, Parkinson’s disease, and dozens of other ailments can be treated with medical marijuana use. Michael Backes’s Cannabis Pharmacy: The Practical Guide to Medical Marijuana is an inside look at these ailments, medical marijuana best practices around the country, and the most popular strains of cannabis out there. He’ll also offer insight into the future of the human-cannabis relationship. His well-researched, “superbly written, and easily accessible” guide to the pharmaceutical is “crucial reading” for anyone interested in understanding medical marijuana. Backes, head of research and development for the medical marijuana clinic Abatin Wellness Center, was also the founder of Cornerstone Collective, California’s first research-based medical cannabis collective.

Thanks to Seattle Town Hall & Third Place Books

Climate change has a variety of negative effects on the economy, and according to award-winning journalist Naomi Klein, the time has come to shift the debate from climate to climate economics. This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate analyzes the current fight against global warming, how “disaster capitalism” makes things worse, and why the “free market” structure needs to be dramatically altered. She’ll give insight into how reducing greenhouse emissions could solve a variety of inequalities in society and rebuild local economies. According to Klein, climate change is “the fight of our lives” and it’s up to us to change the direction the world is headed. The author of The Shock Doctrine, Klein is also a contributing editor for Harper’s. The program also features KC Golden, Senior Policy Advisor with Climate Solutions.

Thanks to Seattle Town Hall and University Bookstore

Thom Hartmann gave this talk as part of Yes! Magazine’s fourth annual celebration and fundraiser.  He discussed current economic and political trends, as well as climate activism offering his advice for a stable future.  Based on historical trends, Hartmann’s The Crash of 2016 suggests the way forward lies in shifting focus from a profit model to a moral one — otherwise, the next “great crash” could happen any day.  Hartmann is a national and internationally syndicated radio host, political analyst, and author of 24 books, including The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight.  The talk is followed by footage from Seattle's recent People's Climate March rally and features Socialist Alternative Jess Spear who is running for State Rep. in the 43rd District.

Thanks to Yes! Magazine and Seattle Town Hall

Dr. Peter Phillips delivered this keynote address to the 2014 Fellowship of Reconciliation’s 100th anniversary event. The talk was given over the July 4th weekend at the Seabeck Conference Center, Seabeck Washington.  Phillips discussed the Transnational Corporate Class, US NATO Empire, capitalism, and the corporate media propaganda system. Phillips, former director of Project Censored from 1996-2010, is professor of sociology at Sonoma State, president of the Media Freedom Foundation/Project Censored, and co-host of the Project Censored Show on KPFA Pacifica Radio.

Video by Todd Boyle

Paul Roberts: The Impulse Society, Mon. 9/15 8-9 pm, Thurs. 1pm, Sun. 1am on SCM

Instant gratification has become the American way of life, and according to veteran journalist Paul Roberts, it has had a negative impact on our culture. From failed healthcare systems and environmental destruction, to unbalanced politics and the country’s “financial meltdown,” The Impulse Society: America in the Age of Instant Gratification analyzes how the current socioeconomic system has been wreaking havoc. He’ll offer a historical account of how America got to this place, recent positive developments (like the Affordable Care Act), and his suggestions on how to reverse the selfish, “impulsive” American way. Roberts is also the author of The End of Oil and The End of Food.

Thanks to: Seattle Town Hall, Sustainable Path foundation, and University Book Store

Doug Fine: Hemp Bound, Mon. 9/8 8-9 pm, Thurs. 1pm, Sun. 1am on SCM

It’s now legal to smoke recreational marijuana in Washington State, but what about growing hemp? Hemp and marijuana both come from the same cannabis plant, but according to author Doug Fine, the age-old ban on marijuana use has undermined the bountiful possibilities of hemp. His latest book, Hemp Bound: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the Next Agricultural Revolution, highlights the many uses of hemp, making a case for what could be the next cash crop. He traces the plant’s use, from the paper used for early drafts of the Declaration of Independence, to more modern occurrences such as hemp-powered limos in Denver. He travels the country to learn about the agricultural, recreational, and very practical uses of hemp today. Adding hemp to our agriculture would offer more sustainable fuel options, restore soil nutrients, and most importantly, offer a giant boost to the economy. Fine is also the author of Too High to Fail: Cannabis and the New Green Economic Revolution and Farewell My Subaru.

Thanks to: Town Hall Seattle and Elliott Bay Book Company

Russ Baker, an investigative journalist and founder of the nonprofit website WhoWhatWhy.com, gave this talk at the Common Good Cafe in Seattle.  He is the author of one of the seminal books on the Bush family, "Family of Secrets".  His recurring themes are politics, secrecy, and abuses of power. Baker's recent writings have focused on elites in finance, resource extraction, military and intelligence operations, and their quiet influence over national and global political and economic affairs.

In this talk, he lays out inconsistencies and questionable details surrounding the Boston Marathon Bombing, its eerie similarities with the JFK assassination, and what it all means for Americans.

Thanks to the Common Good Café

Alison Weir: The Hidden History of How the U.S. Was Used to Create Israel, Mon. 8/18 8-9 pm, Thurs. 1pm, Sun. 1am on SCM

Recently, the US Senate voted unanimously in support of the latest Israeli genocidal rampage in Gaza.  The Israeli lobby is apparently so powerful that even the few progressive Senators like Bernie Sanders, and Al Franken quiver at the thought of crossing them.  Sen. Elizabeth Warren was caught on camera literally running to get away from reporters' questions on the subject.

Alison Weir's probing statistical breakdown of US corporate media coverage, reveals how the US corporate propaganda system have managed perception to make black appear white on the subject of Palestine in the minds of most Americans for at least 50 years.  

However, this time US corporate media were caught with their pants down.  While they went on with their usual spin about "Israel having a right to defend itself" portraying the situation as a two sided conflict, pictures and video of children blown to bits, hospitals and UN shelters attacked, and entire neighborhoods leveled were all over the internet exposing a one sided slaughter of innocents with no place to hide.  The fact that these were very obvious war crimes simultaneously exposed the one sided coverage.  The media at first didn't know what to do.  Recalling some of their best correspondents for reporting on atrocities that they witnessed first hand, and then having to do a double-take in the face of public outrage.

As we learn from this presentation, virtually everything Americans have been told about the State of Israel is a lie or misleading, and the actual history of the region is largely unknown.   The early history of Zionism and the machinations within the US involved in the creation and support for the State of Israel is a history that has also largely been obscured from the public.  Who are the Zionists and why and how did they come to have such a strangle hold on US politics?  What is the nature of that power?  These and other questions will be addressed as Alison Weir discusses her new book, Against Our Better Judgment: The hidden history of how the U.S. was used to create Israel.

Speaker bio:

Alison Weir is executive director of If Americans Knew, a research and information-dissemination institute that focuses on Israel-Palestine, and president of the Council for the National Interest, an NGO based in Washington D.C. and founded by former Congressmen and diplomats. Weir first began to study the U.S.-Israel relationship after traveling to the Middle East as an independent journalist in 2001. She has lectured internationally on the American connection to the region, and her essays and articles have appeared in a number of books and magazines, including The New Intifada (Verso), Censored 2005 (Seven Stories Press), Encyclopedia of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (Rienner), the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, Counterpunch, and The Link. Weir appeared on C-SPAN as a speaker at the historic National Summit to reassess U.S.-Israel "special relationship". She is currently working on part two of Against Our Better Judgment, which will examine the U.S.-Israel relationship from the 1950s up until the present day. She resides in Sacramento, CA.

Thanks to The Common Good Café

Camera by Todd Boyle

Kieth Bolender: Cuba Under Siege, Mon. 8/11 8-9 pm, Thurs. 1pm, Sun. 1am on SCM

Keith Bolender is a freelance journalist living in Toronto and a lecturer at the University of Toronto School of Continuing Education. He has written extensively on Cuban matters for a variety of North American publications. He is the author of Cuba Under Siege American policy, the Revolution and its People, and Voices from the other Side: An Oral History of Terrorism Against Cuba.  He is also a member of the Institute for Public Accuracy (IPA), where he is on their roster of experts for Cuban Affairs.

In this talk he reviews the history of the 50 year terror war waged against the Cuban people by the United States, examines it's causes and how it has effected Cuban society and shaped the revolution.

Thanks to the Seattle/Cuba Friendship Committee

8/1/14 Disclaimer: As of now this video is hung up in the machinery between Archive.org and Seattle Community Media and so whether this will broadcast on SCM Monday or not is up in the air.  Frankly I don't care at this point.  You can watch the video online by clicking the thumbnail as usual.  The show will also broadcast on FStv as scheduled but that's only because it's too late to change it.  At this time, I feel I have to say what I’m about to say to protect my own reputation.

The room for this talk was filled to the brim with Democratic Party true believers who paid $30 apiece and I hate to disappoint them but after Senator Warren's vote approving Israel's attack on Gaza, and even worse, her nonsensical statement touting "Israel's right to defend itself", I'm embarrassed and ashamed to broadcast this and am renouncing my support of Elizabeth Warren.  I'm sorry, mass murder of children and innocents is not "defense" and anyone who would vote for that or support that has no intellectual integrity or claim to moral authority and cannot be trusted or entrusted.

To be fair, the power and money of AIPAC reins supreme in Washington and all 100 Senators including Bernie Sanders and Al Franken also voted for this shameful resolution.  As I might point out, this was after 400 people had already been slaughtered and in the face of world-wide condemnation.  The IDF is deliberately targeting homes, hospitals, schools, UN shelters, children playing, water and power stations and all sorts of civilian infrastructure.  All of it is a war crime.

The US Senate has the blood of children on it's hands and shit on its face and it is coming back to haunt them this time.  Because of the internet, the Corporate Media can no longer get away with painting black as white.  They have been forced to cover it.  The only national politician I can think of recently who had the courage to state the obvious about Israel is Dennis Kucinich.  I would support him if he ran for President but I will not support Elizabeth Warren.  Any respect I may have had for any of the other Senators is in the trash bin also.  Mass murder cannot be a political calculation.  Calculate me out.  If you too are outraged by this, I think it's about time to give their office a call.

Mediaite: Watch Elizabeth Warren Bolt Away from Question About Gaza

Salon: Noam Chomsky vs. Al Franken: Behind the odd progressive divide between senators, intellectuals on Gaza

Writeup:
In her first year as senior senator of Massachusetts, Senator Elizabeth Warren has become a liberal political hero and a lively, say-it-like-it-is star of what might otherwise be a dull Senate floor. You can hear Warren speak yourself as she presents her new memoir about her journey from small-town Oklahoma to the political chambers of Washington, D.C. that is as passionate, funny and rabble rousing as Warren herself. Join us for an evening with the Senator, and if rumors turn out to be true, you might even be able to say you met a future presidential front-runner.

Elizabeth Ann Warren is an American academic and politician who is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. She was previously a Harvard Law School professor specializing in bankruptcy law. Warren is an active consumer protection advocate whose work led to the conception and establishment of the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. She has written a number of academic and popular works, and is a frequent subject of media interviews regarding the American economy and personal finance.

Thanks to University Bookstore and University Temple United Methodist Church

Dr. Gabor Maté: On the Nature of Addiction, Mon. 7/28 8-9 pm, Thurs. 1pm, Sun. 1am on SCM

What the foremost expert on addiction had to say may not appear to be political on the surface but the implications are not only deeply political but revolutionary and controversial.  Dr. Maté debunks both the punitive law enforcement and current medical approaches to the problem and treatment of addiction because as he reveals, addiction is neither a moral defect or a brain disease.  He says addiction is a natural adaptation to suffering caused by early life trauma and as he laid out in a recent talk at Kane Hall, a "sick society".

He says that all of his patients suffer from childhood trauma and in a broader sense, especially in the US, we are programmed to believe that happiness comes from “getting” whereas as he says, happiness actually comes from “service”.   He said that as tribal animals we are biologically programmed this way.  I.e., our propaganda programming directly contradicts our biological programming.  This is the psychological underpinning of why North Americans are the most plagued by addictive behaviors which as he pointed out doesn't necessarily mean substance abuse.   Therefore neither approaches address the root causes of addiction which is a natural attempt to escape from pain which people are unable to deal with.  And this is why he has been one of the foremost proponents of a harm reduction model vs. the abstinence model embraced by both 12 step treatment programs and the prison industrial complex.

We couldn’t use the talk from the Kane Hall because as is so often the case, the PA system was constantly feeding back.  So we taped another talk at Rich Lang’s church.  This talk is a discussion between Dr. Maté and East Asian Medicine practitioner Rebekah Demirel and includes a discussion of the latest insights of Western medicine and the traditional wisdom of Eastern practices in relation to addiction and compares the difference.  I.e. treating symptoms vs. causes.

Gabor Gabor Maté, MD, is a physician, author, seminar leader, and acclaimed public speaker.  His best-selling books include Scattered, When the Body Says No, and Hold onto Your Kids. A former medical columnist for The Vancouver Sun and The Globe and Mail, he lives in Vancouver, BC.

Thanks to University Bookstore and University Temple United Methodist Church

Camera by Todd Boyle

The author of 13 books, Rebecca Solnit writes on art, landscape, public and collective life, ecology, politics, hope, meandering, reverie, memory, and the power of story. Her most recent work, The Faraway Nearby, explores the ways we make our lives out of stories, and how we are connected by empathy, by narrative, and by imagination. Her earlier books include River of Shadows: Eadweard Muybridge and the Technological Wild West (2004), for which she received a Guggenheim, the National Book Critics Circle Award in criticism, and the Lannan Literary Award.

Thanks to Seattle Town Hall and Seattle Arts & Lectures

Jake Rosenfeld: What Unions No Longer Do, Mon. 7/14 8-9 pm, Thurs. 1pm, Sun. 1am on SCM

The presence of strong, organized labor has historically been linked with less inequality. From their post-WWII peak to present day, the decline of labor unions has had a concrete effect on economic and political equality. In his book, What Unions No Longer Do, Jake Rosenfeld explores this concept, highlighting the positive contributions unions have made over time to society by strengthening the middle class and improving workplace fairness. Jake Rosenfeld, Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Washington, emphasizes the negative effects caused by our modern-day lack of unions. According to Rosenfeld, potential wage increases, conditions in the workplace, and immigrant assimilation are on standby without the leg up unions offer. He gives insight into a future without unions, analyzing how their absence is hindering progress and negatively impacting workers across the country.

Thanks to Town Hall Seattle and Elliott Bay Books

Julene Bair: The Ogallala Road, Mon. 7/7 8-9 pm, Thurs. 1pm, Sun. 1am on SCM

The Ogallala Aquifer — which serves as the primary water reserve for Kansas, Oklahoma, and six other states — could be depleted by the year 2060. When the legacy of small family farms meets industrialized society, something has to give. The Ogallala Road: A Memoir of Love and Reckoning chronicles Julene Bair’s quest to come to terms with this legacy — one where inheriting family land holds value, but also drains an important geographic resource. Bair highlights “an environmental crisis that, for most of us, remains unseen” in her powerful descriptions of the Great Plains, but also discusses making difficult choices, finding love, and creating the future she wants for herself.  A native of Kansas, Bair is also the author of One Degree West: Reflections of a Plainsdaughter.

Thanks to Seattle Town Hall & University Book Store

Glenn Greenwald: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and U.S. National Surveillance State, Mon. 6/28 8-9 pm, Thurs. 1pm, Sun. 1am on SCM

When Glenn Greenwald met an anonymous source in 2013 for The Guardian, he never imagined it would be NSA contractor Edward Snowden. No Place to Hide is the full story of what he learned about the government’s systematic spying, with never-before-seen evidence supplied by Snowden. Called an “impassioned new book” by The New York Times, Greenwald’s analysis of the political ramifications of The Guardian’s coverage (which earned a 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service) raises questions about ethics, government activities, and what he believes is the current “toxic status” of the media. Co-founder of watchdog media outlet The Intercept, Greenwald is also the author of With Liberty and Justice for Some.

Thanks to: Seattle Town Hall, Haymarket Books and the Glaser Progress Foundation

An Evening with Rebecca Solnit, Mon. 6/23 8-9 pm, Thurs. 1pm, Sun. 1am on SCM

The author of 13 books, Rebecca Solnit writes on art, landscape, public and collective life, ecology, politics, hope, meandering, reverie, memory, and the power of story. Her most recent work, The Faraway Nearby, explores the ways we make our lives out of stories, and how we are connected by empathy, by narrative, and by imagination. Her earlier books include River of Shadows: Eadweard Muybridge and the Technological Wild West (2004), for which she received a Guggenheim, the National Book Critics Circle Award in criticism, and the Lannan Literary Award.

Thanks to Seattle Town Hall and Seattle Arts & Lectures

Angela Davis: Mass Incarceration in the U.S. & Palestine, Mon. 6/16 8-9 pm, Thurs. 1pm, Sun. 1am on SCM

Part Two of the two part keynote talk from this year's Peace Works 2014 Conference presented by the Rachel Corrie Foundation titled- Yet Again as Prisoners: Mass Incarceration in the U.S. & Palestine, A Conversation With Angela Davis and Noura Erakat.

This episode features Angela Davis - Political activist, scholar, and author, Black Power leader in 1960s, political prisoner in the 1970s, Founder of Critical Resistance, an organization working to abolish the prison-industrial complex, Radical feminist, Marxist and lesbian, Vice Presidential candidate for the Communist Party in 1990s, and a Professor in the California university system since the 1970s.

Also featured is Angela in conversation with Noura Erakat - human rights attorney and writer, Teaching Fellow at Temple University, Beasley School of Law and member of Legal Support Network for the Badil Center for Palestinian Refugee and Residency Rights.  Also a cofounder of Arab Women Arising for Justice (AMWAJ) and board member of the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS), and the Trans-Arab Research Institute (TARI); a Policy Advisor of Al-Shabaka.

Cameras by Ed Mays and Todd Boyle

Noura Erakat: Mass Incarceration in the U.S. & Palestine, Mon. 6/9 8-9 pm, Thurs. 1pm, Sun. 1am on SCM

Part one of the two part keynote talk from this year's Peace Works 2014 Conference presented by the Rachel Corrie Foundation titled- Yet Again as Prisoners: Mass Incarceration in the U.S. & Palestine, A Conversation With Angela Davis and Noura Erakat.

This episode features Noura Erakat - human rights attorney and writer, Teaching Fellow at Temple University, Beasley School of Law and member of Legal Support Network for the Badil Center for Palestinian Refugee and Residency Rights. Also a cofounder of Arab Women Arising for Justice (AMWAJ) and board member of the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS), and the Trans-Arab Research Institute (TARI); a Policy Advisor of Al-Shabaka.

Also featured is Noura in conversation with Angela Davis - Political activist, scholar, and author, Black Power leader in 1960s, political prisoner in the 1970s, Founder of Critical Resistance, an organization working to abolish the prison-industrial complex, Radical feminist, Marxist and lesbian, Vice Presidential candidate for the Communist Party in 1990s, and a Professor in the California university system since the 1970s.

Cameras by Ed Mays and Todd Boyle

Nomi Prins: All the Presidents' Bankers, Mon. 6/2 8-9 pm, Thurs. 1pm, Sun. 1am on SCM

The longstanding relationship between Wall Street and the White House has often been described as a “revolving door,” with both camps benefiting from the connection. All the Presidents’ Bankers: The Hidden Alliances that Drive American Power offers an inside look at the political and economic web spun between these two giants. Journalist Nomi Prins traces the history of this partnership, from the creation of the Federal Reserve in 1907 to bankers’ influence on politics after the financial crisis of 2008. A former Wall Street executive, Prins unravels the Ivy League schools, fishing trips, marriages, and job offers that thicken these ties each year. By recycling power and keeping it “in the family,” Wall Street and the White House have become mutually beneficial entities, working together to shape national — and international — politics. According to Prins, these ties have had devastating consequences and the time has come to break them before it’s too late.

Thanks to Seattle Town Hall and Third Place Books

Never before in the history of the United States has our system been so openly corrupted by big money. Our democracy has been overtaken by corporate interests who have bought favor with politicians, putting up huge roadblocks to any legislation that benefits We The People. But all over the country people are also fighting back and demanding change.

Now is the time to take our power back by supporting a constitutional amendment that says that corporations are not people and that money is not speech.

• Over 80% of Americans support an amendment.

• Over 140 groups are working to GET THE MONEY OUT of politics

• 16 states and hundreds of cities have called for a constitutional amendment.

• The 113th Congress proposed 14 amendments

• Over 150 members of Congress support a constitutional amendment.

There are several ways to amend the constitution but the State of Washington is the only state that currently has an initiative campaign [I-1329]. There are also currently two bills in congress, one proposed by Rep. Alan Grayson (D FL 8) and one on the Senate side proposed by Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY). Rep. Jim McDermot and Patty Murray are co-sponsors but at this time Maria Cantwell has not signed on. All these efforts need our help. To give the campaign momentum, the 28th Amendment National Roadshow recently came to Seattle. This program contains two keynote speeches:

Labor Organizer and historian Mark McDermott gives a powerful presentation outlining the history of the struggles for constitutional amendments to curb corporate abuse and win the franchise. This is followed by a fiery speech by John Nichols Washington correspondent for The Nation.

Get involved: www.WAmend.org

With our wide disparities in income and educational opportunities, of criminal justice outcomes, and with overt and subtle political repression, Pulitzer Prize-winner David Cay Johnston has called the US “the most unequal of developed nations.” Johnston, the best-selling author of Free Lunch, Perfectly Legal, and The Fine Print, has now edited the collection Divided: The Perils of Our Growing Inequality, which brings together economists, politicians, journalists, and scholars to investigate this culture of inequality, and–most important–what it holds for our country’s future.

Thanks to Seattle Town Hall and Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility

Pulitzer Prize-winner Hedrick Smith’s 2012 Who Stole the American Dream? explored the title’s often-asked question, giving a definitive history of when, how, and why the “American Dream” fell apart. Smith’s book looked at the political and economic changes of the past 40 years, pinpointing moments in history where wrong turns were taken. The beginnings of 401(k), policy changes under popular presidents, and economics behind some of the country’s most powerful CEOs are all analyzed in his bestselling book. Now, he turns his lens on current economic and policy trends unfolding across the country, with an emphasis on recent developments in Washington State such as the Boeing labor union story. He argues that before moving toward the future, Americans need to analyze and learn from past economic and political mistakes — to fix what was broken by others long ago — suggesting concrete, much-needed reforms for the future.

In addition to being an award-winning NYT journalist, Smith is the bestselling author of The Russians and The Power Game as well as a former PBS Frontline producer and correspondent.

Thanks to Seattle Town Hall and Elliott Bay Books

Pete Bohmer & Marti Schmidt: Venezuela - The Story the Media Isn't Telling Us, Mon. 4/21 8-9 pm, Thurs. 1pm, Sun. 1am on SCM

For over a month, US and Venezuelan media outlets have been issuing stories about demonstrations and violence in the streets of Venezuela. However, what is the real story of the current situation in Venezuela? Who are the demonstrators and who are the leaders of the opposition to the government now led by President Nicolas Maduro? What is the state of the Bolivarian revolution started by Hugo Chavez? What role is the US playing in Venezuela and throughout the entire region?

This program features Marti Schmidt from the National Lawyers Guild who went to Venezuela last December 2013 to witness the municipal elections and Pete Bohmer, Professor at Evergreen State College, who spent several months in Venezuela in 2009 and 2012 and continues to follow Venezuelan developments.

Sponsored by LELO, National Lawyers Guild, Olympia Movement for Peace and Justice, US Women and Cuba Collaboration, Seattle/Cuba Friendship Committee, Community Alliance for Global Justice, & CISPES.

Nick Turse: Revisiting War Crimes During the War in Viet Nam, Mon. 4/14 8-9 pm, Thurs. 1pm, Sun. 1am on SCM

Join us for a talk by Nick Turse, author of the controversial and acclaimed Kill Anything That Moves (2013) about US war crimes during the war in Viet Nam, and The Complex: How the Military Invades Our Everyday Lives.  The event recorded at the University of Washington in January 2014 also featured a rare showing of the  1972 documentary "Winter Soldier" recorded at the historic Winter Soldier hearings conducted by the Viet Nam Veterans Against the War and featured testimony from veterans about the war crimes they had committed.  The program opens with clips from the movie to set the context.

After his talk, Nick was joined by Bill Turley (noted scholar of the war in Viet Nam), Mike Dedrick (Veterans For Peace), and Judith Henchy, a South East Asia historian from the UW.

The documentary "Winter Soldier" can be found online:

Pt 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oi79cTk7HP0

Pt 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaCFhn5v0gU

Pt 3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Waa_o1-qBGg

Pt 4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yp0u9jdwIgM

Pt 5 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BmGj6mXdwM

Pt 6 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yN4OmPmvK_g

Pt 7 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asIyzNaNMmg

About the Participants:

Nick Turse is a historian, author, journalist, essayist and the associate editor and research director of the Nation Institute's Tomdispatch.com and the winner of a 2009 Ridenhour Prize for Reportorial Distinction as well as a James Aronson Award for Social Justice Journalism. His work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, The Nation, In These Times, and regularly at TomDispatch. Turse is currently a fellow at New York University's Center for the United States and the Cold War. A paperback edition of his book The Complex: How the Military Invades Our Everyday Lives (Metropolitan Books) was published earlier this year.

William S. Turley, (PhD, University of Washington) was born in Wallace, Idaho, and grew up in Washington state. During his graduate studies in political science at the University of Washington, Seattle, he studied in Vietnam in 1967-68. He earned his PhD in 1972 with a dissertation on the Vietnam People's Army, was a Ford Foundation Research Associate at Saigon University in 1972-1973, and taught at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok in 1982-1984 as a Fulbright lecturer. He served as professor emeritus at Southern Illinois University, and has published widely on Vietnamese politics, international relations, and economic policy reform.

Mike Dedrick, Served as an Interrogator/Linguist with the 519th Military Intelligence Battalion in Vietnam from November 1967 to November 1968, in Cho Lon, Saigon.  He  worked at the Combined Military Interrogation Center, and witnessed many civilian deaths as the result of US bombs, napalm and rockets.  That experience led to Vietnam Veterans Against the War, where he served as Regional Coordinator, Washington State, 1971-1972.  He graduated from the University of Washington with a BA in History.  He has also served as a counselor with the GI Rights Hot Line, and is currently a member of Veterans For Peace Chapter 92.

Judith Henchy (Ph.D., History, University of Washington) 
heads up the UW Libraries, Southeast Asia Section, 20th Century Vietnamese history.

See also: www.NickTurse.com

Video by Todd Boyle

Kshama Sawant and Charles Mudede: Why Socialism, Why Now?, Mon. 4/7 8-9 pm, Thurs. 1pm, Sun. 1am on SCM

Seattle has a socialist on its city council for the first time in 100 years. Kshama Sawant’s recent election raised a lot of questions around the values of the Socialist Alternative Party and her platform of raising the minimum wage to $15. She’ll join Charles Mudede, Associate Editor at The Stranger, for an exploration of socialism’s impact on the city council and why, after seeing previous socialist candidates, the city is ready for socialism now. What circumstances made the election of a socialist not only possible, but timely?

Thanks to Seattle Town Hall

Ann Jones: The Everlasting Scars of War, Mon. 3/31 8-9 pm, Thurs. 1pm, Sun. 1am on SCM

Nearly 30 percent of soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan will suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Of these veterans, some will continue to suffer lifelong symptoms, some receive treatment, and others return to the battlefield. By embedding with U.S. troops in the Middle East, journalist Ann Jones saw firsthand the psychological effects of war. Her latest book They Were Soldiers: How the Wounded Return from America’s Wars: The Untold Story examines the “untold story” of collateral damage — the physical and mental state of returning soldiers. She expertly weaves a picture of the unseen scars, psychological torment, and the internal wars veterans continue to face daily. Drug addiction, suicide, violence against women, and other negative impacts of serving in war are often forgotten, but Jones’ book is a critical look at the direct toll war takes on not only veterans, but the field doctors, parents, children, and neighbors of our troops, analyzing just how far America’s promise to support our troops really goes.

Extra Bonus: Music by Jim Page

Thanks to Seattle Town Hall and Elliott Bay Books

Camera by Todd Boyle

When Fox News emerged in 1996, the media, politics and the public were forever divided. In a painstakingly researched new biography, New York Magazine’s Gabriel Sherman has chronicled the rise of Roger Ailes, the man behind it all. Called the “conservative kingmaker” for his uncanny ability to court, popularize and help elect Republican candidates to office, Ailes has built up his empire and become the single most influential member of conservative media. In The Loudest Voice in the Room: How the Brilliant, Bombastic Roger Ailes Built Fox News — and Divided a Country, Sherman pulls back the curtain on this mysterious figure, his humble beginnings, his unparalleled gift for influence, “legendary paranoia” and tumultuous relationship with boss Rupert Murdoch. Sherman will appeared in conversation with best selling writer and New York Times “Opinionator” columnist Timothy Egan. As Sherman assembles the many pieces of Ailes and Fox, what will the puzzle reveal?

Thanks to Seattle Town Hall and University Book Store

McKenzie Funk: The Booming Business of Global Warming, Mon. 3/10 8-9 pm, Thurs. 1pm, Sun. 1am on SCM

Climate change has contributed to melting glaciers, drought and other growing environmental problems–it’s also made a lot of money for a lot of people.  In Windfall: The Booming Business of Global Warming, McKenzie Funk explores how big businesses are manipulating environmental trends to make a quick buck.  Following the growing artificial snow industry in Israel, innovative engineering designs and investment schemes around water control, Funk expertly unveils the hidden, money-making side to this environmental crisis.  A veteran journalist whose writing appears in Outside, National Geographic, Harper’s and Rolling Stone, Funk tracked earth’s “melt, drought and deluge” cycles for the past six years, and discovered that instead of solving the problem, we’re taking advantage of the warming.  While some may profit, others may be collateral damage in this “windfall.”

Thanks to Seattle Town Hall and University Bookstore

Global environmental activist Lester Brown, praised by the Washington Post as “one of the world’s most influential thinkers,” built his understanding of food and scarcity issues from the ground up. His father moved from farmhand to owner of a small farm, and as a teenager, Brown created a successful tomato business. Living in India while working for the USDA, he pieced together the clues that would lead him to sound the alarm on an impending famine, and his urgent warning to the U.S. and Indian governments helped save millions of lives. Now, Brown, founder of the Earth Policy and Worldwatch institutes, explains how the global food system is endangered by the unfolding ecological crises, rising affluence, population growth, and shrinking water supplies.

Cameras by Todd Boyle
Thanks to Seattle Town Hall, Sustainable Path Foundation, and University Book Store

Two Whistleblowers Discuss Speaking Truth to Power and the Snowden Effect’s Impact on Our Society.  Former NSA Senior Executive turned NSA whistleblower Thomas Drake, along with former ethics advisor to the Justice Department Jesselyn Radack, also a whistleblower, spoke at the Washington State History Museum in Tacoma.  Both Drake and Radack are featured in the Robert Greenwald film "War on Whistleblowers."

JESSEYLN RADACK, 42, is a former ethics adviser to the U.S. Dept. of Justice who turned whistleblower when she disclosed the FBI’s ethics violations in the investigation of John Walker Lindh, denied an attorney in the aftermath of his capture during the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan. An honors graduate of Brown University and Yale Law School, Radack is the director of National Security & Human Rights at the Government Accountability Project, the nation’s leading whistleblower support organization. A few days after this talk, Radack who represents Edward Snowden was detained while going through customs at London’s Heathrow Airport. She says she was subjected to "very hostile questioning" about Snowden and her trips to Russia. Radack also learned she might be on an "inhibited persons list," a designation reportedly used by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to require further vetting of certain passengers. Radack is just one of a growing number of people who are being stopped, harassed and interrogated for their work around Snowden, WikiLeaks and National Security Agency documents.

THOMAS DRAKE, 56, is a former senior executive of the National Security Agency as well as a decorated veteran of the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy. When Drake turned whistleblower, the U.S. government threw the Espionage Act at him and threatened him with 30 years in prison. Drake rejected several deals because he refused to “plea bargain with the truth,” and the U.S. Dept. of Justice eventually dropped all ten of its original charges.

Sponsored by People for Peace Justice & Healing. Co-sponsors include Veterans for Peace and United for Peace of Pierce County.

Cameras by Ed Mays & Todd Boyle

Child Prostitution is not a victimless crime.  The average age for youth being recruited for protestation is 13-14 years old.  90% of sexually exploited and trafficked youth have a history of abuse, neglect or trauma.  50-60% of them are in the foster care system.  Child prostitutes routinely experience physical, verbal, emotional, sexual abuse and most display symptoms of severe PTSD. Sexual exploitation is driven by the demand for commercial sex.

According to Justice Dept. statistics, Seattle ranks 3rd world-wide in child prostitution.  But Seattle is also a very progressive city and has also become a world leader in developing innovative responses to the crisis with an emphasis on harm reduction.  Over the past 2 years leaders in King County have collaborated and developed innovative programs to respond to victims and prevent future victims.  Learn how leaders in criminal justice, social services, government, business, philanthropy, and survivors of prostitution have joined forces to implement effective programs that declare:  Not on Our Watch!

See also: Stolen Youth

John De Graaf: Happiness, Time, and Sustainability- Lessons from Bhutan, Mon. 2/10 8-9 pm, Thurs. 1pm, Sun. 1am on SCM

What matters most--policy change or personal change? What word better explains what we all want--happiness or well-being? How do we measure our success? The answers may surprise you.

As we celebrate Take Back Your Time Day on October 24, TBYT's Executive Director will lead a discussion of the connections between time balance, happiness and ecological sustainability, suggesting that a reduction in American working hours could increase jobs, improve happiness and well-being and reduce our ecological footprint. John will talk about the New Development Paradigm model he and others developed this past winter with the government of Bhutan for the United Nations, and explain Bhutan's concept of Gross National Happiness.

Thanks to the Common Good Café
Camera by Todd Boyle

Ian Haney Lopez: Dog Whistle Politics, Mon. 2/3 8-9 pm, Thurs. 1pm, Sun. 1am on SCM

In the last presidential campaign we saw attack ads from both parties, but most prominent were the ones indirectly targeting Obama’s race. Described as a “food stamp president,” President Obama still faces racism. According to Ian Haney Lopez, Professor of Law at UC Berkeley, this isn’t the first time racial language has been used in politics. Terms like “welfare queen” have indirectly mentioned race by playing off of modern stereotypes associated with minorities and welfare. But what effect has this had on the general public?

Tying together some of the most prominent themes in politics, Haney Lopez’s new book, Dog Whistle Politics: How Coded Racial Appeals Have Reinvented Racism and Wrecked the Middle Class, explores the connection between “dog whistle” appeals and the destruction of the Middle Class. He explores the history of race in politics and how “dog whistle” tactics undermine liberalism and add to growing economic insecurity of the Middle Class. Given this trend, what will the 2016 election hold?

Thanks to Seattle Town Hall and Elliott Bay Books

The Fight for 15! $15 an Hour Minimum Wage Launch Rally, Mon. 1/27 8-9 pm, Thurs. 1pm, Sun. 1am on SCM

Across the country low-wage workers are rising up, protesting, and striking for a $15/hour minimum wage. Here in Seattle the movement is poised in 2014 to be the first major U.S. city to win $15. Already we have seen the impact of the fast food workers' movement and the electrifying victory of Kshama Sawant with the new Seattle mayor signing an executive order lifting the wages of all city workers to $15. This victory is a taste of what's possible when working people rise up and make themselves heard. 

But big business will not let this pass without a fight. They will mobilize their resources to derail, delay, and dilute efforts to end the poverty wages that are the source of their profits. The only way we can counter the power of Corporate America is by building a massive grassroots campaign with local neighborhood and campus groups, town hall meetings, mass rallies, and strikes. 

Newly elected Seattle Council-member Kshama Sawant, along with a growing list of workers, unions, and activists, have come together to form the 15 Now! campaign. Sunday Jan. 12th, the kick off rally for this historic campaign was held at the jam packed King County Labor Council hall. This program contains highlights from this electrifying event. 

Speakers include: 
Katie Wilson (MC), Transit Riders Union
Dave Freiboth, Executive Secretary, King Co. Labor Council
Adbi Mohamed - Somali American Public Advocacy Committee who played a key role in the struggle for $15/hr in Seatac
Joe Higgins, Socialist Party Ireland, Member of Irish Parliament, Committee for a Workers International
Kshama Sawant, City Councilwoman -Socialist, Seattle 

Cameras by Ed Mays and Todd Boyle

Pirate TV Special Broadcast 

Community Forum on Public Transportation, Wed. 1/29 4-5:30 pm, Wed. 2/5 4-5:30 pm on SCM

Seattle Central Community College in partnership with the Transit Riders Union, the Student Government of Seattle University, and King County Metro, join students, faculty, staff, county officials and community members for an informative discussion on the past, present and future state of public transportation in the Seattle metro area. Opens with a short presentation on the history of cuts to King County Metro, current funding sources, and climate in the legislature. Directly following the presentation, panel addresses critical questions regarding the situation. 

Moderator: Dominic Holden - Editor of the Stranger
Chris Arkills, King County Metro
Robin Tartow, American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Ty Pethe, Local 304 Washington Federation of State Employees
Alex Brennan, Capitol Hill housing
Tanary Gomez, rep., Seattle University Student Government
Beau Morton, Katie Wilson & Elbaradie - Transit Riders Union

To learn more on the situation here are some resources: King County details major service cuts http://tinyurl.com/ozk988t

Visit the Transit Riders Union website here: http://transitriders.org/

Seattle Transit Blog: A Closer Look At Metro’s Cuts http://tinyurl.com/kb5hnlj

King County Metro is scheduling elimination of 74 bus routes and service reductions on another 107 routes, because of Rightwing state legislators like Rodney Tom. State of WA only spends 2-4% of the budget on bus transit, they spend over 50% on roads. Meanwhile King County taxpayers are the biggest money donor in State, getting back only 2/3s of the tax money we send to Olympia returning here in services. Watch the video! And join the Transit Riders Union!

Video by Todd Boyle 

Kieth McHenry: The Case For Food Not Bombs, Mon. 1/20 8-9 pm, Thurs. 1pm, Sun. 1am on SCM

Keith McHenry talks about the history of Food Not Bombs! This event was hosted by the UW Student Food Cooperative and funded by the Associated Students of the University Washington (ASUW). Introduction by Carl Chatzky

For more information, visit uwsfc.com.

Video by Todd Boyle

Peggy Kelsey: Conversations with Afghan Women, Mon. 1/13 8-9 pm, Thurs. 1pm, Sun. 1am on SCM

Austin photographer Peggy Kelsey traveled to Afghanistan in 2003 and 2010 to photograph and interview women about their lives. She chronicled these stories in her book: Gathering Strength: Conversations with Afghan Women. Join us as she shares some of these stories and pictures of remarkable women who struggle for liberation and to rebuild a country ravaged by war.

Thanks to Seattle Town Hall and University Book Store

Erik Assadourian and Annie Leonard: Is Sustainability Still Possible? Mon. 1/6 8-9 pm, Thurs. 1pm, Sun. 1am on SCM 
These days, the word sustainable has become practically meaningless, with most “sustainable” products just a step less bad than conventional alternatives.  And because of the power of such “sustainababble,” the world largely has ignored the rich spectrum of political, cultural, and technological changes that would set us on the path to a truly sustainable future.  The new State of the World 2013—which features contributions from experts at the Worldwatch Institute, such as Senior Fellow Erik Assadourian, as well as from environmental thought leaders such as The Story of Stuff author Annie Leonard—argues that while the science of sustainability is clearer than ever, we still face the question of whether transforming our society into one guided by sustainability is even possible. Assadourian and Leonard are joined in conversation by Chip Giller, founder and president of Grist.

Thanks to Seattle Town Hall and the Worldwatch Institute