Show for March 2, 2008

Guests: TJ Johnson, Geov Parrish

** The geek in me says, "Go listen to the last episode of TWiT - a group interview with Jonathan Coulton - brilliant!"
** Microsoft: Windows XP faster than Vista SP1 in some cases, ComputerWorld
- this is lovely; I'm a Vista user since last summer and am still waiting for something in it to be better than XP.
* Microsoft chops Vista retail prices, C|Net News
* Caffeine: A User's Guide to Getting Optimally Wired, Developing Intelligence

Local
* Fee increase plan outrages some in Thurston County; approval would recoup costs in permit process, Olympian via TJ
* War critic to run for Congress, Olympian via TJ
* Lacey rules written permission must be given to panhandle, Olympian via TJ

National/International
* Feed The World? We Are Fighting a Losing Battle, UN Admits, Common Dreams via The Guardian/UK via TJ
* Nobel Laureate Estimates Wars’ Cost at More Than $3 Trillion, Common Dreams via McClatchy via TJ
* Comcast Admits Paying Attendees at FCC Hearing, Common Dreams via The Philadelphia Inquirer via TJ
* Outspoken Scientist Dismissed From Panel on Chemical Safety, Common Dreams via the LA Times via TJ
* 1 in 100 Adults Now in Prison; 2,319,258 Americans Behind Bars in 2008, Most of Any Nation, Common Dreams via the Baltimore Sun via TJ (I heard this one on NPR)
* Vets Break Silence on War Crimes, by Aaron Glantz, Common Dreams via InterPress Service via TJ

Show for February 24, 2008

Guests: TJ Johnson, Geov Parrish

Local/Regional
* Lacey council struggles with tent city proposal, Olympian
* Police riot at Evergreen
- footage released by Geoduck Student Union, part one and part two.
- Professor to students: 'We need to deal with this among ourselves', Olympian
* Bill orders firm steps to make state 'greener', Seattle PI
- It targets miles driven, gases emitted, boosts earth-friendly jobs

National/International
* US Supreme Court Throws Out Wire-Tapping Case, Common Dreams via TJ
* Children Are Forty Percent of Cluster Bomb Casualties, Common Dreams via TJ
* Musharraf Urged To Go as Rivals Win Pakistan Poll, Common Dreams via TJ
* Rigged Trials at Gitmo, Common Dreams via TJ
* Nader announces run for president, Olympian

He ruled out the possibility that he would prevent a Democratic victory in 2008. “Not a chance,” he said. “If the Democrats can’t landslide the Republicans this year, they ought to just pack up, close down, and re-emerge in a different form.”

* The Candidates on Nader, NY Times
* Michael Moore says insurance industry would love Clinton’s healthcare plan, The Hill.com
* Police concerned about order to stop weapons screening at Obama rally, Fort-Worth Star-Telegram
- geez, is Obama about to become another Bobby Kennedy? Does someone in the secret service have it in for him? Makes one recall the Eddie Murphy routine of the first black president ducking as he's giving a speech.
* Secret Service defends security at Obama rally in Dallas, Fort-Worth Star Telegram
* Philip Giraldi: What FBI whistle-blower Sibel Edmonds found in translation; why is her story being covered up?, Dallas Morning News
* Castro Steps Down, Rejects Idea of Political Change, AP
* Raul Castro becomes Cuba's leader, Olympian

Show for February 17, 2008

Today we'll feature an episode of NAMAPAHH First People's Radio which can usually be heard on KVSR out of Mt. Vernon.

I've lost my voice, so I'll be talking as little as possible. Thanks to Robin Carneen who does great work.

Here's a summary of the show:
This segment of NAMAPAHH First People's Radio is an underwater environmental focus involving a team
effort by NW Tribes working alongside multiple agencies and each other, in compliance with Washington State Govenor Christine Gregoire's Puget Sound Imitative, which has made it a priority to clean up, restore protect and enhance sites that are in found in need of such actions by the year 2020.

In the Fall of 2007, after the Samish Indian Nation, located in Anacortes, WA was awarded $160,000 from the Washington State Department of Ecology.With part of the funds the Samish Tribe contracted the Nisqually Aquatic Technologies, Inc. (NAT) and Ridolfi Inc. These experts started conducting studies in October '07 along the Tommy Thompson Trail. The NAT team is made up of Nisqually, Squaxin and Puyallup divers whose specialty is collecting samples, conducting underwater filming; examination of structures and marine life, and providing data to tribes and agencies that contract with them.

This trail, which belongs to the City of Anacortes, is partially made up of a rock causeway and a train trestle.

It is a very popular public walking and biking trail unique to Skagit County, extending from Fidalgo Bay Resort and RV Park (owned and operated by the Samish) across the 40 acres of tide lands, reaching the shores of the functioning Anacortes Refinery which sits on March's Point across the Fidalgo Bay.

According to the Samish Indian Nation, tidal flow is possibly being impeded by the trestle and they would like to possibly build a "greenway" to replace it. There is also a concern of creosote possibly leaking from the old pilings into Fidalgo Bay. This threat could be creating a toxic environment for the food chain and other life force above and below the surface. The Samish tribe has been studying and monitoring Fidalgo Bay but needed to dive deeper to collect more justification for clean up efforts and build the proposed new trail that would be more environmentally compatible.

The Puget Sound is a gem to many Native Americans and others in Washington State. It has historically been a source of food for many of the Salish people and they are familiar with the conditions of this valuable, irreplaceable resource. They are natural
stewards when it comes to protecting, studying it and problem solving around the many layers of concerns that may be lurking beneath the surface, that are being investigated by those that are involved.

Featured Speakers/guests: Seth Preston- Communications Manager with Washington Department of Ecology Toxins Clean Up and Air Quality Program and originally from Skagit County; Leslie Eastwood- Samish Tribal Member and General Manager of the Samish Tribe; Christine Woodward- Natural Resource director for the Samish tribe;
Dennis Lucia- Nisqually Tribal Member and head of the Nisqually Aquatics Technologies dive team;
Sandra Caldwell-project lead for the Washington department of Ecology's toxins clean up program;
Monty Season- one of the six man NAT dive team and a Nisqually tribal member; Colin Wagner(CEO Ridolphi, Inc-project manager of Samish Feasibility Study), Sherry Duncan (fish biologist), Hazel Delacruz (documentation)-Ridolfi Inc.

###


National
* Supreme Court Judge Antonin Scalia attempts to defend "so-called" torture tactics by U.S. government; derides European view of the death penalty
- rare interview given to BBC Radio 4 programme "Law in Action". So far, no mention of this at all in U.S. press.
- I am simply amazed at this and so angered that this man can sit on our highest, most esteemed court.

International
* Exxon Mobil cut off from Venezuela's oil, CNN

Good News!
* Russia, China Propose New Treaty to Ban Arms in Space, Agency France Press via Common Dreams
(. . . the bad news is that the Bush Administration, predictably, disagrees . . .)

Show for February 10, 2008

The Rosenfeld Family Radio Hour!

We take a slight twist from our usual format as I welcome on my brother, my dad and my daughter! We'll talk about news and play music. The news won't always be political news, so you'll have to excuse my indulgence into news topics that may, to some, seem trivial.

Jim Rosenfeld (aka, S. James Rosenfeld, esq., my dad, seen to the left with Obama) is a true political wonk and I would throw him in with the yellow-dog Democrats, as far as his political persuasion goes. Jim is currently the Director of Continuing Legal Education at Seattle University. He also possesses a curious mutant gene that enables him to pretty much always find the best parking spot anywhere he goes.

Seth Rosenfeld (my brother) is a producer in the video game industry and a former (and sometimes) illustrator of exceptional skill. He also is known to formely DJ in clubs in New York City and currently, in his living room. Seth is an avid gamer, science fiction afficianado and always on the cutting edge of pop culture, whether it be movies, books, games or trends. If you want to know what is interesting or cool or what will be interesting or cool, Seth is your man.


Zoe McPherson (my daughter) is . . . well . . . Zoe. I'll leave it at that and let you tune in the hear the wackiness. And if we're lucky, maybe Zoe will sing for us.

Here are some stories I'm currently following:
* CIA Director Acknowledges Waterboarding Use, BBC News via Digg
- Congress has been debating banning the use of waterboarding by the CIA - President Bush has threatened to veto such a bill - waterboarding is condemned as torture by rights groups and many governments.
* Waterboarding is legal, White House says, LA Times
* Veterans not entitled to mental health care, U.S. lawyers argue, San Francisco Chronicle via Hofgren
* Karl Rove Joins Fox News, The Trail, Washington Post Election Blog
* New Book Alleges 9/11 Commissioner Philip Zelikow Minimized Scrutiny of Bush Admin Failure to Prevent al-Qaeda Attack, Democracy Now!
- link to New York Times reporter Phillip Shenon speaking with Amy Goodman to talk about his new book, "The Commission: The Uncensored History of the 9/11 Investigation".
* Mississippi Law: "No fat people allowed in restaurants", Itola Tech News
* Romney calls it quits; what was interesting wasn't THAT he left but what he said as he left:

"If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Senator Clinton or Obama would win. And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign, be a part of aiding a surrender to terror."

Nice attempt at fearmongering and likening the Democratic candidates to terrorists.
* Millions Without a Voice, Amy Goodman on disenfranchised former felons who have their right to vote taken away, Common Dreams
* David Suzuki: Jail politicians who ignore climate science, National Post (Canadian)
- NOW you're talkin!
* 95 Journalists Killed Worldwide in 2007, World Association of Newspapers (WAN) via journalism.org
* Some Quotes from People Much Smarter Than I . . ., Current Era Blog

“Democracy is not about trust; it is about distrust. It is about accountability, exposure, open debate, critical challenge, and popular input and feedback from the citizenry. It is about responsible government. We have to get our fellow Americans to trust their leaders less and themselves more, trust their own questions and suspicions, and their own desire to know what is going on.”
-Michael Parenti

* Last Touch, via Digg.com
- courtesy of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney; may you both rot in hell.
* Biofuels Deemed a Greenhouse Threat, NY Times
* At Va. Campaign Rally, It's Establishment vs. Inspiration, Washignton Post
- insightful story about the popularity of Barack Obama and the difficulties that lie ahead for Hillary Clinton
* Obama Talks About Atheism, Digg.com