December 9, 2007 No Talking Heads

Guests to include TJ Johnson and Geov Parrish

Local/Regional
FLOODS!
* 'Freak of nature' may have fueled Lewis County floods, King5 News via Olyblog.net
* Long recovery awaits farmers, Olympian via TJ
* Lewis County family lost dairy cows and their home in flood, King 5 News
- The Washington Farm Bureau has established a Flood Relief Fund for farmers, ranchers and the agricultural community. To make a donation, call 800-331-3276.
* Rain too much for LOTT capacity; overflow washes into Budd Inlet, John Dodge from the Olympian
- I actually heard KAOS break this story early Monday morning on their Breakfast Special - Brett Clubbe was on it!
* Barner seeks delay on project, Olympian via TJ
* Tacoma terminal wants to bring uranium through port, Tacoma Weekly via TJ
- same material has been shipping through Port of Seattle for years with no apparrent accidents.
* Olympia nixes free Wi-Fi idea, Olympian

National
* Budget Makers Plan Tradeoff for War Funds, NY Times via TJ
* $1 Billion In Military Equipment Missing In Iraq, CBS News via Truthout.org via TJ
* Bush Goes Private to Spy on You, CorpWatch via Truthout.org via TJ
- the Bush administration is launching a new government agency that will rely heavily on private security contractors to conduct surveillance in the US.
* Bush Loses Ground With Military Families, Los Angeles Times via Truthout.org via TJ
* California Electoral Vote Plan Won't Make June Ballot, Los Angeles Times via Truthout.org via TJ
* Operation Iraqi Freedom Exposed: Bush Negotiates Permanent Presence in Iraq, by Marjorie Cohn via Common Dreams via TJ
* Embattled State Department Inspector General Resigns, McClatchy via Truthout.org via TJ
* Broad Energy Bill Passed by House, Washignton Post via Truthout.org via TJ
- Car mileage, renewable power addressed.
* US Intelligence Review Directly Contradicts Bush’s Line On Iran, InterPress Service via Common Dreams via TJ
* Leahy Plans Contempt Vote, Brattleboro Reformer (VT) via Common Dreams via TJ
* Food Prices Climbing, With No End in Sight, InterPress Service via Common Dreams via TJ
* CIA Destroyed Video of ‘Waterboarding’ Al-Qaida Detainees, The Guardian/UK via Common Dreams via TJ
* Iraq parliament grinds to halt as MPs make for Mecca, AFP via Yahoo News
* Iraq: The Hidden Human Costs, New York Review of Books

Post Show Notes
* Had a caller recommend the film "Shadow of the Salmon":

The story of a young man from Lakota Nation who comes to the Pacific Northwest to visit his Coastal Salish relatives. During his visit, he experiences many things, and learns much about salmon and the Northwest environment. He witnesses the annual Canoe Journey and helps respond to an oil spill in the river.

* We talked about the Port of Olympia Commission meeting for tomorrow, Monday, December 10th - should be a good one. It's at 5:30pm at 111 Market St NE or rebroadcast later on TCTV.
* The Alliance for Democracy has a website and you should check it out.
* Did development, logging set stage for disaster?, Seattle Times - this is the story Geov mentioned.

Show correction:
During the December 9 No Talking Heads episode, our guest noted the multi-modal transportation corridors planned by the “Security and Prosperity Partnership” (SPP) would be 10 football fields wide. Actually, these transportation corridors would be 4 football fields wide at their widest points. Our guest contacted the show to let us know of the inadvertent misstatement. To learn more about the SPP, visit http://www.sounddemocracy.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=94&Itemid=46 and http://www.canadians.org/DI/index.html .

November 25, 2007 No Talking Heads

War Comes Home
- new website launched by Aaron Glantz of KPFA in an effort to put a human face on the conflict in Iraq. Only by truly listening to the stories of soldiers who've come home, can we appreciate the realities of war and what we can do to help.

Local
* Recent Olympia City Council (11/20/2007) meeting brings out a number of citizens who "support the troops" (and not the war, so they say) and oppose the actions of Olympia Port Militarization Resistance. I want to encourage Jeff Brigham, Robin Torske, military mother Irene (who seems to have issues with her son re-enlisting in the military), and Shelley Weber to consider whether or not the U.S. government REALLY supports the troops - READ THIS.

* Mount St. Helens National Park? Report by Chester Allen of the Olympian.
* Impeachment: If not now, when?; Lawmakers need to stand up for the Constitution and support impeachment, Seattle PI Guest Editorial by Linda Boyd

National
* The Mystery of Minot: Loose nukes and a cluster of dead airmen raise troubling questions, by Dave Lindorff on This Can't Be Happening blog
* Former Press Secretary Blames Bush, Cheney for Misstatement About Leak; Ex-White House press secretary writes in his new book that top administration officials let him unknowingly pass on false information, AP
* Twenty Thousand Protest at Ft. Benning: Eleven Face Federal Criminal Trials, by Bill Quigley
* Thousands Protest U.S. Army’s “School of Torture, Murder”, Reuters coverage via Common Dreams
* New Method Equalizes Stem Cell Debate, NY Times

International
* Visualize the number of US dead in Iraq, Ed Stephan, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA
* New Polish prime minister to loosen ties with US, Guardian Unlimited
* US continues the Iranian drumbeat to war - "U.S. blames Iran-backed group for Baghdad bombing", Reuters via Yahoo!
* Bombed, Banned, and Ridiculed - But Al-Jazeera Goes English and Hits 100 Million Homes, 11/19/2007, The Independent/UK
* People Were Killed by Three Mile Island and Other Nuclear Disasters, essay by Harvey Wasserman
* Rice sets Mid-East peace target, BBC
- what the fuck took them so long to get people to sit down? It was more important for the Bush Administration to invade a sovereign nation and then line up their friends with rich Iraqi contracts than the broker a peace agreement between Israel and Palestine. And this is too little, too late. They seem to be pushing this hard because they want some legacy for Bush before he leaves office - what's more important? Negotiating an honest and effective and long-lasting peace agreement or blasting something flimsy through before Bush leaves office?
* Global warming 'is three times faster than worst predictions', The Independent