Feb 23 2009
KPFK Fund Drive Day 18 – Crude Impact and the Tyranny of Oil (Rebroadcast)
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Despite the fact that most industries across the board are feeling the impact of the recession, the oil industry has so far remained more or less immune. Oil giant Exxon-Mobil posted a net profit of $45.2 billion for all of 2008. Still, the fall in oil prices from last year has begun to affect some oil and gas companies. Struggling to find favor with the Obama administration, oil company executives are now publicly accepting that something needs to be done about global warming. There seems little acknowledgment however, of the fact that doing anything significant about global warming naturally means making the oil industry entirely obsolete. Oil and petroleum products have been the engine of American industrialization and dominate every aspect of global trade …
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New data from the Labor Department showed this morning that the number of people continuing to claim jobless benefits rose to a new record high in early February. The Federal Reserve in the mean time, released projections of the economy growing in the long term, but in the short term, this year, predicted a dour outlook. The largest share of the US economy is based on consumer spending, and during a financial crisis of this magnitude, consumer spending continues to shrink as people lose jobs, which leads to companies tightening their belts and laying off even more workers. How did the US financial system become a largely consumer economy? It’s an interesting story that has its roots in the fallout from FDR’s New Deal …
The Obama administration is making moves toward reversing the US boycott of the UN Conference on Racism. Under President Bush, the US refused to attend meetings on the basis of language that apparently singled out Israel for its treatment of Palestinians. Also controversial at the conference is a move to call for reparations for slavery. President Barack Obama’s election to the nation’s highest office is a profound step against the racism that has plagued the US from its inception as a country. But, argues commentator and anti-racist activist Tim Wise, the achievements of individuals does not automatically negate the experiences of millions of people of color who experience institutional and other forms of racism on a daily basis. In fact, argues Wise, Obama’s presidency …
A former guard at Guantanamo Bay Prison has revealed the cruelty and chaos that dominated the early days of the US-run prison. Army Pvt. Brandon Neely says soldiers behaved shamefully towards detainees through torture and humiliation, until observers from Red Cross International arrived. Guantanamo was one of several aspects of George W Bush’s presidency that belied his rhetoric of freedom. Under Bush, freedom for Iraqis and Afghans was expressed through brutal war, while freedom for Americans translated into the Department of Homeland Security and invasive legislation like the USA PATRIOT Act. Today, we explore the concepts of freedom as expressed by politicians and revolutionaries through the work of British film maker Adam Curtis. 
February is Black History Month, and with the election of the nation’s first Black President, there has been some debate and discussion about the significance of allocating a month each year to Black History. Ron Daniels, the President of the Institute of the Black World, in a commentary recently said, “Those who would suggest devaluing the significance of Black History do so at the peril of Black people and the nation as a whole.” In that spirit today we celebrate Black History Month through the voices of black resistance preserved in the Pacifica Radio Archives. At the most important moments of Black history over the last 60 years, Pacifica has been there, recording and preserving. Today we’ll hear many voices and we’ll ask you to support …
