Apr 28 2011
An Insiders Perspective on Militarization, Repression, and Privatization in Honduras
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Secretary of State Hilary Clinton last week reaffirmed U.S. support for the Honduran government and for Honduras’ possible readmission into the Organization of American States. During a phone call with Honduran President Porfirio Lobo, Clinton praised his administration for working together with the Honduran people to resolve, “political and citizen safety challenges.” Since a coup ousted President Manuel Zalaya on June 28, 2009 the Central American nation has been in turmoil. The post-coup election in November 2009 that seated President Lobo has been hailed as “free and fair” by the Honduran and U.S. governments. However many Hondurans, along with the governments of Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay, refuse to recognize the current regime as legitimate. Readmission into the 35-member Organization of American States, (OAS) may be unlikely any time …
Renowned jazz drummer and Southern California native Billy Higgins left an enduring presence within the Los Angeles music scene. Higgins taught young musicians at the University of California Los Angeles, and co-founded the World Stage, a cultural center that nurtures young musical talent. He was a resident drummer for Blue Note records and recorded with prominent artists throughout his long career, including jazz pianist and composer Thelonious Monk. On the 10th anniversary of this passing KPFK Pacifica Radio honors the life and legacy of Billy Higgins at its first annual Hero Awards. This Sunday, May 1st, a 5:30pm VIP reception will be followed with a tribute concert beginning at 7:00pm at the Catalina Ball Room and Grill in Hollywood. Performers include Poncho Sanchez, George Duke, Stanley Clarke and Kenny Burrell.
Glen Ford is a writer and radio commentator and the Executive Editor of 
The whistleblowing website Wikileaks, in tandem with the New York Times, this week published another treasure trove of classified government documents. The documents are part of the large cache obtained last year by Wikileaks. This latest release focused on Defense Department documents about nearly 800 men detained at the U.S. prison in Guantanamo, Cuba. The documents include detailed information about the prisoners including personal information, photos, health information, how and where they were captured, intelligence that was gleaned from them, reasons for their continued detention, and more. Wikileaks has published complete information on 151 prisoners as of today, promising to publish more documents daily in the coming month. The Guantanamo prison was established under the Bush administration ostensibly to house prisoners captured in the so-called “war on terror,” who would be exempted …
As the 2012 budget battle heats up federal programs affecting every aspect of daily life are on the chopping block, including those that get food from the farm to the table. A coalition of farmers, food and environmental advocates are lobbying Congress to protect and improve the 2008 Food, Conservation, and Energy Act, or Farm Bill. The legislation funds and regulates many aspects of U.S. agriculture. Roughly 2/3 of Farm Bill funding is dedicated to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as food stamps. Roughly one-third goes to direct payments to farmers. That leaves a sliver of farm bill funding for an array of innovative programs that support sustainable agriculture and bring fresh food to urban areas. The highly politicized budget battle is expected to turn the next authorization of the Farm …
It’s been just over a year since Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed into law the U.S.’s most draconian anti-immigrant bill, S. B. 1070. Since then, the barrage of anti-immigrant legislation across the country does not seem to have slowed. Federal and state-specific efforts earlier this year against citizenship birthright as enshrined in the Constitution were the latest attacks on immigrants by Republicans. There are currently 4 million children who were born in the U.S. but whose parents are undocumented immigrants. These American citizens face unique challenges because of their parents’ immigration status. The current anti-immigrant laws compound existing societal scapegoating to undermine the well-being of these children. A new book by community psychologist and Harvard Education professor, Hirokazu Yoshikawa, documents their lives. The book, “Immigrants Raising Citizens: Undocumented Parents and …
