May
28
2009
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the entire program
Violence in Afghanistan continues to climb with at least two dozen people killed in various incidents across the country. The deaths were the results of US/NATO airstrikes, a pitched firefight, and a Taliban road-side bomb, that killed civilians, fighters, and US troops. The Defense Department announced that 615 members of the US military had died in Afghanistan …
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May
28
2009
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the entire program
A three-day sale of Latin-American art at Christie’s and Sotheby’s in New York has drawn attention to a rare self-portrait by famed Mexican muralist Diego Rivera. The sellers hope to rake in a million dollars for the painting by an artist whose other works have sold for tens of millions. Rivera is known internationally as the larger-than-life …
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May
28
2009
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the entire program
The Show Trial of Antonio Gramsci
Back in the day on May 28th, 1928, the show trial of the influential Italian intellectual Antonio Gramsci commenced. As a journalist, political activist and parliamentarian, Gramsci was arrested in November 1926 after the fascist government of Mussolini issued so-called “Exceptional decrees.” As a person who helped co-found the Italian Communist …
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May
28
2009
“The artist is a receptacle for emotions that come from all over the place: from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider’s web.” — Pablo Picasso …
May
27
2009
We’ll hear from a US soldier who has refused to deploy to Afghanistan and his reasons for facing possible court martial. And, we’ll find out how deep and devastating Governor Schwarzenegger’s proposed program cuts are going to be. Plus Latin American art expert Gregorio Luke on the life and art of famed Mexican muralist Diego Rivera. …
May
27
2009
President Barack Obama, in an anticipated announcement yesterday, named Judge Sonia Sotomayor of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit as his Supreme Court nominee. If confirmed by the Senate, Sotomayor, in replacing retiring Justice David Souter, would become the first Latino and third woman in history to serve on the High Court. In praising his choice, …
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May
27
2009
Proposition 8, the anti-same sex marriage initiative which passed in California last November, has been upheld by the California Supreme Court. In a 185 page ruling issued yesterday morning the Court’s 6-1 decision affirmed the right of voters to amend the state constitution through the ballot. At issue was the question of whether Proposition 8 went so far to change …
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May
27
2009
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the entire program
The Execution of Thomas Muntzer
Back in the day on May 27th, 1525 German religious reformer and theologian Thomas Muntzer was beheaded. Originally attracted to the Protestant Reformation as articulated by Martin Luther, Muntzer, however, came to reject it as insufficiently radical. In contrast to Lutheran principles, Munzter believed that prophetic inspiration came not from scripture alone, …
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May
27
2009
“The essence of democracy is its assurance that every human being should so respect himself and should be so respected in his own personality that he should have opportunity equal to that of every other human being to show what he meant to become.” — Anna Garlin Spencer …
May
26
2009
Last Thursday a key committee in the House of Representatives approved sweeping legislation intended to address the gathering threat of global warming. Introduced by Democratic Representatives Henry Waxman and Ed Markey, the American Climate and Energy Act of 2009 sets out to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020. Central to obtaining the bill’s …
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