ALTERNATIVE RADIO with David Barsamian Tues 5pm, Sat 4pm
One of America’s most tireless and wide-ranging investigative journalists, David Barsamian has altered the independent media landscape, both with his weekly radio program, Alternative Radio—39 years and running— and his books with Noam Chomsky, Eqbal Ahmad, Howard Zinn, Tariq Ali, Richard Wolff, Arundhati Roy and Edward Said. His recent books are Culture and Resistance,Retargeting Iran,Chronicles of Dissent and Notes on Resistance. His latest book is with Arundhati Roy, The Architecture of Modern Empire. David lectures on world affairs, imperialism, capitalism, propaganda, the media and global rebellions.
Bases Off Cyprus – Cyprus as a key node in the Anglo-American Empire
This week on CODEPINK Radio, CODEPINK’s Digital Content Producer & Bases Off Cyprus Coordinator, Nuvpreet Kalra, speaks with Matthew from Genocide-Free Cyprus. They discuss the role of Cyprus and British bases in facilitating US-Israeli attacks on Iran, genocide against the Palestinian people, and US imperialism writ large.
Tune in each week for robust conversations with global grassroots peacemakers, from Yemen to Venezuela to Iran to right here in the U.S. Join us for weekly updates on the global antiwar movement and learn how you can help end U.S. wars and militarism, support peace and human rights, nurture a peace economy in your local community, and redirect our tax dollars into healthcare, education, green jobs, and other life-affirming programs.
Radio Review: Led by a team of courageous women who bring attention to what others are often afraid to say out loud, Codepink Radio is an important voice for peace and sensible US policies.– Assal Rad
With Guests Former Ambassador Chas Freeman and Christian Sorensen, Associate Director of the Eisenhower Media Network
To give us the benefit of his vast experience as a diplomat, former Ambassador Chas Freeman, helps us sort through the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran. Then Christian Sorenson, military analyst from the Eisenhower Media Network, explains just how the military industrial complex works.
AMBASSADOR CHAS FREEMAN is a retired career diplomat who has negotiated on behalf of the United States with over 100 foreign governments in East and South Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and both Western and Eastern Europe. Ambassador Freeman served as U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense, U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, acting Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, and Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d’Affaires in the American embassies at both Bangkok and Beijing. He was Director for Chinese Affairs at the U.S. Department of State from 1979-1981.
The claim that suddenly Iran was on the verge of building a nuclear weapon has no basis in fact. And neither the CIA nor the Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, agree with the statement of the President that Iran is about to build a bomb. — Ambassador Chas Freeman
The Israelis have a strange way of negotiating. They went into negotiations with Hamas, and they killed the top two people in charge of the negotiations. Then they go into negotiations – with U.S. auspices – with Iran. And in the middle of them, they kill the top military and scientific people in Iran. – Ambassador Chas Freeman
It’s as least as likely, maybe more likely, that there will be regime change in Jerusalem as there will be regime change in Tehran. – Ambassador Chas Freeman
CHRISTIAN SORENSEN is the Associate Director of the Eisenhower Media Network. He is an author and military affairs analyst covering the business of war. Mr. Sorenson is a former U.S. Air Force Arabic linguist, served at a variety of stateside posts and a tour in Qatar. He is the author of “Understanding the War Industry.” Since leaving the military, he has become the foremost expert studying military contracting and how corporations profit from war.
The U.S. taxpayer gives any year around three to $4 billion of U.S. tax dollars to Israel, and then Israel is supposed to turn around and use that money to purchase from the U.S. war industry. So it is incredibly profitable for the U.S. ruling class to do that because it doesn’t come out of the pockets of the U.S. ruling class because the U.S. ruling class doesn’t pay their fair share of taxes. – Christian Sorenson
In this week’s episode, we take a look at how over six decades after the Korean War, South Korea processed the most international adoptions in history and how the demand for a “domestic supply of (adoptable) infants” may be playing a role in increasing threats to autonomy over pregnancy in the US. Featuring: Independent Producer and Founder of Rowhome Productions, Alex Lewis Producer, Schuyler Swenson Registered…
CA Lawmakers Consider Making End of Life Options Act Permanent
In 2023, more than 12-hundred terminally ill Californians obtained prescriptions for medical aid in dying and 69 percent took the medication.
The State Assembly is considering a bill to make permanent the law that authorizes medical aid in dying. The measure was already passed by the state senate in May. Comments from Dan Diaz, widower of well-known patient Brittany Maynard and an advocate for the bill, and Leslie Chinchilla), California state manager, Compassion & Choices Action Network.
California’s law legalizing medical aid in dying could be made permanent if lawmakers approve a bill currently before the State Assembly. Senate Bill 403 would eliminate the sunset clause in the 2015 End of Life Options Act. The law allows mentally capable, terminally ill patients with less than six months to live to get a prescription to end their life. Advocate Dan Diaz says his wife, Brittany Maynard, moved Oregon in 2014 to make use of the state’s Death With Dignity Act.
“Brittany is gone, so now I’m fighting for all terminally ill individuals that might find themselves in Brittany’s predicament, so that they don’t have to do what she did, of leaving their home state, after being told you have six months to live.”
The End of Life Options Act is currently set to expire in five years. Medical aid in dying is legal in 11 states plus Washington D-C, but California is the only jurisdiction with a sunset provision.
“The California Department of Health does a yearly report on medical aid in dying. There has been no instance of coercion or abuse, and really the law is working as intended.”
— California News Service, A Bureau of the Public News Service
TODAY’S show is a reprise of a conversation Mike had with David Loy, Legal Director of the First Amendment Coalition.
David became the First Amendment Coalition’s legal director in 2022. David is an experienced free speech and open government litigator. He has defended the First Amendment rights of reporters, photographers, bloggers, students, teachers, activists, protesters, musicians, Marines, and motorcycle club members. He has fought for public disclosure and governmental transparency for over 20 years.
Before joining FAC, David served as legal director of the ACLU Foundation of San Diego & Imperial Counties for almost 16 years. He also worked as a staff attorney with the Office of the Appellate Defender in New York City, a public defender in Spokane, Washington, and a staff attorney with the Center for Justice in Spokane.
He received his A.B. in History and Chinese Language from Brown University, where he was photo editor of the Brown Daily Herald. After college, he worked for a law firm in San Francisco, taught English in China, and served as the legal assistant for a Chicago legal services office. He graduated from Northwestern University School of Law in 1994 and clerked for Judge Dolores K. Sloviter of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
David is an active member of the California and New York bars, with inactive status in Washington and Illinois. He has served on the Southern District of California lawyer representative committee and the boards of California Appellate Defense Counsel and American Constitution Society, San Diego Lawyer Chapter.
EAST COUNTY MAGAZINE with Editor and Investigative Journalist Miriam Raftery Fri 5pm, Sat 8am, Monday 5pm, Tues 8am
About East County Magazine. Our mission is to provide in-depth news, views and events coverage for the inland areas in San Diego County, reflecting the broad diversity of people and issues in our region, particularly those under-represented in other media. As nonprofit media, we reflect the public interest—not special interests, with a strong commitment to covering social justice issues, diverse and mulicultural voices,community concerns, environmental/land use issues, and nonpartisan political stories in our region’s urban, rural, mountain and desert communities. We also celebrate our region’s attractions and rich cultural heritage, with special sites such as Best of East County, Tribal Beat, People Power, Refugee Voices, Arts and Music, and more.
East County Magazine also founded and operates East County Wildfire & Emergency Alerts, keeping people safe and informed throughout San Diego County via e-mail and Twitter alerts. In addition we produce the East County Magazine radio show on KNSJ 89.1 FM.
Editor and Founder Miriam Raftery has over 35 years experience as a journalist and editor. She has won more than 400 major journalism awards, including the American Society of Journalists & Authors’ national Arlene Award for community journalism and San Diego Press Club’s Best of Show award prior to founding ECM.
She has covered major news stories including the California wildfires, Congressional and presidential elections, and Hurricane Katrina, as well as topics ranging from politics and election integrity to health, nutrition, homes and gardens.
A former columnist and freelance writer for the San Diego Union-Tribune, she has also worked as an editor of a national nutrition journal and a literary magazine as well as senior national investigative reporter for RawStory.com. Her works have appeared in many national and regional publications, from Woman’s Day to Arizona Highways, as well as in many local community newspapers and magazines. An East County native, she takes pride in exploring East County’s back roads and byways, leaving no stone unturned in the quest for news and feature stories.
A guest on Susan Taylor’s The Electric Picnic, a program about poetry, spoken word, prose and other creative arts, Olivia shares two of her poems with KNSJ.
–By Permission from Olivia Mercedes
Olivia Mercedes is a perpetually overwhelmed human who relies on creative mediums to process the intense spectrum of her conscious experience. Her poetry has been published, her artwork has been exhibited, her voice has been featured, but her most beloved accolades are the moments of real-life connection in response to her authenticity. She finds hope and gratitude in inspiring someone to feel, to question, to learn, to heal, to express, and ultimately to be more fully human.
instagram: @oliviamercedesart
how to write a poem
first, gather your materials:
you’ll need something to write with,
something to feel with,
something to think with,
and enough vulnerability to actually use these.
you’ll need a language
adequate enough to transpose the sparks of synapses
setting fire to your imagination–
oh yes, you’ll need an imagination.
if capitalism has taken yours hostage,
you might be able to bargain with your inner child.
just make sure you use an encrypted messaging app,
the oppressor doesn’t like us to think
let alone imagine,
what this world might be like
if we all listened to poetry
instead of those in self-appointed power.
you’ll also need power,
but not the kind that’s harnessed inside an ego
the kind that’s harnessed inside every atom of the universe.
the universe that made everything before you
everything after you
and everything
you
are.
and chances are,
once you realize that,
once you realize that what qualifies you to write
is that which qualifies you to be human,
your pen will no longer feel foreign or like a burden,
rather it will appear as the instrument you’ve known how to play all along.
you will realize that a poem is not something you write
it’s something you witness.
and the words you use to capture it
are merely a photograph
documenting the reason we exist at all.
the hardest part of writing a poem
is noticing it.
noticing not only that it exists,
but that you exist inside of it.
the fact that you are asking how to write a poem
proves that you are one,
and the part of you that knows this
is simply asking for your attention
in the language of curiosity.
it’s existence itself
begging you
to experience it so fully, you can’t help but write it down.
like a message you know must be delivered, must be heard.
and in this way
you don’t write a poem, the poem writes you.
and if you so choose to surrender to its demands,
to allow your blood to dance like ink,
let your authenticity spill across the page,
your soul scream its unfiltered truths,
you will find yourself doing more
than writing poems
you will find yourself living them.
and what better way to exist,
than to live.
what better way to write,
than to be.
what better way to be,
than poetry.
What goes in a backpack?(From a conversation Olivia had with Susan during her interview on The Electric Picnic poetry show) Olivia: okay Sue, I’ve written the second half of this poem, but not the first half, so I need your help with the beginning. Can you help me brainstorm things that go in a backpack? Sue: chapstick? Olivia: that’s a great one, but the owner of this backpack doesn’t have any of their toiletries around. What’s something else? Sue: a pen? Olivia: oh I wish, but their school actually isn’t in session, they don’t have their pens or notebooks right now. What else? Sue: a cell phone? Olivia: ah unfortunately they lost their cell phone and all their electronics already. Anything else? Sue: dog treats? Olivia: oh sadly their dog has passed away… Sue: a water bottle? Olivia: I wish, but there’s no access to clean water or food where this person is right now. Ugh, I know this is hard, this is why I needed your help! Thank you for helping me brainstorm, Sue. And before I finish this poem, I’d like to preface this by saying I wish I didn’t have to do this. I wish this were simply an exercise for us to stretch our imaginations, but this is actually me using my imagination to communicate to you what is happening to our humanity. because the owner of this backpack is a little boy in Palestine named Ismael, who was wearing his backpack on his chest as he stepped out of an ambulance and a journalist asked him what he had in his backpack. and as blood dripped heavily from the bottom of his blue bag ismael answers, “in my backpack i have Ahmed, my dead baby brother.” my dead baby brother. when i asked you a moment ago to brainstorm things that belong in a backpack, there is a reason you did not suggested that as an answer, and that’s because it’s not supposed to be one.
𝐂𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐜 𝐂𝐢𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫 is a nationally syndicated radio show and podcast hosted by Q Ward and Ramses Ja. The program was created to foster allyship, empathy, and understanding, and bolster social justice efforts in hopes of creating a more equitable society for all. This show seeks to directly engage with diverse populations across the country.
Set in motion in early 2020 by the violent and egregious murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, Civic Cipher was created as a response to a desperate call to action, and an urgent need for change.
Civic Cipher is intentionally, curated to be an invaluable, and timeless, resource for everyone. These conversations serve non-POC allies (as well as POC) who may not otherwise be privy to these types of discussions, perspectives, and optics.
Providing long-form, engaging, data-driven conversations that easily fit in ALL spaces across personal, academic, and professional realms, Civic Cipher excellently packages and delivers purposeful, educational, and relevant material and warmly welcomes audiences across all demographics.
Co-host Q Ward is a 15+ year DJ and broadcast veteran. The Detroit native has spent over 20 yrs in the entertainment space spanning several different roles in and around professional sports, film, television, music and philanthropy. He’s had a very diversified life and career having lived and worked in 4 countries, on 3 continents and in over a dozen cities. Q is the former in-arena DJ for the Phoenix Suns, a manager for creatives, a BMI-published songwriter, co-host of Civic Cipher (a one-hour talk radio show currently broadcasting on over 100 stations nationwide), co-host of iHeartmedia’s Black Information Network Daily Podcast, and currently owns the media imprint Hip Hop Weekly. Q Ward
Co-Host Ramses Ja is an award-winning broadcasting professional with a career spanning over two decades on radio and television stations across the country. Being a celebrated DJ and media personality, Ramses has been featured on many billboards, magazine covers, newspaper articles, and naturally radio and television. Ramses has always taken this notoriety and used it to inspire Black and Brown youth. As a former president of his college’s Black Student Union, this has been central to his efforts his whole career. Ramses has gone on to win media and activist awards from several prestigious institutions including the NAACP and The Black Philanthropy Initiative. Currently, Ramses hosts Civic Cipher with Q Ward. Additionally Ramses hosts The Black Information Network Daily Podcast where he interviews Black journalists around the country to gain more insight into national news stories. The Black Information Network Daily Podcast is found on the Black Information Network—a subsidiary of iHeartmedia. @ramsesja
