Tune in to Friendly Fire a Voice For Veterans and listen in as four veterans, each from a different branch of the service, discuss the exciting and informative events that took place at the 2026 Veterans for Peace four day convention. Susan Schnall, president of Veterans for Peace talks about the numerous challenges the current administration is presenting to those trying to stop endless wars, global climate change, mass deportations and a diminished VA healthcare system.
DOCUMENTING THE U.S. MEDIA’S COMPLICITY IN THE GENOCIDE OF
GAZA WITH ROBIN ANDERSEN
In Robin Andersen’s new book, she chronicles how the U.S. media utilized their massive reach to help shield Israel from scrutiny as it perpetrated a genocide in Gaza.
Chris Hedges, a former New York Times Middle East Bureau Chief, is certain about at least one thing regarding Israeli propaganda tactics: “If there is one indisputable fact, it is that Israel lies like it breathes.” The task of professional journalists and media outlets is to review evidence and verify the information they are reporting, but when it comes to Israel, Western establishment media function as stenographers, echoing their lies globally.
In this episode of The Chris Hedges Report, Hedges explores the mechanisms by which Western media function as propaganda outlets for Israel with media scholar Robin Andersen, who documented these practices in her new book, “The Complicit Lens.” They begin with a discussion of the ways media corporations control the narrative through omissions of historical context, dehumanization of Palestinians and censorship of specific words, such as “massacres.” Journalists who work for these commercial outlets are aware of their complicity — a fact corroborated by leaks detailing the propagandistic guidelines editorial departments force their journalists to follow — but sacrifice their integrity and honesty for access to those in power and to protect themselves from retaliation.
Hedges and Andersen explain the ways that media outlets manipulate language to cover up war crimes being committed by the Israelis and shift the blame for Israeli attacks on civilians and infrastructure, such as hospitals and schools, onto the victims, Palestinians themselves. Outlets engage in ‘atrocity propaganda,’ amplifying horrific lies about sexual assault and “beheaded babies” told by the Israeli State without factchecking them to generate public support for the genocide of Palestinians, who are characterized as ‘terrorists’ and members of the demonized national resistance organization, Hamas. Andersen reports, “The Israelis were presented in their whole humanity… and the Palestinians are dead bodies, and that’s it.”
Another method of information control is by limiting access. Foreign journalists are restricted from entering Gaza, and those who are allowed in are vetted by Israel in advance. In violation of international law, the Palestinian press is censored through murder. Over 270 Palestinians, including those who work for major media outlets, and their families have been targeted and killed by the Israeli military. The price that we all pay for this complicity by the media is the legitimization of genocide, the absence of accountability and the lack of reliable news sources. As Andersen concludes, our loss is that there are “fewer and fewer voices, fewer and fewer documentation [that] can make sense of this and bring it to global publics.”
Lori Saldaña is a lifelong San Diegan who grew up in Clairemont, in a Marine Corps family. After a surprising “come from behind” grassroots victory in 2004, she was elected to the California Assembly and served three terms, from 2004-2010.
Assemblymember Saldaña served as Speaker pro Tempore, and presided over Assembly floor sessions. She was also Chair of the Legislative Womens Caucus (2008-2010) and chaired the Housing and Community Development Committee. She served as a member of Elections and Redistricting, Rules, Veterans Affairs, Judiciary and the Water, Parks & Wildlife Committees and was appointed to the Assembly Ethics Committee, to investigate complaints within the legislature. She authored bills on gun safety (to end “Open Carry” in California), hate crimes, climate change and energy efficiency.
Lori and her three sisters were the first in their family to attend college. Her father, Frank Saldana, was a career Marine (1944-64) and respected journalist who retired from the San Diego Evening Tribune (1965-1992). Her mother, Virginia Saldana, had an early career in banking, before focussing on raising 4 daughters and enjoying 8 grandchildren.
Lori earned her BA and MA from SDSU and is retired as a Professor of Business Information Technology for the San Diego Community College District. She managed US Department of Labor grants to develop technical/vocational programs for low-income students, and help bridge the digital divide.
She taught in the Communications department at the University of California San Diego, and was a Research Fellow in Environmental Policy at the UCSD Center for US-Mexico Studies; her research article- “From Litigation to Legislation: Challenges to Binational Water Infrastructure Development in the San Diego-Tijuana Border Region” – was accepted for publication in the 2003 Journal of Environment and Development.
Lori also taught at San Diego State University, and was a Dean of Service Learning at San Diego Mesa College and managed a State Chancellor’s grant.
Lori served as a Mayoral and Presidential appointee, working on water quality issues and infrastructure development. In 1992 she was appointed by San Diego Mayor Maureen O’Connor to serve on the city’s Wetlands Advisory Board. She was Chair of the San Diego Chapter of the Sierra Club (1995-97) and successfully lead litigation to force the city to better manage its water and wastewater, culminating in agreements to reclaim wastewater that lead to the Pure Water program now under development. From 1999-2003 she was President Clinton’s appointee and Chair of the Border Environmental Cooperation Commission (BECC), which has invested billions in water, air quality and transportation infrastructure along the US-Mexico border.
She was also a named Plaintiff in a federal lawsuit to force the EPA and IBWC to redesign the international wastewater treatment plant in the Tijuana River Valley, and measure toxicity from industrial sources.
Lori considers herself a Progressive leader and advocate for social justice and policing reform. She has consistently used science-based research analyses and government policies to protect and manage environmental resources, address and reduce the risks of Climate Change, provide affordable housing for those who cannot afford market-rate homes, and reduce criminalization and racial profiling by law enforcement.
As former Chair of Housing and Community Development, she adjusted state funding levels to provide additional money for affordable housing for seniors and veterans throughout California.
She authored bills to improve gun safety, and reduce and track hate-motivated behavior throughout California.
Lori was name ProChoice California/NARAL’s “Champion of Choice” for her work to maintain funding for maternal and reproductive healthcare programs under the Title X federal program.
Lori belives in accountability and transparency in government, and has requested significant audits on issues at the state and local level, as a legislator and advocate. These addressed inequities in hiring practices in the California State University system, and high rates of deaths in custody in the San Diego County jails. Both audits were approved and conducted by the California State Auditor. Each lead to broad, specific policy recommendations for changing the practices that created academic inequities and deaths. The audit re:deaths in San Diego jails contributed to the resignation of Sheriff Bill Gore, who left office the same day the findings were released, and was followed by legislation authored by Assemblymember Dr. Akilah Weber called “Saving Lives in Custody” (AB 2343).
Lori continues to advocate on public policy issues. She has successfully sued the city of San Diego and state of California to enforce people’s rights under state open meeting laws, leading to more transparency and accountability, and increasing the public’s rights to participate in legislative and policy making decisions.
THE WOMEN’S HOUR with Patricia Law Thurs 1pm, Sat noon, Sun 6pm
CAP TO COLA with VICTORIA TURNER
Patricia is in conversation with Victoria Turner today in Ms. Turner’s role as the FOUNDER and DIRECTOR of SHAC- Senior Housing Advisory Council.
SHAC is partnered with the SENIOR RESIDENTS COUNCIL, a subset of San Diego United Communities, a grassroots coalition of San Diego residents, neighborhood groups, and community advocates focused on local city governance, neighborhood preservation and pushing back against density developments and city parking fees
Ms. Turner and Patricia discuss CAP TO COLA. Ms. Turner and her organization’s 2026 focus is to keep elderly residents in their low-income apartment housing by CAPPING annual senior rent increases to the annual Cost of Living increase. What is going on now is seniors can be financially evicted from publicly-supported “so called affordable housing” when developers can increase the rent three times more than seniors’ social security.
The goal of CAP TO COLA is legislation to limit developer profits on publicly supported affordable senior buildings by capping the annual rent increase to COLA, instead of up to 10% as allowed by California law.
In summary, the public has given a great deal of money, land and resources to developers to create so called affordable housing (also known as low income housing) specifically for seniors. Once an elderly person has qualified and moved into that building, one year later, the rent can be increased as much as ten percent, at the same time that the senior’s income increases merely 2.8%. The math doesn’t work. It is easy to see that when your rent increases three times more than your income increases, you will soon be evicted.
Ms. Turner’s history of advocacy in the public sector includes, among other accomplishments, successfully shepherding County Bill 10668 to establish the Urban Agricultural Incentive Zone in San Diego County. San Diego MTS Community Advisory Committee created a position specifically for her, where she advocated for two years for better ridership experiences on our public transit system via busses and trolleys. Most recently, in 2026, Ms. Turner established the very first monthly, ongoing FREE SENIOR FOOD BOX distribution location at Waterfront Park next to the County Administration Building.
Ms. Turner’s success system relies on FIRST focusing on working within the existing public and government systems to network, advocate and establish programs benefitting our neighbors. When the people in the existing system fail, the mission then becomes rallying the public to replace the inadequate employees.
To that end, SHAC has aligned themselves with SDUC- San Diego United Communities. SDUC is an effective San Diego grassroots organization created by the wonderful Margaret Verrissimo. SDUC connects passionate citizens and their local groups with other groups for mutual support on the public stage.
If YOU are a senior living in *ANY* AFFORDABLE APARTMENT BUILDING in Southern California, please contact Ms. Turner by visiting www.SanDiegoUnitedCommunities.com
Tune in at .2pm PDT to hear the best of Friendly Fire 2017-2022. Hear from veterans who have fought against almost insurmountable odds to regain their place in society after serving, and then suffering, with challenges both physical and psychological. As always, it’s been my privilege to bring you their stories.
With Mike Aguirre And Co-host Arthur Aguirre LIVE Sat 11am
“LET THEM STEAL CAKE!” CONTINUING CUTS TO SNAP ASSISTANCE AFFECTING MILLIONS OF CHILDRN AND FAMILIES, INCLUDING MILITARY FAMILIES
GUESTS GINA PLATA-NINO, DIRECTOR OF SNAP POLICY AND ADVOCACY, AND ATTORNEY JONI HALPERN
The Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) is the nation’s leading anti-hunger advocacy organization. For more than 56 years, FRAC has improved the nutrition, health, and well-being of people struggling against poverty-related hunger in the United States through advocacy, partnerships, and by advancing bold and equitable policy solutions.
Gina Plata-Nino serves as Director of SNAP Policy and Advocacy. Previously, she served as a Senior Policy Advisor for Nutrition and Agriculture in the Biden-Harris Administration’s Domestic Policy Council, where she helped lead the National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. In this role, she worked with federal agencies and private stakeholders to advance the goal of ending hunger and diet-related diseases by 2030. At FRAC, Plata-Nino collaborates with the SNAP team to improve the program’s reach and effectiveness for low-income households. She leads legislative and technical support efforts for national, state, and community organizations, as well as government agencies and nonprofits, to strengthen SNAP access, benefits, and customer service.
Joni Halpern has been an attorney representing low-income clients for 30 years. Her area of practice is administrative law, working with clients of all ages who need help from SSI, SSDI, SNAP, CalWORKs, and other public benefits programs. She worked as a staff attorney at the Legal Aid Society of San Diego and the ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties. In the process of investigating a county practice of searching the home of every innocent applicant for public assistance, she founded a nonprofit grassroots organization helping families on public assistance who were struggling to reach self-sufficiency. The Supportive Parents Information Network (SPIN) operated for 14 years and was well-known for its robust, successful advocacy on behalf of low-income women and children. Ms. Halpern now works as a consulting attorney for the Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans (PANA). Before becoming a lawyer, she was an award-winning community journalist.
Sitting In for Susan this week is Kary Lynn Vail in conversation with
TODD BLAKESLEY
Todd Blakesley has worked in every strata of theater from administrative to creative: Managing Director of Bowery/Blackfriars Theatre and Women’s Repertory Theatre (which he co-founded). Dramaturge for Playwrights Project and ATHE. Artistic Director for the Actors Alliance Festival. Co-Creator with Write Out Loud of Twainfest, a free literary festival now in its 11th year. He served as Festival Coordinator for the San Diego International Fringe Festival from its founding (2013-17). His work as an actor, producer, director or playwright has been seen in California, Washington, Florida, Minnesota, New York and throughout the Canadian Fringe. Co-founder of Theatre Research & Development, Inc. and Artistic Director of its Crystal Palace Theatre (1971-76) where he developed his own brand of totally immersive theatre: blending actors and audience in to the same ethereal situation. Todd is a recipient of a 2015 Creative Catalyst Grant to develop his ninth immersive play.
He has been nominated by the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle for Best New Play (Cigars & Stripes” T:R&D – 1984); Outstanding Featured Performance (“Eurydice” Moxie Theatre – 2010); Outstanding Solo Performance as Truman Capote (“Tru” Diversionary Theatre – 2014).
WRITE OUT LOUD PRESENTS
AMERICAN LITERARY HEROES
Part of the Celebrating America 250 Arts Projects Honoring the National Garden of American Heroes funded by the NEA.
AMERICAN LITERARY HEROES, presented from mid-March through September 2026, is a unique program highlighting four iconic American writers who have left a lasting impact on the social consciousness of the United States, and across the globe.
Actors will bring Emily Dickinson, Mark Twain, Walt Whitman, and Henry David Thoreau to life in libraries, schools, museums and other community venues across San Diego County, using selections of their works and bits of their lives.
WALT WHTMAN, whose focus on the common man and his break from poetic structures caused him to be known as “the father of free verse.”
Todd was commissioned to write a 45 minute piece on Whitman and to perform it at schools, libraries, community organizations throughout the spring and summer.
He organized the piece as a introduction to Whitman, covering his poetic themes (the body, the soul, nature, sexuality, democracy, technological innovation, the Civil War). Exploring his poetry style as a break from old world European rhyme and meter. The outcry against the perceived obscenity of his work.
TALK OF THE TOWN *LIVE* with Mike Aguirre Sat 11am
MASS SURVEILLANCE AND DEMOCRACY
GUESTS: SETH HALL WITH TRUST SAN DIEGO COALITION AND MEMBERS OF STUDENTS’ CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION
STUDENTS’ CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION (SCLU) is a dedicated, student-led nonprofit based in San Diego, California. Our mission is to champion civil liberties by creating spaces for young people to meaningfully organize and amplify the concerns of our communities.
Alongside our sister organization, the Youth Action Network, comprising members across UC San Diego, City College, Mesa College, SDSU, and high schools across San Diego County, our vision is grounded in democratic renewal: a nonpartisan rebuilding of civic life so that every San Diegan can participate meaningfully and hold power accountable.
So far, we’ve secured major victories in disability rights advocacy, including a new Disability Resource Center for UC San Diego students. We also work extensively in protecting immigrant communities, connecting 400+ businesses across San Diego for community mutual aid and protection. We train youth to become durable civic leaders not in the future, but right now.
TRUST SD COALITION The Transparent and Responsible Use of Surveillance Technology San Diego (TRUST SD) Coalition was originally formed to address the widespread and secretive use, installation, and acquisition of the Smart Streetlights technology that is being deployed all over San Diego County. TRUST SD is made up of 30 local community organizations that represent various sectors of our communities.
ABOUT OUT GUESTS___
Seth Hall is a career technologist and lives in the neighborhood of Allied Gardens, helping operate the TRUST SD Coalition which has advocated for the Transparent and Responsible Use of Surveillance Technology in San Diego since 2019. He is co-founder of the community group San Diego Privacy, which focuses on how San Diegans can use and protect privacy in their daily lives. You can contact Seth at seth@sandiegoprivacy.org.
EAST COUNTY MAGAZINE with Editor, Investigative Journalist Miriam Raftery and the East County Magazine News Team
Fri 5pm, St 8am, Mon 5pm, Tues 9am
Award-winning editor and journalist Miriam Raftery and her award-winning magazine East County Magazine focus on news and events of their area. Miriam and her news team also report news of the larger San Diego and national and international news that may affect East County.
East County Magazine has up-to-date information on wildfire and emergency news.
ABOUT EAST COUNTY MAGAZINE
East County Magazine is your community media. We reflect the public’s interest, not special interests.
OUR MISSION
Our mission is to provide in-depth news 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 sections such as Visit East County, People Power, Tribal Beat, 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.
For the past decade Re:Work, the UCLA Labor Center podcast, has elevated stories of work to humanize and break down economic and racial justice issues. Each episode centers the life story of a worker or activist — with a focus on people of the global majority — through curated interviews punctuated with host reflections, music, and archival tape that draw listeners to a particular time, place, and feeling. It is produced by Veena Hampapur and Saba Waheed.
Each episode centers the life story of a worker or activist through curated interviews punctuated by host reflections, music, and archival tape — immersing listeners in a particular time, place, and feeling.
Re:Work also trains community partners and students in multimedia story production and includes curriculum and educational tools.
