The Gary Null Show – 10.26.15

Prof. John Mutter holds two professorships at Columbia University in NYC. One in the department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, and another in the department of International and Public Affairs, where he is the Associate Director of the doctoral program in Sustainable Development. His scientific research has focused on ocean geography and marine seismology, and more recently on science based sustainable solutions for developing countries. He is a former deputy director of the Earth Institute and works with the International Council on Human Rights Policy which deals with the challenges of climate change and human rights. Prof. Mutter has also been awarded a fellowship with the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He received degrees from the Universities of Melbourne and Sydney in Australia, and a doctorate in Marine Geophysics from Columbia University. He has authored over 70 scientific articles and many popular essays. His most recent book is “The Disaster Profiteers: How Natural Disasters Make the Rich Richer and the Poor Poorer” and his website is JohnCMutter.wordpress.com

Black Agenda Radio – 10.12.15

Welcome, to the radio magazine that brings you news, commentary and analysis from a Black Left perspective.

– Attorney General Loretta Lynch outraged Black activists when she backed off her predecessor’s verbal commitment to require that local police send reports to Washington when they kill civilians. Former Attorney General Eric Holder said police failure to keep data on lethal use of force is “unacceptable.” But his replacement, Loretta Lynch, said she would rather not get involved in such “minutia” – as she called it. We spoke with Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, an editor and columnist for Black Agenda Report and renowned whistleblower who has led demonstrations against the Department of Justice.

– Activists from around the country are gearing up for three days of protests in New York City, October 22nd through 24th. The Rise Up October campaign will also bring one hundred family members of victims of police violence to Manhattan. Hundreds gathered at Columbia University for a rally, last week. Among the speakers: Dr. Cornel West, a co-founder of the Stop Mass Incarceration Network.

– The Columbia University crowd gave huge applause to Noche Diaz, a key organizer with the Stop Mass Incarceration Network, who has been repeatedly jailed for protesting police lawlessness.

– The infamous Trans Pacific Partnership corporate trade deal has been finalized by the U.S. and 11 other nations, but it can still be stopped by the U.S. Congress. Kevin Zeese, of Popular Resistance, is a key organizer of the opposition.

– It’s widely understood that the TPP treaty is really designed to counter the rising power of China. Joseph Gerson is director of programs for the American Friends Service Committee, in New England, and author of the book, “The U.S. ‘Pivot’ to Asia and the Pacific.” Gerson says TPP represents a “Great Wall of China” in reverse – a wall to keep China’s influence in Asia contained.

– The next Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education will be a Black and Puerto Rican educator who’s entire teaching career has revolved around charter schools. Glen Ford has this commentary.

Tim Radford – Drought as the New Normal for the US West

One way or another, humans are to blame for the catastrophic drought in California that scientists say may be emerging as a “new normal”. Either humans have mismanaged the state’s water, or human-triggered global warming has begun to help turn America’s landscape of wine and roses into a dustbowl, according to two new studies. And the arguments have relevance extending …

LOA Today – 08.20.15

Thoughtcatalog.com says, “Happiness is fleeting. It’s that line on the heart monitor that ascends to the highest peak but falls just as easily, if not sooner. It’s that spike in your blood sugar level after an unlawful amount of chocolate. It’s the deluded caffeine high after one too many cups of black coffee. It’s transitory and it’s short-lived.”

Is it true? No, not necessarily. Actually, happiness is the most normal, healthy state a human being can live in, and it can be a permanent experience. This week on LOA Today, we look at scientific studies being done today that move us closer to the conclusion that happiness can and should be our normal experience, as well as telling us what it will take for us to get there.

JUSTIN GILLIS – California Drought Is Made Worse by Global Warming, Scientists Say

Global warming caused by human emissions has most likely intensified the drought in California by 15 to 20 percent, scientists said on Thursday, warning that future dry spells in the state are almost certain to be worse than this one as the world continues to heat up. Even though the findings suggest that the drought is primarily a consequence of …

Thomas Riggins – Over Forty Percent of U.S. Children Are Living in Poverty

A January 2015 report from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health reveals that forty four percent of children (those under 18) are living in de facto poverty. The Federal Government issues an artificially low annual official poverty level that radically understates the real level of U.S. poverty. For 2015 the official level of poverty for a family of four, …

Martha Rosenberg – Big Pharma’s Profiteers: You Want Us to Pay What for These Meds?

It is no secret that the pill profit party is over for drug companies. Bestselling pills like Lipitor, Seroquel, Zyprexa, Singular, Concerta, Cymbalta and Abilify have gone off patent and Wall Street is moving on to industries that offer better returns. To combat investor disenchantment, drug companies have rolled out expensive drugs that treat such rare conditions,  they almost sound …

Michael P. Bradley – Educating About Islam: Problems of Selectivity and Imbalance

In high school textbooks on world history, US history and US government, the world of Islam continues to be interpreted to American high school students in ways consistent with Edward Said’s thesis. In these textbooks, Islam is explored narrowly in its significance to US foreign policy. It is a “problematic” – that is, a serious subject of learning in so …

Little-Known History of the Euro: Crisis Was Baked In from the Start

You’ve heard that the Euro was created to provide two benefits for Europe: 1. Unite Germany, France and other countries in a peaceful political situation, to prevent repeats of World War I and II 2. Create a macro-zone to compete against the economic strength of the U.S. So how did we get to this … austerity and meanness of spirit, …

Germany Showing ‘Lack of Solidarity’ Over Greece: Stiglitz

Nobel-prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, seen on May 12, 2015 in Washington, DC, accused Germany of displaying a “lack of solidarity” with debt-laden Greece that has badly undermined the vision of Europe. (AFP/file) Prominent economist and Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz accused Germany on Sunday of displaying a “lack of solidarity” with debt-laden Greece that has badly undermined the vision of …