Alternative Radio May Line Up

Alternative Radio, Celebrating 25 Years of Audio Democracy

Noam Chomsky

Hi,

just watching Stephen Fry's program on the ABC about the BP Gulf oil spill.

Very interesting and worth checking out on iView if you missed.

Just as interesting and worth catching up with is Noam Chomsky's "Human

Intelligence and the Environment". We cant have one without the other -

think about it.

As the global economy continues to be a news focus its worth tuning in to

hear Robert Scheer's examination of the circumstances that brought about the

GFC and perhaps to get just a little concerned as he points out that it aint

over yet.

Amiri Baraka has some fun as he explores the meeting of the resistance

movement and artists. With the so called 'war on terror' still be

'prosecuted' by the coalition of the nervous, this program provides some

great insights into the power of art and how it has been used to rally

people on a common cause.

Returning to the environment, Chris Williams shows up the folly of trying to

rely on "market forces" to develop sustainable environmental policy. A

timely reminder of the loopy politics going on the Canberra at present.

To round out the month Reece Erlich unmasks the ways in which media

manipulation keeps the sheeple in a constant state of panic and ready to

jump to the support of dangerous legislation or to simply just turn to their

Facebook accounts claiming 'its all to hard'.

I hope you enjoy the line-up and that you continue to provide the support

and encouragement AR needs to remain a source of adult entertainment and

engagement not found anywhere outside community radio.

Cheers

Shane Elsion
Alternative Radio

02 May Noam Chomsky - Human Intelligence & the Environment

As a species we humans are unique because of our intelligence. At the same

time we have the capacity to defer, deny and ignore unpleasant realities. To

wit: the environmental crisis. The signs of climate change are clearly

evident. Glaciers are melting at an astonishing rate. Floods, fires,

drought, tornadoes and hurricanes are occurring with greater frequency and

intensity. Rising sea levels are putting millions at risk. 2010 was the

hottest year the earth has yet recorded. Conferences on mitigating global

warming are held from Montreal to Copenhagen, to Cancun. But they have

produced little more than hot air. The sense of urgency is just not there

with the big industrial countries, responsible for most of the carbon

emissions. They engage in compromises and non-binding deals leaving the

basic systems and structures intact. Yet with all of the mounting evidence

of the damage being done to the planet, we continue to dilly-dally. The

clock is ticking.

Noam Chomsky is the internationally renowned Institute Professor Emeritus at

MIT. He practically invented modern linguistics. In addition to his

pioneering work in that field he has been a leading voice for peace and

social justice for many decades. He is in huge demand as a speaker all over

world. "The New Statesman" calls him, "The conscience of the American

people." Howard Zinn described him as "the nation's most distinguished

intellectual rebel." He's the author of scores of books including "Failed

States," "What We Say Goes," and "Hopes and Prospects."

09 May Robert Scheer - Roots of the Economic Collapse

Wall Street is making more money than ever. The four largest firms, Goldman

Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, and JPMorgan Chase, wracked up huge

gains and paid out billions in bonuses. The CEO of Goldman Sachs, Lloyd

Blankfein, defended the bank's massive profits, saying Goldman is, "doing

God's work." And on Main Street? By almost every economic measure most

Americans have been steadily losing ground since the Reagan era. It's been

bi-partisan policies for the most part that have given tax breaks and

subsidies to the very wealthy while the bulk of the citizenry fends for

itself. Inequality in the U.S. is the highest of any industrialised country.

Poverty and hunger. Lost jobs, lost savings, lost homes. How did this all

happen? It's easy to blame the greedsters. Might there be some problems with

the system itself?

Robert Scheer is a veteran journalist and editor of Truthdig.com. He is the

author of many books, including "The Pornography of Power" and "The Great

American Stickup."

16 May Amiri Baraka - Resistance and the Arts

From Allen Ginsberg to Kurt Vonnegut and from Bob Dylan to Michael Franti

artists have been on the cutting edge. The arts play a pivotal role in

society. The great historian Howard Zinn said: "Whenever I become

discouraged I lift my spirits by remembering: The artists are on our side! I

mean those poets and painters, singers and musicians, novelists and

playwrights who speak to the world in a way that is impervious to assault

because they wage the battle for justice in a sphere which is unreachable by

the dullness of ordinary political discourse. The billionaire mandarins of

our culture can show us the horrors of war on a movie screen and pretend

they are making an important statement. But the artists go beyond that, to

resistance."

Amiri Baraka rose to fame in the 1960s as LeRoi Jones. His 1964 off-Broadway

play, "Dutchman" created a sensation. Later he became Amiri Baraka and was a

central figure in the Black Arts movement. He is an award-winning playwright

and poet and recipient of the American Book Award for Lifetime Achievement.

He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He is the author