Gravity FM
59 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 2 months ago - ★★★★★ - 6 ratingsDiscussing human rights and environmental issues from the legal, political and ethical fronts with interviews from activists, NGOs, authors and professors.
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Episodes
Our Tattered Tapestry: Hate and Extremism Across America
February 29, 2024 20:00 - 1 hour - 73.5 MBExposing, Investigating and Inoculating Against Hate Discussion with Lisa Borden and Susan Corke from the Southern Poverty Law Center on hate and extremism groups throughout the United States. We discuss rising right radicalism, including religious and white nationalist groups and their means and methods. We also discuss \"parental right groups\" and their anti-inclusive stance and disruption of public school governance. Additionally, we discuss the school-to-prison pipeline, continuing sy...
Letters of Leadership
January 29, 2024 20:00 - 1 hour - 74.3 MBA Celebration of Civics and Connection Amidst Crises and Consternation Discussion with Shannon A. Mullen on her recent book In Other Words, Leadership: How a Young Mother’s Weekly Letters to Her Governor Helped Both Women Brave the First Pandemic Year which looks at agency, representative democracy, socioeconomic and environmental crises within a portrait of leadership. The book is based on the true story of Ashira Knapp’s exchange of letters with Maine Governor Janet Mills during the pand...
From the Courtroom to the Community: Revitalizing Law to Empower Frontline Communities
November 12, 2023 20:00 - 1 hour - 65.8 MBHow Grassroots Movements for Climate and Environmental Justice Are Critical to Surviving the Climate Crisis Discussion with Vivek Maru on the importance of community paralegals in extending access to the law, enforcing rights and aiding in structural change. We discuss the Customary Land Rights Act in Sierra Leone, the Community Land Act in Kenya and environmental justice action in Myanmar. We also discuss environmental injustice within the United States, the need for cumulative impact in ...
Deflection, Deceit and Division in the Time of Climate Crisis
September 16, 2023 20:00 - 45 minutes - 55.9 MBClimate Change, Subterfuge and Building a Broad Climate Coalition Discussion with Dr. Michael Mann on the subterfuge tactics by the fossil industry to prevent systemic and structural decarbonization. We discuss how the fossil fuel industry promotes doomsday theories to engender apathy and deny agency. We also discuss how the fossil fuel industry fosters division between different social groups to prevent a climate alliance and needed structural change. Additionally, we discuss how the focu...
Our Immolated Heart: Deforestation and Land Grabbing in Brazil's Amazon
August 07, 2023 20:00 - 1 hour - 64.9 MBCattle Ranching, Palm Oil Plantations and Other Agrobusiness Drivers of Deforestation, Fraud and Violence Against Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples, Bolsonaro's Crimes and the Need for Due Diligence and Accountability in Financing and Supply Chains Discussion with Gabriella Bianchini on the importance of the Amazonian biome to the local environment and our planet and the current threats to the rainforest. We discuss the history of deforestation in Brazil's Amazon, including the ecoc...
ISDS: Clandestine Corporate Courts that Entrench Colonialism and Exacerbate the Climate Crisis
June 09, 2023 20:00 - 1 hour - 68.7 MBNeocolonialism, Democratic Deficits and Regulatory Chill of the Investor State Dispute Settlement Mechanism Discussion with Lisa Sachs on the regulatory chill and democratic deficit of the Investor-State Dispute Settlement mechanism (ISDS). We discuss the structural issues of ISDS, including conflict of interest, lack of transparency and lack of accountability as well as its neocolonial origins and entrenchment. We also discuss the proliferation of bilateral and multilateral investment tre...
Of Olives and Tears: Israel, the Occupied Palestinian Territories and the First Amendment
April 23, 2023 20:00 - 1 hour - 73.3 MBPalestinian Human Rights Defenders, SLAPP Suits, Anti-Boycott Laws and Human Rights Abuses in Israel and the OPT Discussion with Maria LaHood on the curtailment and criminalization of advocacy on behalf of Palestinian human rights and criticism of Israeli government policies and their conflation with antisemitism. We discuss SLAPP suits, prevention of academic freedom and debate and anti-boycott laws and their effect on chilling speech. We also discuss the importance of the right to boycot...
The United States of Waste and Woe: Conserving Toxicity at the Santa Susana Field Lab
November 11, 2022 20:00 - 1 hour - 81 MBRegulatory Capture, Lobbying, Astroturfing, Greenwashing and the Failure to Clean up LA’s Toxic Secret Discussion with Daniel Hirsch, Denise Duffield and Melissa Bumstead on the history and current contamination of the nuclear experiment and rocket testing site, Santa Susana Field Lab, above Ventura and Los Angeles Counties. We discuss how the responsible parties- NASA, the Department of Energy (DOE) and Boeing have failed to clean up the site, the tactics they have utilized to not do so a...
Toxic Tastes: How Industry Seeds Doubt, Fights Regulation and Hurts Our Health
September 12, 2022 20:00 - 1 hour - 65.1 MBThe Nexus Between Environmental Health and Social Justice Discussion with Dr. Jimena Díaz Leiva on the health and environmental impact of fracking, forever chemicals, flame retardants and glyphosate. We discuss how trade secrets are being utilized to protect against disclosure of all toxic chemicals in fracking, the exemptions the industry obtained from environmental laws and how the First Amendment is being utilized against mandated government health warnings for glyphosate. We also discu...
Ecocide: An Egregious Crime Causing Collective Calamity
May 19, 2022 20:00 - 1 hour - 69 MBDrafting and Establishing the 5th International Crime Against Peace Discussion with Darryl Robinson and Kate Mackintosh on the history of ecocide and the gravity and culpability elements necessary for it to be the fifth international crime against peace. We also discuss the process of establishing ecocide as an international crime, including the process of its adoption by the International Criminal Court. We discuss the differences between the definitions of the independent expert panel of...
A Tapestry of Humanity: Adam Hochschild's Ghosts of Rapacity and Resistance
March 21, 2022 20:00 - 1 hour - 96.2 MBAdam Hochschild's Ghosts of Rapacity and Resistance Discussion with Adam Hochschild on the historical movements and moments throughout Adam’s books. We discuss the First World War, the Spanish Civil War, the turmoil and anti-immigrant and anti-labour purges in the United States during and after the First World War, apartheid, the Stalinist purges and the Russian people’s attempt to reconcile with this rapacity, the British emancipation movement and King Leopold II’s genocide in the Congo. ...
Total Extraction: Brutality and Blindness in Business and Banking
December 12, 2021 20:00 - 1 hour - 69.8 MBThe Noxious Nexus of Environmental Destruction, Corruption, Conflict and Human Rights Abuse Discussion with Patrick Alley on the intersectionality of environmental destruction, human rights abuse, conflict and corruption. We discuss how our banks and institutional funds finance deforestation while concomitantly publicly rallying against it. We discuss greenwashing by the fossil fuels industry and its influence on COP26. We also discuss the intimidation, attacks and murder of frontline envi...
Light Departing: Umbrellas v. Gas Canisters
November 01, 2021 20:00 - 1 hour - 86.5 MBDemocratic Resistance in Hong Kong Discussion with Alex Yong-Kang Chow and Brian Leung on China’s increasing control over Hong Kong and its breaches of the Sino-British Declaration. We discuss the student democratic protests in 2014 and 2019 and the arrest and trials of the protestors. We discuss the enactment and use of the National Security Law to target free speech and the free press. We discuss the ransacking and closure of the June 4th Museum and the prohibition of the Tiananmen Squar...
A Sun-Stroked Country: Fortress Australia and its Need for a Bill of Rights
September 16, 2021 20:00 - 1 hour - 75.4 MBAbandoned Australians, Cultural Restitution and Human Rights Accountability Discussion with Geoffrey Robertson QC on how Australia’s COVID response, including its border closure to citizens abroad, has violated human rights and Geoffrey’s petition on behalf of abandoned Australians before the Human Rights Committee. We also discuss the lack of constitutional rights in Australia and the need for a bill of rights. Additionally, we discuss the secret, political trial of barrister Bernard Coll...
Cobbled by Cobalt: Forced Child Labor in Cobalt Mines in the DRC
May 21, 2021 20:00 - 1 hour - 83.1 MBCobalt, Chocolate, Blood and Corporate Impunity Discussion with Terry Collingsworth on forced child labor in cobalt mines in the DRC and his Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) case against American tech companies which knowingly benefit from the cheap cobalt mined by children. We discuss the legal issues in the case as well as the facts on the ground in the DRC, including the environmental impact of cobalt mining and the maiming and killing of child miners that are ...
Revamping Rights for the 21st Century
February 12, 2021 20:00 - 58 minutes - 53.6 MBExpanding the Rights Rubric: Adding Rights and Rights Holders for a Good Society Discussion with Sushma Raman on The Coming Good Society: Why New Realities Demand New Rights, her book with William F. Schulz. We discuss the need for specific rights to redress the needs of LGBTQIA+ communities and why adding new rights reinforces rather than dilutes traditional human rights. We also discuss the risks posed to our rights by technological advancement, including algorithmic decision-making and ...
Oiling the Courts: How the Fossil Fuels Industry Attacks Activists and Advocates and How to Fight Back Against their Sticks and SLAPPS
December 30, 2020 20:00 - 1 hour - 61.1 MBChevron’s Carious Crusade Against Steven Donziger, SLAPP Suits and the Defense of Climate Necessity Discussion with Lauren Regan on corporate SLAPP suits and in particular the oil and gas industry’s utilization of RICO against grassroots environmental activists. We also discuss the miscarriages of justice in Chevron’s RICO action against attorney Steven Donziger and the criminal contempt case against Steven, whom Lauren is defending on the criminal contempt charge. Additionally, we discuss...
One World, One Health: How Pathogenic Policies Contribute to Pandemics
July 02, 2020 20:00 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBThe Need for a Unified, Holistic Approach to Environmental, Animal and Human Health Discussion with Professor Dr. Christine Kreuder Johnson on anthropogenic ecosystem drivers of disease emergence in wildlife and spillover into the human population. We discuss how habitat destruction, including from changing land use patterns and industrial and agricultural intensification and effects of climate change have contributed to epidemics of zoonotic infections. We also discuss how biodiversity lo...
When the Boardroom Enters the Bedroom: The Art of Profit and Predation in the ART Industry
April 23, 2020 20:00 - 1 hour - 77.2 MBRegulatory Gaps and Conflicts in the Fertility Industry Discussion on regulatory gaps and issues in the fertility industry with Professors Naomi Cahn and June Carbone. We discuss the marketing of egg freezing, brokerage of egg donation and surrogacy and issues surrounding informed consent, vulnerability and inequality in the fertility industry. Additionally, we discuss clinic mislabeling mishaps and mistaken implantation, the legal recognition of parental rights and the ownership of embryo...
Stifling Dissent: Activism Between the Stick and Slap
December 23, 2019 20:00 - 1 hour - 77.7 MBThe Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, Little Gitmo and Corporate SLAPP Suits Discussion on the terrorization of activists and the criminalization of dissent with Rachel Meeropol. We discuss the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, how it may operate to violate the First Amendment and its chilling effect on activism. We also discuss corporate SLAPP suits including Energy Transfer Partner’s suit to bring a RICO claim against environmental activists at Standing Rock and the entire EarthFirst! envi...
The Slaughterhouse Straitjacket: How Big Ag Gags and Guts Our Speech
October 16, 2019 20:00 - 1 hour - 69.7 MBAg-Gag Laws and the First Amendment, Carious CAFOS and the Endangerment of the Endangered Species Act Discussion with Cristina Stella on the advent and continuance of Ag-gag laws that criminalize undercover reporting at animal enterprises and their violation of First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. We also discuss the First Amendment violation of “food censorship” laws that prohibit meat and milk alternatives from using “milk” and “meat” in the name of their products. We discuss humane wa...
Grit and Gravity in International Law
July 17, 2019 20:00 - 1 hour - 80.4 MBDemocratizing the Colonial Space of International Law Discussion with Rachel López on the colonial development of international law and its continuing hierarchical structure. We also discuss the duty to refrain from assisting states in committing grave crimes and its interrelation with the responsibility to protect people from grave crimes under international law. Additionally, we discuss the concept of “gravity” as the counterweight to sovereignty, its development under international law ...
A People Fractured: Shells, Strikes and Starvation in Yemen
April 30, 2019 20:00 - 1 hour - 69.7 MBU.S. and European Complicity in the Yemeni Conflict Discussion with Radhya Al-Mutawakel on the war crimes committed in Yemen by all parties, including the indiscriminate bombing and shelling of civilian sites and civilians and the destruction of religious and cultural heritage. We discuss U.S., U.K. and other Western countries’ participation in the conflict through arm sales to the Saudi and Emirati coalition and logistical support. Additionally, we discuss the plague of landmines, the eco...
Bars to Chance: A Nation Caged Under a Criminal Justice System Without Any Justice
December 28, 2018 20:00 - 1 hour - 104 MBIncarceration Rates and Sentencing Policies Throughout the United States Discussion with Nazgol Ghandnoosh on the high rates of incarceration and state differentials of incarceration throughout the United States and their causes, including the “war on drugs”. We discuss racial disparity in arrests and sentences, private prisons and legislative and executive encroachment on the judicial function by the imposition of mandatory sentences. We also discuss the impact of prosecutorial power and ...
The Rest Is Silence: How Commodity Agriculture Turns Forests into Cemeteries
October 04, 2018 20:00 - 1 hour - 121 MBLoss of Biodiversity, Pollution, Climate Change and Human Rights Abuses from Deforestation Discussion with Etelle Higonnet on the state of deforestation around the world with a particular focus on commodity agriculture and soy and palm oil in particular. We discuss the contribution to climate change and the loss of biodiversity from clearing wild forests for monoculture plantations. We also discuss the public health impact from polluted water and air for surrounding populations, in particu...
An Open Golden Door No More Part II: The Criminalization of Migration
August 01, 2018 20:00 - 1 hour - 123 MBFamily Separation, Mandatory Detention and Denaturalization Discussion with Paromita Shah on the effective criminalization of immigration and the right to asylum through mandatory detention and unlawful entry and unlawful re-entry prosecutions. We discuss family detainment and separation at the border and the deportation of undocumented parents of US citizen minors. Additionally, we discuss the recent Supreme Court decision of Dimaya, due process in immigration court and Attorney General S...
An Open Golden Door No More: Incarcerating and Ostracizing Immigrants in America
May 31, 2018 20:00 - 37 minutes - 50.5 MBReligious and Racial Discrimination in the American South and the Escalation of Immigration Detention Discussion with Azadeh Shahshahani on the work of Project South, which cultivates strong social movements in the Southern United States and supports social justice movements in the Global South. We discuss religious and racial discrimination as well as police collaboration with ICE and the denial of utilities to undocumented persons as well as lawful residents without social security numbe...
The American Illusion: Chained to Poverty in the Land of the Free
March 17, 2018 20:00 - 58 minutes - 74.7 MBThe U.S. Visit by the Special Rapporteur for Extreme Poverty and Human Rights Discussion with Professor Philip Alston, the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, on the observations and conclusions from his country visit to the United States in December 2017. We discuss the political nature of poverty, its inextricable link to rising inequality in the United States and the overt and covert disenfranchisement of the extremely poor. We also discuss punitive policies towa...
A Marketplace of Misery: Human Trafficking in the United States
February 18, 2018 20:00 - 1 hour - 106 MBThe Prevalence of Human Trafficking in the United States and the Legal Framework for Bringing Justice to Human Trafficking Survivors. Discussion with Martina Vandenberg on the work of the Human Trafficking Legal Center and the prevalence and characteristics of human trafficking in the United States. We discuss the international and legal framework, whether the United States is meeting its international obligations and consider particular issues relating to diplomatic immunity when human tr...
In Exile at Home: Fifty Years of Human Rights Abuses in the Occupied Territories
December 28, 2017 20:00 - 1 hour - 118 MBHow Israel Exploits Palestinian Land and Expels the Palestinian Population Discussion with Amit Gilutz on the human rights work of B’Tselem, the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, including its citizenship journalism project. We discuss the human rights impact of the separation barrier and the demarcation of the Palestinian peoples into separate Occupied Territories. We also discuss the Israeli manufactured water and sewerage crisis in the Gaza Strip a...
Spotlight on a Stabilocracy: Human Rights in Serbia (Part III)
November 15, 2017 20:00 - 50 minutes - 61.4 MBLGBTI Rights and Freedom of Expression in Serbia Discussion with Goran Miletić on LGBTI rights in Serbia. We discuss the most recent Pride Parade in Serbia, its previous unconstitutional ban by the government and security issues. We also discuss recent anti-discrimination and hate speech legislation and their weak implementation in the context of a homophobic Balkan culture. We additionally discuss how recent restrictions on freedom of expression impact the LGBTI community and the need for...
Spotlight on a Stabilocracy: Human Rights in Serbia (Part II)
October 23, 2017 20:00 - 36 minutes - 47.6 MBThe Roma, Cultural Relativism, Autonomy and Community Empowerment Discussion with Danilo Ćurčić on the discrimination and segregation faced by the Roma in Serbia, in particular with respect to employment and housing, including forced evictions from informal Roma settlements. We discuss the need to move away from the discourse of providing humanitarian assistance to the enforcement of human and constitutional rights. We also discuss the conflict in addressing human rights violations within ...
Spotlight on a Stabilocracy: Human Rights in Serbia (Part I)
October 01, 2017 20:00 - 45 minutes - 58.7 MBAsylum, Criminal Justice and Media Freedom Discussion with Nikola Kovačević on the right of asylum in Serbia, the limited acceptance rate and the “ping-pong” currently being played by European countries with refugees. We also discuss criminal justice issues, including the right to counsel, pre-trial detention, the independence of the judiciary and overcrowding and other problems of prison conditions. Additionally, we discuss the impact of recent media privatization and the government’s inc...
Innocence Inviolate: The Menace of the Years
September 01, 2017 20:00 - 1 hour - 88 MBExonerating the innocent in northern California Discussion with Northern California Innocence Project's (NCIP) Linda Starr and Todd Fries on the causes of wrongful conviction in California, including but not limited to problems with eyewitness testimony, preservation of evidence, coerced confessions, paid informants, ineffective assistance of counsel and prosecutorial and police misconduct and mistakes. We discuss policy reform to ameliorate and eradicate the main causes of wrongful convic...
Destination Interrupted: Refugees in Serbia
August 01, 2017 20:00 - 48 minutes - 61.7 MBThe Refugee Situation in Serbia Following Border Closures on the Balkan Route, the Work of Refugee Aid Serbia and Disrupting Hostile Discourse on Displaced Persons Discussion with Felix Thomson on the refugee situation in Serbia and how it has changed since border closures along the Balkan route severely restricted access to Northern and Western Europe. We discuss the treatment of refugees in Serbia, the issue of unaccompanied children, sexual exploitation, smuggling and current legal aven...
Of Strawberries, Cigarettes and Sorrow: The Prevalence of Children Laboring in Our Fields
June 30, 2017 20:00 - 43 minutes - 58 MBThe Double Standard in U.S. Labor Laws That Fails to Protect Children Working in Agriculture Discussion with Zama Neff on the double standard in U.S. Federal and State labor laws which allows for children at younger ages to work in agriculture and provides them less protections in their working conditions. We discuss the type of agricultural work children are employed in, the effects of the long and strenuous work on their education and the potential for chronic injury resulting from their...
Pernicious Profits: Financing Terror and Catastrophe at the International Finance Corporation
May 15, 2017 20:00 - 59 minutes - 76 MBHolding the IFC Accountable for Aiding and Abetting Murder and Terrorization of Honduran Farmers and Financing the Pollution of the Kutch Coast in India Discussion with Marco Simons on Doe v. IFC in which the IFC is alleged to have knowingly profited from financing the murder and terrorization of Honduran farmers by Dinant, a land grabbing palm corporation. We also discuss Jam v. IFC and the IFC's alleged negligence and failure to abide by its own internal procedures in financing a coal po...
Bytes on the Beat: How Predictive Analytics Amplifies Discriminatory Police Practices
May 01, 2017 20:00 - 1 hour - 120 MBSelection Bias, Confirmation Bias and the Feedback Loop of Predictive Policing Algorithms, the Black Box Problem of Proprietary Algorithms and Lack of Accountability Discussion with Kristian Lum and William Isaac on how machine learning algorithms work and how seemingly neutral police data can perpetuate systemic and institutional prejudices and produce predictive systems that predict police enforcement rather than future crime. We explore the creation and conclusions of their Oakland case...
Juvenile Injustice: How the Juvenile Justice System Reproduces and Entrenches Inequality
April 15, 2017 20:00 - 59 minutes - 77.1 MBJailing Children for Failure to Pay Administrative Fees and Costs, Life without Parole, Solitary Confinement, Juvenile Sex Offender Registration, Expungement of Juvenile Records and the "Kids for Cash" Tragedy Discussion with Marsha Levick on the various administrative fees and costs imposed by the juvenile justice system and the practice of incarcerating impecunious youth. We discuss the institutional racism of the juvenile criminal justice system with youth of colour more likely to be co...
A Crude Affair in Canada : The Alberta Tar Sands and First Nations
March 01, 2017 20:00 - 1 hour - 98.6 MBCanadian Aboriginal and Treaty Rights and the Duty to Consult, Environmental Deregulation and the Environmental and Human Rights Footprint of the Tar Sands Discussion with Robert Janes and Karey Brooks on the environmental, climate and human rights footprint on the Alberta tar sands, in particular its impact on indigenous rights. We discuss the Beaver Lake Cree First Nation’s claims against the Alberta and Canadian governments for infringement of their treaty rights as a result of the cumu...
Chained to Chocolate: Child Slavery in the Cacao Industry
February 01, 2017 20:00 - 1 hour - 81 MBJohn Doe et. al. v Nestle et. al., Forced Child Labour in the Cacao Industry, the Alien Tort Claims Act, Koibel and Corporate Accountability for Human Rights Abuses Discussion with Terry Collingsworth on John Doe et. al. v Nestle et. al, the prevalence of child slavery in the cacao industry in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire and the assistance provided to farms that enslave children by confectionary conglomerates. We also discuss the history and jurisprudence of the Alien Tort Claims Act (or Alien...
The Stand Against the Black Snake: The Dakota Access Pipeline
December 15, 2016 20:00 - 59 minutes - 93.8 MBCultural Genocide, Water Protectors and Oil Discussion with Martin Wagner on the human rights violations associated with the Dakota Access Pipeline and the Standing Rock Sioux, Cheyenne River Sioux and the Yankton Sioux’s petition to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. We discuss the environmental impact of the construction of the pipeline and potential oil spills as well as the cultural impact on the Sioux tribes, including the destruction of spiritual and sacred sites. We furt...
Bytes With Teeth: The Digital Dangers of Repression and Resistance
November 15, 2016 20:00 - 1 hour - 95.9 MBState Hacking, Cyber Surveillance and Targeted Killings Within the Digital Panopticon Discussion with Scott Gilmore regarding the human rights implications of technology, including cyber surveillance of human rights activists and journalists and state authorized hacks. We discuss the legal and policy issues respecting Western companies selling technology to states that are known as pervasive human rights abusers and holding foreign states accountable for cyber surveillance and hacking of t...
Tapped Out: Shutting Off Water and Shutting Down Protest in Detroit
November 01, 2016 20:00 - 41 minutes - 65.2 MBArt, Activism, Water Shut Offs, School Closures, Detroit's Restructuring, Urban Redevelopment as Code for Racial Discrimination, Community Cooperation and Urban Farming Discussion with artist and activist Antonio Cosme concerning his prosecution by the recently established Detroit Graffiti Task Force for writing “Free the Water” on a decommissioned water tower to protest the continuing water shut offs occurring in his neighborhood. We discuss the water shut offs and school closures and the...
Diplomacy in the Time of Cholera: Immunity Not Impunity
October 15, 2016 20:00 - 1 hour - 116 MBThe U.N.'s Egregious Negligence in Causing the Cholera Epidemic in Haiti and its Refusal to Accept Responsibility and Provide Redress and the Legal and Political Issues Surrounding the U.N.'s Assertion of Diplomatic Immunity Discussion with Brian Concannon Jr. on the U.N.'s actions in causing, covering up and refusing to accept responsibility for the cholera epidemic in Haiti. We discuss the legal and policy issues behind the U.N.'s diplomatic immunity, including the Second Circuit's decis...
Water, Water Everywhere and Not a Drop to Drink: Water Privatization and Resistance in South America
October 01, 2016 20:00 - 50 minutes - 104 MBWorld Bank and IMF SAPS, Water Privatization, Public-Private and Public-Public Partnerships, Cochambabinos' Resistance, North-South Cooperaton and South-South Solidarity Discussion with Marcela Olivera on water privatization and resistance in South America and the establishment of public-public partnerships for community owned and organized water services. We discuss the water privatization conditions tied to World Bank and IMF loans, the Cochabambinos' victory over the privatization of th...
The Dirt on the Drought: Water Resources, Rights and Restrictions in California
September 15, 2016 20:00 - 49 minutes - 63.8 MBDrought, surface and groundwater in California, the Human Right to Water Act, the environmental impact of the Delta Tunnels Project and Center for Biological Diversity, Nestle's water permit in the San Bernardino National Forest. Discussion with Courtney A. Davis about the impact and severity of the drought and the legal and regulatory framework respecting the allocation of surface and groundwater in California, the Human Right to Water Act, the environmental impact of the Delta Tunnels ...
Well of Woe: Undocumented Immigrants and Poisoned Water in Flint
September 01, 2016 20:00 - 32 minutes - 42.8 MBThe Contamination of Flint's Water, the Plight of Undocumented Immigrants and Emergency Financial Managers in Michigan. Discussion with San Juana "Juani" Olivares on the water supply in Flint, Michigan, which had its water contaminated by lead, bacteria and carcinogenic disinfection byproducts with a focus on the particular effects on the non-English speaking Hispanic-Latino community and undocumented immigrants, who were and still are the worst affected. Juani is the first President of th...
Nicaragua Canal Part II: Impending Environmental Catastrophe
August 15, 2016 20:00 - 35 minutes - 53.8 MBInternational Environmental Law and Environmental Hazards of the Nicaragua Canal. Discussion with Professor Daniel Magraw on the environmental consequences of the Nicaragua Canal, which planned path will cut through some of the most biologically diverse areas in the world as well as Central America's largest freshwater lake, Lake Nicaragua, the country's main freshwater supply. We will also look at whether Nicaragua is violating its obligations under international law, including numerous e...
Up Against the Knife
August 01, 2016 20:00 - 31 minutes - 47.3 MBForced Sterilization, the Work of the International Justice Resource Center and the Election of the New U.N. Secretary General. Discussion with Lisa Reinsberg on the incidence of forced sterilization throughout the Americas and around the world and the International Justice Resource Center's (IJRC) petition in I.V. v Bolivia to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights arguing for the need of a reformulation of forced sterilization as an autonomous core human rights violation with a need fo...