SPAR

A very racist Halloween!

October 29, 2013 Carmen Russell Podcast, Politics 0 Comments

#BlackTwitter strikes again! When a trio posted on social media a photo of themselves dressed up as “Robbin’ da Hood,” “George Zimmerman” with fingers pointed as if a gun toward, a bloody-hoodied, black-faced “Trayvon Martin,” folks inundated the workplaces of at least two of the posers with e-mails, phone calls and social media messages.
Joining me to talk about the power, and the responsibility of online activists is Mikki Kendall. She’s a blogger, a writer, and the brains behind “Hood Feminism”. We also bring up Julianne Hough and her unfortunate blackface Halloween costume as well.

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“1 in 3” – Ending the stigma of abortion in America

October 29, 2013 Carmen Russell Podcast, Politics 0 Comments

 

By Jamila Bey

The reality in America is that abortion is neither rare nor concentrated among any singular segment of society.

One in three women in the US will have an abortion in her lifetime. This week kicks off a week of activists giving people the opportunity to speak up about their own abortions. College campuses around the country are hosting events, and the “1 in 3 Campaign” is hosting many of the stories shared by individuals who often spoke about their abortion for the first time. Carly Manes, a junior at the University of Michigan, and Julia Reticker-Flynn, the Youth Activist Network Manager at Advocates for Youth, are my guests.

 

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Gitmo solidarity hunger striker takes force-feeding in DC

October 19, 2013 Carmen Russell Podcast, Politics 00:27:10 0 Comments

By Carmen Russell-Sluchansky

The DC District Court heard arguments today over an appeal by Guantanamo inmates charging that the force-feeding of hunger striking detainees is cruel and inhumane.

To emphasize this, protestors gathered outside the court after the proceedings and held a vigil that included a volunteer undergoing a real force-feeding himself to demonstrate just how painful it is. More than 160 detainees remain in detention at the base in Cuba, with 15 still on hunger-strike and being force-fed.

Voice of Russia talked to Todd Pierce, a retired U.S. Army Reserve officer with 20 years of active duty during which he served as defense counsel in the office of military commissions. He currently represents a Guantanamo detainee.

Part 1:

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Voice of Russia also talked to Tighe Barry, CodePink activist trained as an EMT who participated in a rally against the force-feeding of Guantanamo detainees.

Part 2:

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Video of Andres Thomas Conteris (of http://www.closegitmo.net/) being force-fed in front of the Federal Court of Appeals in Washington DC on Friday. He is on his 103rd day of a hunger strike in solidarity of Guantanamo Bay detainees. Filmed by Liudmila Chernova & edited by Sean Nevins.

Slide show of the Rally held outside the Federal Court of Appeals, Washington DC. Photos by Liudmila Chernova. 

National Science and Technology News Service

October 15, 2013 Carmen Russell Culture, Podcast 00:17:57 0 Comments

By Jamila Bey

Making sense of the entire world around us requires that people hold some understanding of science.

Unfortunately, from the water we drink to the medicines and foods we ingest, Americans’ understanding of science concepts and practices show the need for further education. For minority populations, the picture is even more bleak. A new organization, founded by scientists and journalists has been created to help to fix this. The National Science and Technology News Service, or on twitter @TheDarkSci, was founded with the mission to tell better science stories, and to do so with an eye toward ethnic media and audiences. Jamila is a founding member of the NSTNS, as are the panelists for tonight’s show. Dr. Danielle Lee, The Urban Scientist, is a biologist and expert in animal behavior, mammalogy, and ecology Dr. Caleph Wilson, is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania and co-chair of the Biomedical Postdoctoral Council, and Dr. Marshall Shepard, professor of geography in the University and president of the American Meteorological Society. The discussion surrounds how to support science in the US, and how to encourage more students to consider science as their career.

Part 1

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Part 2

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Part 3

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Follow Dr. Danielle Lee on Twitter @DNLEE5

Follow Dr. Caleph Wilson on Twitter @HeyDrWilson

Follow The National Science and Technology News Service on Twitter @TheDarkSci

Dominionism in US military and government

October 5, 2013 Carmen Russell Podcast, Politics 0 Comments

 

By Jamila Bey

American Atheists Military Director, Paul Loebe also writes the Rock Beyond Belief blog on the Patheos.com network. He waxed historic this week and looked at the history of religious rule in the US government and how this has everything to do with the opposition to the Affordable Care Act and the government shutdown. Follow him at @paulLoebe.

 

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Filmmaker Matthew David Chapman muses on America

August 14, 2013 Carmen Russell Politics 0 Comments

Photo credit: © RIA Novosti, Sergei Piatakov.

He’s an author, a director, a filmmaker, and the great-great grandson of Charles Darwin. He’s Matthew David Chapman, who dropped in to SPAR with Jamila Bey for the entire show.

The two discussed politics, the need for more Americans to travel, mass incarceration in the U.S., and even parenting, before they took on Chapman’s movies and his upcoming projects. It’s a rather involved discussion, we’d say!