AlternativeRadio

The FBI, the Federal Bureau of Investigation was once called by American Indian movement activist John Trudell, as the Federal Bureau of Intimidation. The FBI has a long history of persecuting people for thought crimes, having the wrong political ideas. J. Edgar Hoover was the Bureau’s first director and he served in that post for almost 50 years. He ran the FBI as an unchallenged lord of the manor and his agents were serfs to do his bidding. Hoover had a particular animosity for and...

Empires rise and fall from Greek and Roman times down to the British and the French to the present-day U.S. Some lasted for centuries others mere decades. There are always new powers that want to rule the roost. For many, military power is closely linked to economic well-being. But once the cash register starts emptying overall decline is not far behind. It's clear that in the 21st-century global dominance is a contest between the U.S. and China. Russia is dangerous but is relatively weak,...

Autocracy: concentrated power in the hands of a few. The U.S. is linked to a network of Arab autocracies led by sultans, emirs, and military dictators who are called “allies” and “partners.” Politics and economics make for strange bedfellows. Perhaps none is stranger than the one with the feudal regime of Saudi Arabia. The Washington/Riyadh axis goes back to 1945 when FDR met King Saud on a U.S. destroyer in the Suez Canal. The deal was struck. The U.S. would protect the Saud monarchy and in...

The Middle East is in turmoil. The hope and promise of the 2011 Arab Spring are now a distant memory. The toppling of the decrepit Mubarak regime in Egypt was greeted by many Egyptians with joy. But that elation didn’t last long. Since 2014, Egypt is ruled by General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Sisi has changed his uniform for an Armani suit. If you criticize him and his regime you can easily land up in jail or worse. There is something like 60,000 political prisoners in Egypt. In terms of freedom...

The warnings about the climate emergency are coming in fast and furious, yet public awareness and political action remain at a low level. The latest report is from the World Meteorological Organization, a UN agency. Its director said, “The impacts of climate change” are "often felt through water—more intense and frequent droughts, more extreme flooding, more erratic seasonal rainfall and accelerated melting of glaciers—with cascading effects on economies, ecosystems, and all aspects of our...

Since mid-September, tens of thousands of Iranians have taken to the streets across the country to protest the government's treatment of girls and women and in particular mandatory dress codes. These historic demonstrations center on women's socio-political rights and democratic governance in Iran. The government has brutally responded. Hundreds have been killed, including children. Many thousands have been arrested. Despite the regime's violent crackdown, protests have only widened....

Is history just a bunch of innocuous cold facts and dates? Or is it something more? What can we learn from the past? History is not neutral. It’s an ideological battleground. Witness the vitriolic attacks by establishment figures on those who want a reckoning of African American slavery. They want to obfuscate that sordid history. Or take the U.S. invasion of Grenada in 1983. What was that about? Or the CIA coup in Chile? Gee, never read about that in school. Elites can lie outright about...

The rhetoric accompanying war is always saturated with noble sentiments and symbols. Flag, country, duty. We have enemies thus we need better weapons. The military-industrial complex grows and grows. The Pentagon has carte blanche. It asks for a new aircraft carrier, submarine or fighter jet. The answer from the White House and Congress is, “Sure. How many do you want?" The legendary Marine Corps General Smedley Butler said, “War is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest,...

At first blush, it seems like a dream job and a great way to make money. You always wanted to be your own boss. You’re free and independent. You work where and when you want. It could be a side job giving you that extra income you need. The gig economy has exploded in recent years. But it’s not all that its cranked out to be. Workers are vulnerable. There are no benefits. Some workers wind up working for peanuts. With no regular income, the gig economy can be stressful especially if you have...

"Azadi!"—Urdu for "Freedom!"—is the slogan of the freedom struggle in Kashmir against Indian occupation. Abroad, New Delhi promotes itself as the world’s largest democracy. At home, the picture is quite different. India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, the BJP, led by Narendra Modi espouses Hindutva, Hindu nationalism. It promotes Islamophobia and stifles dissent. What it wants from largely Muslim Kashmir is submission. To ensure that it has deployed hundreds of thousands of troops making...

Many believe that sports are apolitical and neutral. But it isn’t. Sports are intricately enmeshed within the larger societal context. Some athletes speak out. Muhammad Ali in 1967, with the United States at war in Vietnam, refused to be inducted into the military, saying “I ain’t got no quarrel with those Vietcong.” He was widely condemned. He lost, at the peak of his career, his world championship crown and was banned from boxing for three years. More recently NBA superstar LeBron James...

Afghanistan, land of the Afghans, more than two millennia ago, this may surprise you, was a major center of Buddhism. Situated on the fabled Silk Road this mountainous landlocked country has an old and rich history and culture with great poets like Raabia Balkhi, Khushal Khattak, and most renowned of all, Rumi. Afghanistan has been called “the graveyard of empires.” Just ask the British, the Russians and the Americans. Today, it is ruled by the Taliban, notorious for their rigid brand of...

Resistance. How does one move from a position of dissent to resistance, direct action? As a political tactic resistance requires careful thought and must be freely undertaken. Practitioners include most famously Gandhi and Dr. King. It can come with a price. Both Gandhi and King were assassinated. Dolores Huerta, a major organizer and leader of farmworkers was arrested more than 20 times. John Lewis, the civil rights icon was severely beaten. What forms should resistance take? There is no...

Barbara Ehrenreich was a renowned social critic, journalist, feminist and author. She was born in Butte, Montana and studied chemistry at Reed College in Oregon and later received a Ph.D. in cellular immunology at Rockefeller University in New York. But she left a possible career in science and teaching to become a seasoned muckraker in the tradition of Ida B. Wells and Lincoln Steffens. She wrote many books. Her articles appeared in Ms., Mother Jones, and The Progressive. She wrote...

The realities of India are in sharp contrast with the image it projects internationally. For example, you probably haven’t heard of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the RSS. It is an Indian right-wing, Hindu nationalist, paramilitary organization. The RSS, with its millions of members, exerts enormous influence and power in India. Its political party is the BJP, the Bharatiya Janata Party led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The RSS is the progenitor and leader of a large body of...

Capitalism, COVID & the climate crisis are interconnected. Capitalism careens from one disaster to another. Its inequalities are grotesque. The pandemic is likely to take on new forms in the future. The climate emergency is all too obvious. The latest IPCC report, the UN agency on climate, makes for sobering reading. It warns that dire impacts from climate change will arrive sooner than many expect. The co-chair of the working group behind the report said, "Without immediate and deep...

These are difficult times for public education. It is under political attack by what noted educator and scholar Henry Giroux calls the "apostles of authoritarianism." He says, "Public schools, more than ever, are subject to the toxic forces of privatization and mindless standardized curricula while teachers are de-skilled and subject to intolerable labor conditions, not unlike Walmart workers. Unfortunately, public and higher education now mimic a business culture run by a managerial army of...

The conventional view of U.S. wars follows a formulaic line: We are innocent victims of unprovoked attacks. The sleeping giant wakes and reluctantly goes to fight. All military action is imbued with benevolent intentions: human rights, democracy, and liberty. There are parades and flag-waving. Solemn ceremonies and gun salutes at funerals honor the fallen. But who asks for what and for whom were they killed? Who benefits? Weapons manufacturers and mercenary contractors make out like bandits....

“Congress shall make no law…abridging freedom of speech.” There it is. Plain and simple. The First Amendment to the Constitution. But since 9/11 that amendment has been under sustained attack. Whistleblowers John Kiriakou, Julian Assange, Chelsea Manning, Edward Snowden, and others are hounded, threatened and imprisoned by the U.S. government. A fascinating and compelling account of past and present efforts to secure and expand political and social rights for workers, women and...

2 CDs "You wanna read a real history book?" Matt Damon asks Robin Williams in the movie Good Will Hunting. "Read Howard Zinn's People's History of the United States. That book'll knock you on your ass." It'll do that and more. Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States has sold more than 2 million copies. And it keeps on selling. Zinn's close friend Noam Chomsky said the book "changed the consciousness of a generation." Zinn's history from below approach was to foreground as he...