Your Call 102207 An Update on Burma

A month after the uprising in Burma, what's the status on the global call for democracy? On the next Your Call, we'll have a discussion about Burma, one month after the military violently suppressed protests, leaving many people dead and more than 3,000 detained. Human rights activists are calling on Chinese, Indian, and other companies doing business in Burma to condemn the government’s abuses. Meanwhile, Burma is fading from the front pages. How will that affect the struggle for democracy? It's Your Call, with me Rose Aguilar and you.
 
Guests:
T. Kumar, advocacy director for Asia & Pacific for Amnesty International USA.

Dr. Tun Myint, Visiting Assistant Professor of Political Science at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota.

Nyunt Than, president of the Burmese American Democratic Alliance (BADA), a Bay Area based grassroots organization working to raise awareness about human rights abuses in Burma.

Click to Listen: An Update on Burma

Your Call 101807 Friday Media Roundtable

On the next Your Call it is our Friday media roundtable. Benazir Bhutto landed in Pakistan after eight years in exile; George W. Bush warned there would be a third world war if Iran goes nuclear. This week, Arnold Schwarzenegger signed 97 bills and vetoed another 58, and the BBC is giving hundreds of pink slips to its employees. What was your story of the week? It’s Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.
 
Guests:
Graham Usher, a journalist and writer now based in Pakistan
John Nichols, writer for The Nation
Frank Russo, publisher of California Progress Report

Click to Listen: Media Roundtable

Your Call 101807 The Arab Film Festival

What will be showcased at the upcoming 11th Annual Arab Film Festival? On the next Your Call, we’ll have a conversation with the festival’s filmmakers. From the first Lebanese vampire thriller to documentaries about finding peace through dance and skateboarding, we’ll hear about the Arab world through its films. How do these movies manage to bridge a gap between cultures? What challenges do these filmmakers face in the Arab world? And how are they being received here in the U.S.? It’s Your Call, with Sandip Roy and you.
 
Guests:
Sonia El Feki, artistic director for the Arab Film Festival
Muayad Mousa Alayan, director of Qater Al Nada
Nadia Kamel, director of Salata Baladi
Line Halvorsen, director of USA vs. Al-Arian

Click to Listen: The Arab Film Festival

Your Call 101707 A conversation with Indian activist Vandana Shiva

What are the important issues affecting India’s farmers today? On the next Your Call, we’ll have a conversation with Indian activist and physicist Dr. Vandana Shiva. One in six people on earth live in India and more than half of the country's population of 1.1 billion depend on agriculture for their living. What are the main ecological and political issues affecting India today? Why have Shiva's projects combating GMOs and monocrops been so effective? And what advice does she have for environmentalists here in the U.S.? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Update: Vandana Shiva will be speaking at 3:25 at the First Unitarian Church in downtown Oakland, at 685 14th St. near the 12th St. BART at the Business Ethics Network conference. For tickets and information call Anne at 503-478-0892.

Guest:
Dr. Vandana Shiva is a physicist, ecologist, activist, editor, and author.

Click to Listen: A conversation with Indian activist Vandana Shiva

Your Call 101607 What are the most effective ways to fight breast cancer?

What are the most effective ways to fight breast cancer? On the next Your Call, we’ll have a conversation about the second leading cause of cancer death among women. While U.S. cancer rates are down, this year, 180,000 women will still be diagnosed with breast cancer. New treatments get a lot of press, but what’s really working? Have there been any significant developments over the past decade? And are those pink ribbon campaigns making any difference? It’s Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.
 
Guests:
Barbara Brenner, executive director of Breast Cancer Action
Dr. Marion Kavanaugh-Lynch, director of California Breast Cancer Research Program.

Click to Listen: What are the most effective ways to fight breast cancer?

Your Call 101507 When is it appropriate to use Tasers?

Is the use of Tasers by police appropriate? On the next Your Call, we'll discuss why certain Bay Area cities are arming their police with Tasers, while others are considering banning them. Tasers are currently being used by 11,000 police departments nationwide. Recent incidents involving the use of the electroshock weapon have sparked a heated debate. Are Tasers our safest policing alternative? When is it appropriate to use them? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.
 
Guests:
Raj Jayadev, editor of Silicon Valley De-Bug and writer for New America Media.
Sergeant Natasha Powers of the Palo Alto Police Department, which recently approved the use of Tasers by their officers.

Click to Listen: When is it appropriate to use Tasers?

Your Call 101207 Friday Media Roundtable

On the next Your Call, it’s our Friday Media Roundtable. This week, family members of slain Iraqis filed a lawsuit against Blackwater and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced plans to cut the number of troops in Iraq by about half. Also, an array of Bay Area journalists, media organizations, and university journalism departments formed an investigative team to continue the work of journalist Chauncey Bailey. What was your story of the week? It’s Your Call with Sandip Roy.
 
Guests:
Tina Susman, LA Times staff writer in Iraq
Martin Reynolds, managing editor of Oakland Tribune
Deepa Fernandes, host of the WBAI radio program "Wakeup Call"

Click to Listen: Friday Media Roundtable

Your Call 101107 The Sixth Anniversary of the Invasion of Afghanistan

What are the future prospects for Afghanistan? On the next Your Call, we will have a conversation about the political situation in Afghanistan, six years after the U.S. invasion, which marked the first phase of the Bush administration’s so called War on Terror. Today, five provinces in Afghanistan are back in the Taliban’s control, opium production is increasing, and violence is at an all-time high. How are people fairing in today’s Afghanistan? And what’s the main mission of the United States? It’s Your Call with Rose Aguilar, and you.
 
Guests:
Kate Clark has been covering Afghanistan for BBC for well over a decade.

Nazif Shahrani is a professor of anthropology and of Central Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at Indiana University, Bloomington. He has been visiting Afghanistan on regular basis. He was in Afghanistan in May of this year.

Click to Listen: The Sixth Anniversary of the Invasion of Afghanistan

Your Call 101007 The Israel Lobby

What explains the U.S. government's support of Israel? On the next Your Call, we welcome Stephen Walt, professor of International Affairs at Harvard University and co-author of the new book, The Israel Lobby. The book explores why there is so little disagreement about Israel among American politicians. Stephen Walt argues that unconditional support for the Jewish state is heavily influenced by the powerful Israeli lobby in the U.S. and in the end, he says it's bad for both countries. What do you think? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.
 
Guests:
Stephen Walt in Cambridge
The Robert and Rene Belfer Professor of International Relations at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and author with John Mearsheimer of the new book The Israel Lobby.

Mitchell Plitnick in San Francisco
Director of Administration and Policy for Jewish Voice for Peace

Click to Listen: The Israel Lobby

Your Call 100907 Food Stamps and the Farm Bill

Why is it so easy to get a subsidy to grow food and so hard to get a subsidy to buy it? On the next Your Call, we’ll have a conversation about the food stamp provision of the 2007 Farm Bill, which is scheduled to be voted on next week. Subsidies for corn farmers are up, while funding for food stamps is down. Over 35 million Americans will go to bed hungry tonight. Will the Farm Bill include improvements to food stamp and nutrition programs? It’s Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.
 
Click to Listen: The Israel Lobby

Your Call 100807 All Hail the Blockbuster

If you see a movie advertised on the side of a bus does that make you unlikely to see it in the theatre? On the next Your Call we welcome Kenneth Turan, film reviewer for NPR and the Los Angeles Times and author of Now in Theaters Everywhere: A Celebration of a Certain Kind of Blockbuster. Turan’s first book was called Never Coming to a Theater Near You and celebrated rarely seen movies. This time he tells you which movies with big budgets are worth your time. What is your favorite blockbuster? It’s Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.
 
Guest:
Kenneth Turan in Los Angeles
Film critic for the Los Angeles Times and NPR's Morning Edition, as well as the director of the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes. He has been a staff writer for the Washington Post and TV Guide, and served as the Times' book review editor.

Click to Listen: All Hail the Blockbuster

Your Call 100507 Friday Media Roundtable

On the next Your Call, it's our Friday Media Roundtable. This week the Senate considered a national shield law that would allow reporters to protect their sources. We’ll talk Iran news with independent reporter Reese Erlich, with Carolyn Lochhead of the San Francisco Chronicle on the importance of having national reporters at local papers and about race and international news coverage in the U.S. with Lakshmi Chaudhry of The Nation. What was your story of the week? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.
 
Guests:
Carolyn Lochhead in Washington D.C.
San Francisco Chronicle’s Washington correspondent since 1991
 
Lakshmi Chaudhry in San Francisco
Contributing writer to the magazine The Nation
 
Reese Erlich in San Francisco
Independent reporter and author of The Iran Agenda: The Real Story of U.S. Policy and the Middle East Crisis
 
Click to Listen: Friday Media Roundtable

Your Call 100407 Nobodies

What products do you buy that support modern day slavery? On the next Your Call we welcome John Bowe, author of Nobodies: Modern American Slave Labor and the Dark Side of the New Global Economy. Slavery was outlawed in the U.S. 142 years ago, but Bowe discovers cases across the continent where people work without rights, without paychecks and without the freedom to leave. Around the world nearly 27 million people are in conditions tantamount to enslavement. Which products are most likely to have been made by slaves? What can you do to join the new abolitionist movement? It's Your Call with Sandip Roy and you.

Guests:
John Bowe, author of Nobodies: Modern American Slave Labor and the Dark Side of the New Global Economy. He is the co-editor of Gig: Americans Talk About Their Jobs, one of Harvard Business Review’s best books of 2000, and a recipient of the Richard J. Margolis Award, dedicated to journalism that combines social concern and humor.
 
Norma Hotaling, executive director of Sage: Standing Against Global Exploitation

David Batstone, founder of The Not For Sale Campaign
 
Click to Listen: Nobodies

Your Call 100307 On the Record--Bill Richardson

What kind of president would Bill Richardson be? On the next Your Call we continue our On The Record series examining the voting and governing records of every man and woman running for president. This week we look at a former ambassador, cabinet member, congressman and governor. Richardson would be the first Hispanic president and had a reputation as a liberal congressman but was also at the helm of the energy department during the Wen Ho Lee debacle. What did Richardson support, suppress or go out on a limb for? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you. 

Guests:
Steve Terrell in Santa Fe, New México
Political reporter and music columnist for The Santa Fe New Mexican, and producer of Terrell's Sound World and The Santa Fe Opry on KSFR, Santa Fe Public Radio.
 
George Lobsenze in Washington D.C.
Executive editor of The Energy Daily, which covers all aspects of the energy industry including electric utilities, nuclear power, natural gas, oil, coal and alternative fuels.

Click to Listen: On the Record--Bill Richardson

Your Call 100207 The Fate of Iraqi Refugees

What is life like for Iraqi refugees? On the next Your Call, we’ll have a conversation about the fate of displaced Iraqis with two activists who recently returned from the Middle East. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees reports that more than 4.2 million Iraqis have been forced out of their homes. More than half have sought refuge in neighboring countries. How are they coping with their forced exile? And what is the role of the United States as the occupying force? It’s Your Call, with me, Rose Aguilar, and you.

Guests:
Raed Jarrar is an Iraqi political analyst who established a grassroots organization that provides humanitarian and political aid to Iraqi internally displaced persons.

Noah Baker Merrill has been living and working among Iraqi refugees in Jordan and Syria and coordinates the Direct Aid Initiative, a project of the Electronic Iraq news and analysis website.

Click to Listen: The Fate of Iraqi Refugees

Your Call 100107 Burma 101

What is in store for the future of Burma? On the next Your Call, we’ll have a discussion about the ongoing uprising in Burma, which began after the government doubled the price of fuel last month. Four hundred pro-democracy activists led the initial demonstration. Tens of thousands then responded to create a massive protest. A number of people have been killed and wounded. What is the modern political history of Burma? Will the current uprising end the military-Junta rule in that country? It’s Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Michael Aung-Thwin, a professor of Southeast Asian history at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, University of Hawaii-Honolulu

Kyi May Kaung, a Washington, DC-based writer and analyst, a contributor to Foreign Policy in Focus, and a close observer of the Burmese scene since the 1960s.
 
Click to Listen: Burma 101

Your Call 092807 Friday Media Roundtable

On the next Your Call, it’s our Friday Media Roundtable. This week tens of thousands of Buddhist monks upturned the bowl and took to the streets of Rangoon; President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran visited Columbia University, and the AFL-CIO walked out on GM for the first time in nearly four decades. That’s what happened, but where did you find the context and insight that explained why it was happening and why it was important? What was your story of the week? It’s Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Nathan Guttman in Washington DC, Washington bureau chief for the Jewish Forward and reporter for Channel 1 TV in Israel

Lane Greene in New York, International Correspondent for the Economist
Click to Listen: Friday Media Roundtable

Your Call 092707 Happy Birthday CIA!

It was 60 years ago that the National Security Act was passed. On the next Your Call we talk with former analysts at the CIA and outsider experts on the intelligence community about what we have learned from those 60 years living with the CIA and NSA. What do they do well? And where do they regularly fail? Do overestimations of the CIA’s capabilities lead to wild overreach and civil liberties violations? What should intelligence agencies actually do? It’s Your Call with Sandip Roy and you.

Guests:
Sue McCloud, former CIA operations officer
Mel Goodman, former CIA analyst
John Prados, National Security Archive, and author of Hoodwinked: The Documents That Reveal How Bush Sold Us a War

Click to Listen: Happy Birthday CIA!

Your Call 092607 Shock Doctrine

What happens when societies are hit with massive collective shocks -- wars, terror attacks, and natural disasters? Journalist Naomi Klein says they are used to push through highly unpopular shock therapy. On the next Your Call, we talk with Klein about her new book, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism. In it, Klein reveals the cunning way opportunists use disasters to remake societies as free market wonderlands. How can the system free itself from what Klein calls the shock doctrine? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guest:
Naomi Klein, author of the The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism

Click to Listen: Shock Doctrine

Your Call 092507 The Real Wealth of Nations

What's wrong with traditional economic theories? On the next Your Call, we’ll have a conversation with Riane Eisler, author of The Real Wealth of Nations: Creating a Caring Economics. Here in the U.S., the top one percent of the population own 40 percent of the nation’s wealth. We’re the richest nation in the world, but we have the most expensive healthcare and our children are more likely to die than those in countries with a lower GPD. How can we create an equitable and sustainable society? It’s Your Call with me, Rose Aguilar and you.

Guest:
Riane Eisler, author of The Real Wealth of Nations: Creating a Caring Economics.

Click to Listen: The Real Wealth of Nations