2006 Archive : Voices from the Frontlines Radio

Lisa Adler and Damon Azali discuss Prop1B: the Highway and Air Pollution expansion tax and Prop 85: the parental notification law that attacks a women's right to control her own body. listen

Diane Takvorian and Tony LoPresti from the Environmental Health Coalition discuss Proposition 90: "Govt. acquisition, regulation and private property". listen

Lisa Kung, from the Southern Center for Human Rights (SCHR) discusses Proposition 83: "Sex offenders residence restrictions and monitoring" which would allow permanent GPS monitoring devices to be strapped to those who are convicted of any sex offences, including public nudity and indecent exposure. listen

Songs:
Lupe Fiasco
Mississippi Fred McDowell
Karo
Paulinho da Viola

Eric Mann comments on the significance of the recent federal court ruling on the extension of the Bus Riders Union/MTA Civil Rights Consent Decree. listen

Scott Ritter, former United Nations weapons inspector in Iraq, discusses his new book, Target Iran: The Truth About the White House's Plans for Regime Change. listen

Hosted by: Eric Mann

Eric Mann discusses the purpose and demands of the upcoming October 17th Strategy Center and Bus Riders Union rally at city hall. He takes comments from listeners on their views of Mayor Villaraigosa's current policies. listen

Hosted by: Eric Mann

Commentary by Eric Mann. listen

Amanda Ballantyne, Field Organizer with Free Press, and Sydney Levy, Program Director of Media Alliance, discuss the serious implications of a recent move by the FCC to eliminate the Newspaper-television cross-ownership ban. listen

Sonali Kolhatkar and Jim Ingalls, co-directors of the Afghan Women's Mission and authors of a new book, Bleeding Afghanistan: Washington, Warloads, and the Propoaganda of Silence. listen

Penny Newman, Executive Director of Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice, discusses Proposition 1B-the $19.9 Billion dollar transportation bond that if passed would give over $11 Billion dollars for highway and roadway construction. listen

Eveline Shen, Executive Director of Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice, discusses Proposition 85, a parental notification law that would require physicians to notify the parent or legal guardian of a minor seeking an abortion 48 hours before performing the procedure. listen

Songs:
Damien Marley
Ise Lyfe
Kekele

Hosted by: Tammy Bang Luu and Damon Azali

Ian Inaba, founder of the Guerilla News Network (GNN) and creator of Eminem's "Mosh" music video, discusses his first feature length film, American Blackout, a documentary that chronicles recurring patterns of voter disenfranchisement and uncovers the tactics used by the Republican Party in Georgia to unseat Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney. listen

Monami Maulik and Shoshi Doza of DRUM (Desis Rising up and Moving), discuss their recently released report: Education Not Deportation: Impacts of NYC School Safety Policies of South Asian Immigrant Youth. listen

Songs:
Ise Lyfe
John Lee Hooker
Kanda Bongo Man
Ramsey Lewis

Hosted by: Eric Mann

Commentary by Eric Mann. listen

Damon Azali and Patrisse Cullors, reflect on there 2-week trip to the Gulf Coast as part of a 5 person Labor/Community Strategy Center delegation whom met with grassroots organizations and participated in the one-year commemoration activities of Hurricane Katrina. Plus listener call-ins listen

Songs:
Dead Prez
Mos Def
John Lee Hooker
LL Cool J

Hosted by: Tammy Bang Luu and Manuel Criollo

Monique Harden, co-founder and Director of Advocates for Environmental Human Rights, discusses the fight for the right of return and the work of rebuilding the Gulf Coast through a human rights framework.

Norris Henderson, organizer with the New Orleans Safe Streets/Strong Communities Campaign, discusses the fight to reform the criminal justice system in the Gulf Coast from the police to the jails to the courthouse.

Damon Azali, one of the hosts of Voices From the Frontlines and lead organizer with the Labor Community Strategy Center, discusses the Strategy Center's roll and objectives in rebuilding New Orleans in collaboration with the current peoples-led movement.

listen

Songs:
Mos Def
Gil Scott-Heron
Nina Simone
Dead Prez

Hosted by: Damon Azali and Manuel Criollo

Noura Erakat, national grassroots organizer and legal advocate for the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, discusses the significance of the cease-fire between Israeli and Hezbollah forces after weeks of fighting left hundreds dead and many more injured. listen

Celia Brookman, of the William C. Velasquez Institute, discusses the significance of 2006 National Latino Congreso. Participants from all over the country included thousands of Latino led organizations, business, unions, churches, plus over 5,000 U.S Latino elected officials. listen

Jesse Milan Jr., Chair of the Board of Directors for the Black AIDS Institute, discusses the 16th world conference on AIDS held in Toronto. N/A

Songs:
Abdel Halim Hafez - Gana El Hawa
Rise- Public Enemy
Miles Davis
Fela Kuti

Hosted by: Tammy Bang Luu and Damon Azali

Olayeela Daste, of the Umoja Committee in New Orleans, discusses her organization's work and plans for the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. listen

Jordan Flaherty, organizer with The New Orleans Network and editor of Left Turn magazine, discusses the crisis in the public school system in New Orleans since hurricane Katrina. listen

Ai-Jen Poo, lead organizer for Domestic Worker's United in NYC and Erline Brown, a nanny and organizer with DWU, discuss a report released by DWU and the Data Center, titled: Home is Where the Work is: Inside New York's Domestic Work Industry, the first industry-wide analysis of domestic workers by domestic workers. listen

Songs:
Pharrell

Hosted by: Eric Mann

Benjamin Ramos, of the Political Education Project to Free the Cuban Five, discusses the current status of the Cuban Five case. listen

Mtangulizi Sanyika, of the New Orleans based African-American Leadership Project, a network of African-American New Orleans community, religious, and business leaders, discusses the right of return for all displaced peoples and organizing efforts to include all displaced people in the reconstruction process. listen

Malcolm Suber, lead organizer with the People's Hurricane Relief Fund in New Orleans discusses the planned events and activities in New Orleans to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. listen

Hosted by: Eric Mann

Mel Weiss, Senior and Founding Partner of Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman LLP, discusses the serious implications of the Bush administration's Tort Reform Movement. listen

Dave Zirin, author of What's My Name, Fool? Sports and Resistance in the United States, discusses the Barry Bonds case, Major League Baseball "Faith Days and Nights at the Park," and racism in sports. listen

Songs:
Stevie Wonder
Abdel Halim Hafez
Eddie Palmeri

Damon Azali: "10 reasons why LA needs 1,000 less cops." listen

Boots Riley, co-founder of the hip-hop group the Coup, disucusses their new album "Pick a Bigger Weapon", and the role of progressive hip-hop. listen

Nizar Watad and Omar Chakaki, of Phillistines and N.O.M.A.D.S respectively, discuss their new Palestinian hip-hop compilation, "Free the P", the first ever Palestinian hip hop album. listen

Bruce Dixon, editor with the Black Commentator,, explains the need for Black leadership in opposing Israeli apartheid. listen

Songs:
The Coup
FreetheP
Phillistines
N.O.M.A.D.S

Rayan Elamine, program director of the San Francisco chapter of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, discusses Israel's current escalation and military aggression in Gaza and Lebanon. listen

Mario Cuellar, of Casa El Salvador discusses the current wave of government repression and the reemergence of the death squads in El Salvador. listen

Reverend Lucius Walker and Ellen Bernstein, of Pastors for Peace, discuss the recently updated plan released by the Bush administration to undermine the Cuban government. listen

Songs:
Otis Reddings
U2
Silvio Rodriguez
Café Tacuba

Greg Palast, investigative journalist and author of Armed Madhouse (Penguin 2006) and The Best Democracy Money Can Buy, discusses the 2006 presidential elections in Mexico where conservative candidate Felipe Calderon was declared President over Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador despite allegations of voter fraud. listen

Kali Akuno, member of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, discusses the current conditions in New Orleans as we approach the one year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. listen

Mike Farrell, actor, activist, and president of Death Penalty Focus, discusses recent discoveries of wrongful death penalty convictions and executions. listen

Songs:
Rage Against The Machine
Steel Pulse
Fela Kuti

TJ Crawford, chair of the 2006 National Hip Hop Political Convention, discusses the organizing efforts in the hip hop community and the plans for the upcoming convention. listen

Vijay Prashad, Associate Professor of International Studies at Trinity College, discusses the significance of the recent Communist electoral victories in India. listen

Seung Hye Suh, of the Korean Policy Institute, and Cheehyung Kim, member of Nodutdol for Korean Community Development, give us a first hand account of last week's events in D.C. opposing the free trade agreement currently being negotiated between South Korea and the U.S. listen

Songs:
Common
Damien Marley
Kim Hill
Stevie Wonder

Hosted by: Damon Azali, Eric Mann

Dr. Manning Marable, Professor of Public Affairs, Political Science, History and African-American Studies at Columbia University in New York City discusses his upcoming biography of Malcolm X entitled: Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention. listen

Songs:
Joao Gilberto
Ice Cube
Run DMC

Hwa Young Lee, U.S. Chair of the Korea Truth Commission, discusses the current struggle of the Pyeongtaek farmers in South Korea against the U.S. military.. listen

Bill Goodman, legal director for the Center for Constitutional Rights, discusses the current debate around illegal domestic spying and the nomination of former director of the NSA, Michael Hayden to head the CIA. listen

Ron Gochez, of Unión del Barrio, discusses the current state and next steps of the immigrant rights movement. listen

Songs:
Charles Mingus
Talib Quali
Amparo Ochoa
Ali Primera

Hosted by: Tammy Bang Luu, Manuel Criollo

Marqueece Harris-Dawson, executive director of Community Coalition, discusses the current efforts to pressure LAUSD to give diplomas to all graduating seniors regardless of their scores on the California High School Exit Exam. listen

Tezozmoc, member and elected representative of the South Central Farm, discusses next steps in the effort to save the South Central Farm. listen

Gregory Akili, Senior Political/Community Organizer for SEIU Local 1000 and member of Community Call to Action and Accountability (CCAA), discusses the ruling to extend the Civil Rights Consent Decree with LAPD. listen

Benjamin Ramos, organizer with the Prolibertad Freedom Campaign, discusses the implications of the recent re-incarceration of Puerto Rican independista Antonio Camacho Negrón. listen

Songs:
O-Maya
Rage Against The Machine
Public Enemy
Nina Simone

Hosted By: Manuel Criollo, Eric Mann

Liz Sunwoo, coordinator of MIWON (the Multi-ethnic Immigrant Worker Organizers Network) discusses their involvement and objectives as a part of the 'We Are America Coalition'. listen

Jesse Diaz, organizer for the March 25th Coalition and one of the principle organizers for the upcoming May 1st General Strike, discusses the plan for the May 1st General Strike. listen

Marta Sanchez, long-time organizer in the immigrant rights/Mexicano/Chicano movement and currently living in Mexico City, discusses the call for a national strike on April 28th in solidarity with the May 1st day of action here in the U.S. listen

Songs:
Nas
Tego Calderon
Fabulosos Cadilacs
Ricardo Arjona

Hosted by: Damon Azali, Eric Mann

Eric Mann, comments on the immigrant rights movement. listen

Dr. Laura Pulido, Associate Professor of Geography and American Studies and Ethnicity at the University of Southern California, discusses her new book, Black, Brown, Yellow, and Left: Radical Activism in Los Angeles. listen

Sheila Jackson Lee, Congresswoman for the 18th Congressional District of Houston, Texas (D-TX), discusses her thoughts on immigration reform and the recent bill she submitted in Congress. listen

Listener call in: listen

Songs:
Black Opal Compilation
Slick Rick
Jay-Z

Hosted by: Manuel Criollo, Damon Azali

Damon Azali, current organizer with the Los Angeles based Labor/Community Strategy Center and the Strategy Center's Community Rights Campaign, discusses the recent student walkouts protesting HR4437 and comments on the black community's relationship to the immigration rights movement. listen

Javier Rodriguez, one of the lead organizers of the March 25th million person immigrant rights march that took place in Los Angeles, discusses the history behind the pro-immigrant mobilization, current demands, and next steps. listen

Glen Ford, co-publisher of the Black Commentator, an on-line progressive Black journal (www.blackcommentator.com), discusses his latest commentary, "The Insanity of Black Anti-Immigrant Politics". listen

Songs:
Ozomatli
Amparo Ochoa
El Gran Silencio

Hosted by: Eric Mann, Damon Azali

Dr. Sikivu Hutchinson, editor of blackfemlens.org, an online journal of progressive commentary and literature, discusses her article, Gender 'Crash': Film exploits political and social disenfranchisement of women of color. listen

Kali Williams, organizer with the Oakland chapter of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement discusses their organizing efforts against the FEMA evictions in New Orleans. listen

Walkout clip with listener call-ins: Over 20,000 high school students across Southern California walked our of class to protest the Sensenbrenner bill, HR 4437. listen

Songs:
M1
Omaya
Digable Planets

Hosted by: Manuel Criollo, Tammy Bang Luu

Eric Mann, Director of the Labor Community Strategy Center and one of the hosts of Voices From the Frontlines, reviews the Oscar-winning South African film 'Tsotsi'. listen

Elizam Escobar, former Puerto Rican political prisoner and Lawrence Reyes, of the Alianza Puertorriqueño, discuss the present situation of Puerto Rican political prisoners, the struggle for Puerto Rican self determination, and the exhibit; 'Not Enough Space' being held at Self Help Graphics in East Los Angeles. listen

Leon Sompolinsky, Research Director with Urban Habitat, analyzes Governor Schwarzenegger's $222 billion dollar infrastructure bond proposal, a proposal that if passed, would pour hundreds of millions of dollars into the construction of more jails and highways. listen

Sueyon Yi, Director of Special Projects for the National Korean American Service andEducation Consortium (NAKASEC), discusses March actions for immigrant rights opposing HR 4437 (Border Protection, Anti-terrorism & Illegal Immigration Control Act). listen

Songs:
Hector Lavoe
Willie Colon
Marvin Gaye
Curtis Mayfield
Otis Redding

Hosted by: Eric Mann

Taylor Branch, Pulitzer prize winner for the first volume of his 3 volume biography of Martin Luther King Jr. (Parting the Waters), discusses his new book, the third volume, At Canaan's Edge, an important interpretation of the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, covering the historically turbulent and revolutionary years of 1965-1968, and ending with the assassination of Dr. King. listen

Songs:
Spearhead
Welfare Poets

Hosted by: Manuel Criollo, Tammy Bang luu

Sinclair Thomas, professor of Latin American history at New York University (NYU) and author of We Alone Will Rule: Native Andean Politics in the Age of Insurgency (University of Wisconsin, 2003), along with Forest Hylton, coediter of Ya es otro tiempo el presente: Cuatro momentos de insurgencia indígena (La Paz, 2003), discuss the indigenous-led movement in Bolivia and the election of Evo Morales. listen

Diego Cevallos, correspondent for the Inter-Press Service in Mexico (www.ips.org) discusses the upcoming presidential elections in Mexico and the Zapatista response to the front-runner candidate Manuel Lopez Obrador. listen

Hosted by: Damon Azali, Manuel Criollo

Edward James Olmos, actor, producer, director and community activist, discusses his new film "Walkout". listen

Moctesuma Esparza, producer of "Walkout", further discusses the film and his own involvement in the 1968 Chicano Blowouts. listen

Gregory Akili, Senior Political/Community Organizer for SEIU Local 1000 and member of the executive committee of Community Call to Action and Accountability (CCAA) discusses the latest in the Devin Brown case as well as the recent LAPD shooting of Elio Carrion. listen

Songs:
Ruben Blades
Victor Jara
Ismael Rivera
Bobby Matos

Hosted by: Damon Azali, Eric Mann

Reverend Lennox Yearwood, minister, community activist, and CEO of the Hip-Hop Caucus, discusses the upcoming Emergency Katrina Summit, a strategy meeting to launch the Gulf Coast Renewal Campaign. listen

Toufic Haddad, a Palestinian-American activist and writer who has lived in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, discusses the recent Hamas electoral victory. listen

Listeners call in. listen

Songs:
Johnny Clarke
John Santos
Banda Black Rio
DJ Premier

Hosted by: Damon Azali, Eric Mann

Joe Berry of the University of Illinois and the North American Alliance For Fair Employment, discusses his latest book Reclaiming the Ivory Tower: Organizing Adjuncts to Change Higher Education. listen

Tammy Bang Luu and Manuel Criollo, hosts of Voices from the Frontlines, provide first hand reports of the World Social Forum from Caracas, Venezuela. listen

Dr. Ruth Gilmore, long time prison activist, discusses Governor Schwarzenegger's recent bid to build 100,000 new public and private jail and prison cells in California over the next five years. listen

Songs:
Gang Starr
Simon Diaz
Digable Planets
The Clash

Hosted by: Damon Azali, Eric Mann

Eric Mann reviews the film Brokeback Mountain. listen

Sergeant De Lacy Davis, a sergeant with the East Orange, New Jersey police department and founder of Black Cops Against Police Brutality, speaks about his organization and his latest book "A Crisis Action Call: Black Cops Against Police Brutality." listen

Kathay Feng, executive director of California Common Cause, discusses the history of the Voting Rights Act and what is at stake with the upcoming renewal of several of its key provisions. listen

Ansje Miller, Program Director for Redefining Progress, discusses the California Environmental Protection Agency Hearings regarding Governor Schwarzenegger's recent proposal for an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in California by 2050. She also discusses a recently released study by Redefining Progress on the impact of climate change in California. listen

Songs:
The Five Stairsteps
Kam
Alice Coltrane

Hosted by: Damon Azali, Eric Mann

Eric Mann reviews Munich and Paradise Now. listen

Jim Lafferty, member and host of the National Lawyer's Guild Radio show, speaks about the status of the Patriot Act, Judge Alito, and Bush's domestic spying program. listen

Renee Salcedo, of La Raza Centro Legal, speaks on HR 4437, the "Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005", an anti-Immigrant legislation that was passed by the House and will be going to the Senate. listen

1 hour special interview with Scott Ritter by Eric Mann

Scott Ritter, former Chief Weapons Inspector for the United Nations Special Commission in Iraq, discusses his latest book, Iraq Confidential.

listen (Part 1)

listen (Part 2)