thereisnospoon

On this episode of the There is No Spoon show, we discuss the Occupy movement, which has spread from Occupy Wall Street to hundreds of towns and cities across the United States and the world in the past 1.5 months. Topics include: our own experiences with Occupy, police brutality at the protests, the movement's messages, macro and micro level impacts, and discussions about the movement's next steps. Hosted by Fouad Pervez, the No Spoon team of Joe Soler, Reggie Miller, <a href="http://dprc.lums.edu.pk/index.php?option=com_faculty&amp;view=facultymember&amp;id=16">Junaid Ahmad</a>&nbsp;(joining us from Lahore), and <a href="http://www.shahidbuttar.com/">Shahid Buttar</a> (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XFwAos2ZZo">joining us from Oakland</a> on the night of <a href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-october-26-2011/parks-and-demonstration---oakland-riot">extreme police violence</a>) welcome guests&nbsp;<a href="http://900amwurd.com/about-900am-wurd/al-butler/">Al Butler</a>&nbsp;and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annabel_Park">Annabel Park</a> to the episode. Al is the host of the "Al B! in the Afternoon" radio talk show on&nbsp;<a href="http://900amwurd.com/about-900am-wurd/">WURD</a>&nbsp;in Philadelphia, and Annabel is a founder and coordinator of the <a href="http://www.coffeepartyusa.com/">Coffee Party</a>, an alternative to the Tea Party.<br />

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Follow us on Twitter:&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/#!/ALBDamn">Al</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/#!/Sheeyahshee">Shahid</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/#!/fpervez1">Fouad</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/#!/igzabeher">Reggie</a>.

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On this episode of the There is No Spoon show, we discuss the recent execution of Troy Davis, the criminal justice system, and the death penalty. Hosted by Reggie Miller, the No Spoon team of Jen Palacio, L'Heureux Lewis, and Fouad Pervez welcomes guests Al Butler and Aisha Mohamedi Richard to the episode. Aisha is a criminal defense attorney and immigration specialist, and Al is the host of the "Al B! in the Afternoon" radio talk show on WURD in Philadelphia. We discuss the incentives in the criminal justice system to prosecute for harsher sentences, the effect of the changing media structure on enabling a move towards tougher punishment, the politics behind the death penalty, the privatization of the prison system, and some of the specifics of the Troy Davis case, along with similar cases of high visibility.

To get more involved in these topics, check out: the Innocence Project, the Campaign to End the Death Penalty, Amnesty International, the Bill of Rights Defense Committee, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, and Malcolm X Grassroots Movement.

Follow us on Twitter: Al, Aisha, L'Heureux, Jen, Fouad, and Reggie.

Music Credits:
Start of the episode, excerpt from: Strange Fruit (For Troy Davis) mixed from Billie Holiday's Recording by LolasChildMusic
Close of episode: Troy Davis Lives Forever by Rebel Diaz.

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On this two-part episode of There is No Spoon we discuss the post 9-11 decade. We cover the cultural and poltiical shifts that we've witnessed in America since the day of the attacks. In particular, we address the leadership gaps, thePATRIOT act and the civil liberties that Americans have "traded" (knowingly or unknowingly) over the past 10 years.

Shahid Buttar, the Executive Director of the Bill of Rights Defense Committeeoffers an overview of just how far we've wandered from the ideals of a free American democracy, and we talk about whether we can find a way back on track so that we can reclaim some of our constitutional rights. Joining the discussion are No Spoon Show members: Will Ley,  Reggie Miller, Fouad Pervez and Jen Palacio.

More about the Bill of Rights Defense Committee:

Ten years ago on September 11, 2001, the United States suffered the worst terrorist attack in the nation’s history. In the panic of the weeks that followed, the American government began changing its counterterrorism policies in ways that undermined constitutionally guaranteed civil liberties, culminating in the passage of the USA PATRIOT Act on October 26, 2001. Within two weeks of that law’s passage, on November 10, 2001, organizers in Massachusetts founded the Bill of Rights Defense Committee to fight against that dangerous law and others that followed.

To mark the tenth anniversary of these pivotal events in American history and the history of our organization itself, the Bill of Rights Defense Committee is running a series of articles looking back on the last ten years.

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On this two-part episode of There is No Spoon we discuss the post 9-11 decade. We cover the cultural and poltiical shifts that we've witnessed in America since the day of the attacks. In particular, we address the leadership gaps, the PATRIOT act and the civil liberties that Americans have "traded" (knowingly or unknowingly) over the past 10 years.

Shahid Buttar, the Executive Director of the Bill of Rights Defense Committee offers an overview of just how far we've wandered from the ideals of a free American democracy, and we talk about whether we can find a way back on track so that we can reclaim some of our constitutional rights. Joining the discussion are No Spoon Show members: Will Ley,  Reggie Miller, Fouad Pervez and Jen Palacio.

More about the Bill of Rights Defense Committee:

Ten years ago on September 11, 2001, the United States suffered the worst terrorist attack in the nation’s history. In the panic of the weeks that followed, the American government began changing its counterterrorism policies in ways that undermined constitutionally guaranteed civil liberties, culminating in the passage of the USA PATRIOT Act on October 26, 2001. Within two weeks of that law’s passage, on November 10, 2001, organizers in Massachusetts founded the Bill of Rights Defense Committee to fight against that dangerous law and others that followed.

To mark the tenth anniversary of these pivotal events in American history and the history of our organization itself, the Bill of Rights Defense Committee is running a series of articles looking back on the last ten years.

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On this episode of the There is No Spoon show, we talk about sports and politics, from connections between owners and the media, the labor politics in the NFL and NBA lockouts, the role of fans, and the connection between American society and the conflicts raging between owners and players in sports. Joining host Fouad Pervez are Dave Zirin and Brian Fredrick. Dave writes for The Nation, The Progressive, SLAM Magazine, and Sports Illustrated. He hosts the Edge of Sports radio show on Sirius XM, has appeared on numerous media outlets (including the Rachel Maddow Show, Last Call with Carson Daly, Countdown with Keith Olbermann, Democracy Now!, All Things Considered, amongst many others) and has written several books, most recently Bad Sports and The John Carlos Story (collaborating with John Carlos). Brian is the Executive Director of the Sports Fans Coalition, a national non-profit organization dedicated to giving sports fans a voice on public policy issues, including public subsidies for stadiums, TV blackouts, the NFL and NBA lockouts, and a college football playoff. Brian has a PhD in Communications and was a senior editor at Media Matters for America. Check out this cool New York Times article about Brian here.

By the way, all sports fans (liberal, conservative, or barely interested in politics) should join the Sports Fans Coalition's email list. It's an important group, and really the only one advocating on behalf of sports fans.

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On this episode of the There is No Spoon show, Fatima Ashraf questions Fouad Pervez, Junaid Ahmad, and Reggie Miller about their thoughts on the death of Osama Bin Laden. Fouad is an International Relations doctoral student at Georgetown University and a writer for Foreign Policy in Focus. His latest article, "Pepsi, Porn, Pot...and Politics" looks at the bizzarre discovery of those items on bin Laden's compound, and why they really illustrate the importance of politics over culture in al-Qaeda's modus operandi. Junaid is a faculty member at the Lahore University of Management Sciences and specializes in law and policy. Junaid and Fouad have written several pieces on U.S. foreign policy in South Asia, including this relevant and prescient article, "The US War on Pakistan." Reggie Miller is a non-profit management professional with significant insight into America's post-9/11 culture.

While many in the country celebrated his death, the No Spoon team ponders why it was okay for Americans to celebrate now and be upset at the thought of celebrations abroad on 9/11. They also discusses the serious issues surrounding Bin Laden's death including extra-judicial assassination, the state of affairs in Pakistan, and why Osama drank Pepsi shouldn't have been a big deal.

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On this episode of No Spoon Blog we discuss the legacy of Malcolm X. X has become an icon of human rights activism, Pan-Africanism and Islam. Panelists Dumi L'Heureux Lewis (City College of New York), Fatima Ashraf (Community Activist), Fouad Pervez (Georgetown University), Ibrahim Abdul-Matin (Author of Green Deen), Mayatha Alhassen (University of Southern California) and Zaheer Ali (Columbia University) discuss the recent publication of Manning Marable's "Malcolm X: A Life of Re-Invention" and its influence on X's legacy.

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Today's installment of the There Is No Spoon podcast series examines civil rights and civil liberties issues raised by the PATRIOT Act (portions of which are set to expire in May 2011) and FBI stings authorized under the 2008 Attorney Generals' Guidelines issued by then AG Michael Mukasey.  We're joined by a distinguished panel of experts who have engaged this concerns from multiple perspectives.  Emily Berman is Counsel to the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law and author of Domestic Intelligence: New Powers, New Risks, a 2011 report documenting problems with DOJ and FBI policies under the 2008 Mukasey Guidelines. Kay Guinane is Program Manager at the Charity and Security Network, and author of the 2009 report, How the Work of Charities Can Counter Terror, which addresses the material support standard of the PATRIOT Act and how it exacerbates some of the root causes of terror. Christina Abraham is Civil Rights Director at CAIR Chicago and has represented numerous individuals interviewed by the FBI, while also speaking and writing about abuses by the Bureau and other government agencies. Shahid Buttar from the No Spoon team is Executive Director of the Bill of Rights Defense Committee and submitted a FOIA request to the FBI in 2008 that eventually prompted disclosure of the Bureau's internal regulations implementing the 2008 Mukasey Guidelines.

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On this edition of the There is No Spoon show, we discuss the congressional hearings on domestic terrorism, organized by Congressman Peter King (R-NY). The hearings, divisive and controversial, offered divergent perspectives of Muslim Americans: one as law-abiding people who are unjustly targeted, the other as a community ignoring radicalization among its own.

Joined by Corey Saylor, the Director for Government Affairs of CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations), the No Spoon team of Fouad Pervez, Reggie Miller, and Fatima Ashraf puts the hearings into context. Several minority communities throughout history have been "McCarthy-ized" by the government. Mr. Saylor provides insight into the importance of the hearings, the commendable reactions of the Muslim American community, and next steps. For additional, interesting perspectives on the hearings, Peter King, and Muslim Americans, check out: this Huffington Post piece by Ingrid Mattson; this Washington Post article by Michelle Boorstein; and Representative Keith Ellison's (D-MN) testimony from the hearings.

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On this edition of the There is No Spoon show, we discuss the organizing happening in Wisconsin to prevent the passing of a bill that would end public sector unions from being able to collectively bargain. We provide a basic overview of the situation, some stories from on-the-ground protesters, and historical context of labor unions and labor organizing in Wisconsin and beyond. Our guests, Awais Khaleel (long-time Wisconsin political organizer and Howard Law Student); Marla Delgado (UW-Madison graduate student and community organizer); and Michael Paalberg (Georgetown graduate student and freelance writer for the Guardian) discuss important issues such as inconsistencies in budget deficit claims and blames as well as the truth behind who makes more - private or public sector employees. Now that the bill has passed the Wisconsin state assembly, tune into the podcast to understand the national repercussions if it passes the state senate.

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