This week UC Santa Barbara Professor Bill Robinson came on the show to talk about the current controversy surrounding him and talk about the importance of academic freedom. For further information on Prof. Robinson’s case visit: www.sb4af.wordpress.com Committee to Defend Academic Freedom at UCSB, “The Committee to Defend Academic Freedom at UCSB (CDAF-SB) is committed to educate about, promote, and defend academic freedom through a coalition of progressive students and organizations on campus. CDAF-SB is dedicated to organizing students on campus against nation-wide campaigns of political repression. What bring us together are principles of academic freedom, participatory democracy, and open dialogue. These principles are essential to the protection of a holistic, higher education. As the most important of the nation’s civic institutions, the university must maintain its vigilant defense of the full and free exchange of ideas. A silencing campaign has recently manifested itself at UCSB through allegations of anti-Semitism and misconduct against Professor William I. Robinson. CDAF-SB strongly opposes the flagrant and baseless affronts to academic freedom on this campus and to Professor Robinson in particular.” (CDAF 2009) Email: CDAF.UCSB@gmail.com. “GOVERNOR ELIMINATES CALIFORNIA’S POISON CONTROL SERVICE” Medical Director of California Poison Control System, Dr. Richard Geller, discussed how the California Poison Control System has become the recent victim in the long line of public services getting axed by the State of California. For further information on how to get involved in this issue: California Poison Control System “GOVERNOR ELIMINATES CALIFORNIA’S POISON CONTROL SERVICE Service That Saves California $70 Million In Health Care Costs And Prevents 164,000 Emergency Room Visits Annually To Close September 2009 San Francisco, CA (May 20, 2009) – Funding for poison control services has been completely eliminated from the California state budget. Beginning in September of 2009, California will become the only state in the nation without any emergency poison control services for residents or medical professionals. The California Poison Control System (CPCS) manages over 300,000 cases annually – that’s 900 every day. The elimination of poison control services will precipitate an immediate shift to more costly and already overburdened sectors of California’s healthcare system as residents have no choice but to go directly to an Emergency Department or call 911. However, the health professionals in California’s Emergency Departments, hospitals, and 911 services who rely on the CPCS to manage serious poison exposures will not have anywhere to turn for such expert advice. The CPCS saves California millions of dollars. In 2008, managing cases through CPCS telephone consultation saved $70 million in health care costs. Eliminating the service would result in an additional 164,000 emergency room visits, either directly or by ambulance, every year. This is a service Californians cannot afford to lose on the eve of additional cuts to health care. In this climate of economic uncertainty, the poison control center may be the only immediate and free expert medical service many residents can access. “More than 50 percent of poisonings happen to children 5 years old and under and more than 90 percent happen at home,” said Stuart Heard, Executive Director of the California Poison Control System. “Without the services that we provide, California’s children will be at risk. This is why we are urging residents to pick up the phone and call the Governor’s office and their legislators to ask that the funding for the California Poison Control System be returned to the budget.” By calling the Office of the Governor at 916-445-2841 and their local Assembly or Senate member, which can be found by visiting www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html, Californians can demand that funding for poison control services be immediately reinstated. Since its inception in 1997, the CPCS has managed over 2,000,000 cases. Clinical pharmacists, registered nurses, physicians and poison information providers answer the phones. A board-certified physician toxicologist is available at all times for specialized consultations from medical facilities seeking expert, current information in managing poison exposures. In addition to providing access to poison experts, the CPCS is a central communication system infrastructure that can handle thousands of calls a day, providing real-time surveillance and identification of critical public health threats and rapid, reliable help during major public health events. The CPCS has four sites of operation including UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, San Francisco General Hospital in San Francisco, Children’s Hospital Central California in Fresno and the UC San Diego Medical Center in San Diego. The central office is located at the UC San Francisco Laurel Heights Campus in San Francisco. The CPCS is responsible to the California Emergency Medical Services Authority and administered by the University of California San Francisco School of Pharmacy, Department of Clinical Pharmacy. “

global voices interviewed Rick Wayman, Director of Programmes, about the work done by the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation. “The peoples and governments of the world face an urgent challenge relating to weaponry of mass destruction and particularly to nuclear weaponry. At the crossroads of technology, terrorism, geopolitical ambition, and policies of preemption are new and potent dangers for humanity. Despite the end of the nuclear standoff of the Cold War era, nuclear weaponry is again menacing the peoples of the world with catastrophic possibilities.” (Nuclear Age PEace Foundation 2009)

In line with the imminent hearing of bill SB - 399, global voices discusses the issues with convicting Juveniles to Life Without Parole. This episode was assisted with the work from Human Rights Group from UC Santa Barbara with the help of thei Acadmic Advisor, Nicolas Pascal (UCSB MA Global & International Studies Student). The show this week interviewed Elizabeth Calvin, an advocate with Human Rights Watch. Elizabeth is working with a campaign called Fair Sentencing For Youth. http://www.fairsentencingforyouth.org/ This website holds a lot of information surrounding the issue including; Facts about the Legislation How to Take Action People Affected and much more... Also on Facebook you can join the " Human Rights Group" at UCSB to find more information. Our second interviewee was Silvia Bunge, a Nueroscience Professor from UC Berkeley, who also works closely with adolescent behavioural sciences and a member of the National Law and Nueroscience Project. Law and Nueroscience Project Then we had a perspective from the religious community by talking with Javier Strauring, Archdiocese of Los Angeles. More information about the work he is doing can be found at; Faith Communities for Families and Children For those of you interested in helping show your support then find details below and act now!RIGHT NOW IS A CRITICAL TIME TO SUPPORT SB 399 Please call Senate Appropriations Committee Members BEFORE THE END OF THE DAY: MAY 8th IT IS EASY. IT IS FAST. WHAT TO SAY Hello, I am calling to support a bill. It is SB399. It will be before Appropriations on Monday, and I know the Senator is on that committee. Would you please let the Senator know I called to urge him/her to vote yes?  They may or may not ask for your name.  Pause and wait a second after the first line—this will give the person time to grab the notebook or whatever is used to write down who calls. THEN say what bill it is. Speak slowly.  Don’t worry if you are not a constituent. Their work on the Appropriations Committee is on behalf of the whole state.  If the person on the phone asks why you support the bill or if you wish to make a statement, say something simple. Do not go into details at all. You can say: I believe young people should get a chance to work towards rehabilitation and to prove that they have changed. Or I support SB399 because we need to change our laws and make sentences fair for youth. WHO TO CALL The most important Senators to call (in order of importance): Senator Christine Kehoe (Chair) (916) 651-4039 Senator Lois Wolk (916) 651-4005 Senator Jenny Oropeza (916) 651-4028 Senator Ellen Corbett (916) 651-4010 Senator Mark DeSaulnier (916) 651-4007 Senator Loni Hancock (916) 651-4009 Senator Mark Leno (916) 651-4003 If you have the time, then call: Senator Dave Cox (Vice-Chair) (916) 651-400 Senator Jeff Denham (916) 651-4012 Senator George Runner (916) 651-4017 Senator Mimi Walters (916) 651-4033 Senator Mark Wyland (916) 651-4038 Senator Leland Yee (916) 651-4008 (Thank him.) global voices

This week global voices hosted special guests Rafael and Vika Hernandez from Capoeira Batuque Santa Barbara. Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian art form that involves movements from maritial arts, music, ritual and dance. It emerged in Brazil by the slaves brought from Africa, especially from Angola some time after the 16th century in the regions known as Bahia, Pernambuco and Rio de Janeiro. Participants form a roda, or circle, and take turns either playing musical intruments (such as the Berimbau), singing, and ritually sparring in pairs in the center of the circle. The sparring is marked by fluid acrobatic play, and extensive use of sweeps, kicks, and headbutts. Less frequently used techniques include elbow strikes, slpats, punches, and body throws. Capoeira is seen as a uniquely Brazilian folk dance including improvised fighting movements and as a battle-ready fighting form directly descended from ancient African techniques.

Presented by The Department of Religious Studies and the Buddhist Studies program and UCSB Arts & Lectures, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama made an historic fourth visit to the University of California, Santa Barbara, on April 2009 for two public lectures. From 9:30-11:30 a.m., he lectured on "The Nature of Mind," and from 2-4 p.m. he spoke on "Ethics for Our Time." Both events were open to the public. KCSB provided worldwide live coverage and has recordings of both events on its website, www.kcsb.org. global voices provided slightly interrupted coverage preempting the event. Joshua Steele interviewed UCSB Religious Studies Professor Michael Jerryson about the Dalai Lama and the controversy that surrounds this figure.

This week global voices hosted special guests, Grecia Lima, Mark Cardona and Kelly Burns from Pueblo. PUEBLO primarily organizes around issues of a living wage, public transportation, affordable housing, health care, immigrant rights, civic participation and child care. They have neighborhood chapters in Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, Carpinteria, and Goleta. Santa Barbara County is home to one of the wealthiest communities in the United States, yet there is tremendous poverty throughout our County. Santa Barbara County has the highest rate of uninsured children in the State, and the economy is dominated by low-wage jobs in the service, tourist, and agricultural industries. The high cost of living is forcing working families to hold multiple jobs, commute long distances for low-wage work, and live in crowded apartments. Many working people are frequently forced to make hard choices between paying the rent, feeding their families, or going to the doctor. When working families are unable to meet their basic needs, our whole community suffers.

This week, Jonathan Pfeiffer of global voices interviewed two undergraduates who won the Winter 2009 Global Studies policy brief competition. Group leader Jordan D. Pokross unveiled his ‘Solar-Loans’ proposal, which aims to make personalized green energy technology accessible to regular consumers through government guaranteed financing. Jordan and group member Chase Zacha describe how the ‘Solar-Loans’ program would work, entailing the inclusion of banks as a capital source for the loans and the government as the guarantor and collateralizer.

To coincide with the G20 summit which culminated in London this week, global voices looked at the alternative forums which have been set up to make change in the world. We also interviewed a colleague, Dan Fibiger, who attended the World Social Forum in 2007 and got his views. [Last in the series]

global voices took a day to reflect on two very different debates going on in the world. First off was the development debate and the battle between Aid and Trade headed with clips from talks by William Eastery and Jeffrey Sachs, and also what a local Santa Barbara organisation is doing to find a solution. Amnesty International reported on the current global situation on the state use of the death penalty, including the shocking use of the death penalty for juvenile offenders in the USA.

Marking the 6th Anniversary of the invasion of Iraq by the Coalition forces we had a vet of the Invasion on air. Also featured was a terrific video made by a Iraq and Afghanistan Veteran, Peter Boraas. Also, with the heat getting turned up on Spring Break in Mexico with drug related violence, we talked about the causes for the violence and how it affects young Americans.

Activism Activism! Prof. Richard Falk talks about how the American people can bring awareness and show their outrage at the situation in Gaza. Arrested for his activism, Phillip Rizk speaks to global voices from Cairo. We chatted about what he is doing, what is happening now in Gaza and whether NGOs are really helping in the long-term.

President Obama made his address to congress on the State of the Union, we looked at the State of our Humanity. Specifically, how the dire situation in Gaza remains. We had the pleasure of interviewing Professor Richard Falk, United Nations Special Rapporteur on "the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967." Issues included the current situation, breaches of international law, the current US position and budget. This week we also featured a clip on a documentary titled "Occupation 101".

The US continues to attack inside Pakistani territory. The US military forces have not been using humans but drones. This week Joe and I discuss the implications of using such technology, the changing dimensions of warfare and that impact on human lives.

Global dimming has started to slow and is revealing the extent of global warming.. This week we discuss these processes and the implications for such drastic revelations by the world’s scientists. We had the pleasure of interviewing Durwood Zaelke on the subject of global dimming and the role of ‘Black Carbon’. The documentary clip can be found online titled “Global Dimming” by the BBC, our clip is part of the 50 minute programme. To follow up on the work of Professor Veerabhadran Ramanathan look at his website at: http://www-ramanathan.ucsd.edu/ As always we welcome all comments and points for further discovery!

This week's show centered around the reports by Keith Harmon Snow, an independent journalist. Keith provided an alternative narrative on the 'Rwandan Genocide' and also reasoning for media bias. Participants included; Keith Harmon Snow, Joseph Farsakh, Jeff Nakagawa and Joshua Steele.