Notes from the Electronic Cottage 07/06/06

Producer and host: Jim Campbell

Topic: If you’re a Harry Potter fan, you’ve undoubtedly heard of the Sorting Hat. Now there is a Sorting Door project, only this one doesn’t tell you which house at Hogwart’s you should join. Instead, it speculates on how our lives will change when RFID chips are everywhere, and the information they provide can be joined together in huge databases. And just to show that technology ain’t all bad, we also look at electronic book readers, which are getting better than you think.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

WERU RadioActive Special, “Resisting the Green Scare”

Ray Luc Levasseur and Connor Cash speaking at “Resisting the Green Scare” event in Portland, Maine, June 10, 2006

Recorded by Carolyn Coe, produced by Amy Browne

While some may be intimidated by the government’s “green scare” tactics, others have mobilized in solidarity and mutual aid. The weekend of June 10th and 11th saw events in southern, midcoast and downeast Maine, as well as around the country, that focused on knowing and protecting civil rights.
In Portland Maine, at an event called “Resisting the Green Scare”, Ray Luc Levasseur, a former U.S. political prisoner from Maine who spent 20 years in prison and a decade prior to that underground, and Connor Cash, a Long Island based activist who successfully beat federal charges for alleged Earth Liberation Front (ELF) arsons, spoke about their experiences. A note to listeners: The “Mr Worden?? you will hear the speakers refer to, is local civil rights attorney Phil Worden.

Talk of the Towns 06/23/06

Host: Ron Beard, University of Maine Cooperative Extension
Topic: Sustainable development for Maine’s Native Peoples: Four Directions Development Corporation (FDDC)
Location and population of Passamaquoddy, Penobscot Tribes, Houlton Band of Maliseets and Aroostook Band of Micmac Indians, current economic and social conditions?
When and why was the FDDC established? What are the primary goals? What are the community impacts?
Guests: Susan Hammond, Executive Director, Four Directions Development Corporation; Patricia Kontur, FDDC Business Program Director; Mark Chavaree, FDDC Advisory Board Member; Helen Scalia, Giving Winds Capital Campaign Coordinator; Tom Euell, former Executive Director, Maine Council of Churches
Resources for listeners: www.fourdirectionsmaine.org or 207-866-6545; www.mainecouncilofchurches.org or 207-772-1918

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

RadioActive 06/22/06

Hosts: Amy Browne and Meredith DeFrancesco
Topics: Upcoming Peace Conference at UMO; a report back from the “Resisting Atlantica” conference; a low-power FM action alert from Prometheus Radio
What is the focus of this year’s peace conference?
Why resist “Atlantica”?
What do the radio activists at Prometheus think would be the impact of a bill that’s currently being discussed by the Senate?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download