Indigenous Voices 07/18/06

Hosts: Meredith DeFrancesco and Rhonda Frey
Guests: Denise Altivater, Chair of the Sipayik Criminal Justice Commission and a member of the Passamaquoddy Tribe; Jamie Bisonette, Director of the American Friends Service Committee’s Criminal Justice program in New England; Spiritual Elder Arnie Neptune, of the Penobscot Nation and his partner and wife Jane Neptune.
Topic: The Sipayik Criminal Justice Commission, the reasons for its formation and the conditions experienced by tribal members in jails, prisons and the judicial system
The medical neglect and other conditions prisoners are subject to
The law enforcement conduct,
The problem with drug abuse and nearly non-existent treatment, inadequate defense council and racism
How the commission is working with spiritual elders to bring in the traditions of native people into the jails
Contact info:
Denise Altwater, P.O. Box 406, Pleasant Point, Perry, ME 04667, 207-853-2317
American Friends Service Committee: fsc.org, search key word “Wabanaki”

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Notes from the Electronic Cottage 07/13/06

Producer/Host: Jim Campbell
Topic: Congress is considering creating a database of all of the grants and contracts awarded by the federal government so that taxpayers can see what their taxes are paying for. Oh wait–no contracts because corporations objected? Okay, well, at least a database of grants-well, some grants. In that spirit, we look at a few recent examples of how taxpayer dollars are being spent, including a grant to figure out how to restrict taxpayer access to government information. Consistency-what consistency?

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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.

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