Political Analysis

Political Analysis - UNCOMMON SENSE -- Preparing for the Worst in Perilous Times: A Radical, Reality-Based Approach to Disaster Preparedness - 07/24/14

On tonight's Political Analysis, disaster preparedness expert Chuck McCune joins Sandy for what could be the most important hour you'll ever spend ... Here's why: In the 21st century, most of us understand that we live in treacherous and unpredictable times. While every generation of humans has certainly had its challenges, we (those of us living through the 21st century) are the first to experience the "critical mass" of converging forces -- including too few resources, too many people and too many weapons -- that today threatens all living species. Those of us who are not delusional or exercising "willful denial" understand that increasingly we are on a very short fuse.

We know that a natural or human-caused disaster -- or a convergence of disasters -- could come at any moment, with little or no warning, changing all of our lives irrevocably and forever. Yet few Americans are even modestly prepared for the very real threats that characterize these perilous times. The current "fossil fuel boom" -- including hydraulic fracturing -- is plagued with a host of problems.

Among these, air and water pollution, contamination of food and/or water sources, oil, gas and chemical spills, explosions and fires. All of these made worse by a lackluster regulatory environment, agencies that often work on behalf of the same industries they are charged with regulating (as opposed to the public they are charged with protecting) and an appalling lack of security. Then there's nuclear power (and radioactive contamination), runaway climate change, earthquakes, global geopolitical turmoil, and an aging, poorly maintained power grid. And, with sabotage and acts of terror on the uptick worldwide, all of these potential crises threaten to leave Americans "powerless" at the worst possible time. As we saw with Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy, FEMA and other federal and state agencies charged with insuring the public safety have, for the most part, been ineffectual when faced with major disasters. And every disaster now threatens to turn into a major crisis.

Chuck McCune brings his (more than) two decades of experience and research to the table in this hour-long special on crisis survival strategies for perilous times. He briefs listeners on short and long term planning for disasters ranging from the most remote to the most likely. During the course of the hour, he offers specific guidelines for surviving a major disaster -- or even a "worst case scenario" -- along with a practical and affordable list of survival tools that no one should be without in these perilous times.

Political Analysis - CHEVRON V ECUADOR: A CLEAR CUT CASE OF BIG OIL VERSUS THE PEOPLE? ONE JOURNALIST SAYS, - 07/17/14

Guests: Journalist/Author Paul M. Barrett and Biologist/Activist/Author Dr. Sandra Steingraber 

It’s a matter of public record that Chevron and other Big Oil companies are environmental criminals – no question about that. But, tonight’s guest on Political Analysis-- journalist and author Paul M. Barrett - argues that the story behind Ecuador's (now more than two-decades-old) lawsuit against Chevron is not quite as cut and dry as the progressive media would have us believe. PM Barrett has poured over court documents and countless other materials related to the Ecuador v Chevron case, all of which have lead him to conclude that the plaintiffs -- including leading New York attorney Steven Donziger -- may be exploiting the people of the Ecuadorian rainforests for their own reasons. On tonight's Political Analysis, Paul M. Barrett joins Sandy LeonVest and Steve Horn for the first half hour, to discuss Chevron in Ecuador -- and the tort suit filed more than two decades ago by attorney Steven Donziger. PM Barrett has a fiercely independent and unique point of view about Ecuador's case against Chevron -- one that, while not popular with progressives, is well-researched, scupulously documented -- and has a ring of truth to it that should not be minimized or ignored. PM Barrett is author of the book "Glock: The Rise of America's Gun," as well as a soon-to-be-published book titled, "Law of the Jungle: The $19 Billion Legal Battle Over Oil in the Rain Forest and the Lawyer Who'd Stop at Nothing to Win." He is assistant managing editor and senior writer at Bloomberg Businessweek and a former editor and legal affairs reporter for The Wall Street Journal. Later in the hour, Activist/Author Sandra Steingraber joins Steve and Sandy to discuss (among other things) LNG, fracked gas AND her July 25th speaking engagement in Berkeley, where she will address the damaging impact of fracking on human health.  

www.desmogblog.com
www.solartimesnow.org

Political Analysis - Rose Bridger and Bill Powers - 07/10/14

Guests: Rose Bridger and Bill Powers  

Bridger is author of the new book "Plane Truth," which is about the ecological and climate justice impacts of the aviation industry. She was the guest for the first half of the show.  For the second half of the show, Powers talked about the shale gas bubble and the role of the US Federal Reserve in giving the frackers 0% interest loan "junk debt" since 2008, how that could come to an end in 2015 and what that means for the future of fracking.  Powers is author of the book "Cold, Hungry and in the Dark: Exploding the Natural Gas Supply Myth." He is the former editor of the Powers Energy Investor, the Canadian Energy Viewpoint and the US Energy Investor.

Political Analysis - US EPIDEMIC OF MURDER, MAYHEM AND MISOGYNY - 07/03/14

Tonight on Political Analysis, DeSmog Blog's Steve Horn makes his debut as Sandy's co-host.  

Sandy and Steve kick off the hour with Truthout.org's Candice Bernd. They discuss a disturbing upsurge in cases involving women being brutalized, sexually assaulted and/or murdered -- often by the same people charged with protecting them. Candice wrote the piece published at Truthout.org, headlined, "Police Departments Ignore Rampant Sexual Assault by Officers." She talks about the epidemic of misogyny and police sexual abuse cases, as well as the bizarre murders that took place recently in Kenosha Wisconsin.  

KEY ENVIRONMENTAL RULING COULD BE A GAME-CHANGER 

At the bottom of the hour, Sandy and Steve are joined by Nathaniel Shoaff, staff attorney with the Sierra Club Environmental Law Program (based in San Francisco). Nathaniel discusses the lawsuit he won this week in the US District Court for the District of  Colorado.   The case, titled, Sierra Club Et Al v. US Forest Service Et Al, was handed down by (federal court) Judge R. Jackson, on June 27, who blocked a coal mining project in Colorado because, he said, federal agencies "failed to consider the future global-warming damages from burning fossil fuels."  

*Political Analysis' new co-host Steve Horn brings to the show his keen intelligence, an astute grasp of the issues and a youthful exuberance that is sure to light up the control room. His refreshingly radical perspective is both balanced and supported by his intrepid investigative reporting, his research work with DeSmog Blog and, before that, his research and reporting at the Center for Media and Democracy.  Steve's creative, no-holds-barred approach to journalism is fueled by a passion rarely seen in today's "play-it-safe" political environment. He is a fiercely independent thinker, which deems it appropriately fortuitous that he arrives on the scene just one day before Independence Day.   Look for lots of fireworks in the weeks to come!    

Resources for tonight's show:   

http://www.desmogblog.com/bio/7018/steve-horn 

www.truthout.org 

www.solartimesnow.org