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Lucasville prison uprising leaders go on hunger strike
January 7, 2011
Four death-sentenced prisoners, wrongfully convicted of crimes following the 1993 prison rebellion in Lucasville, Ohio, started a hunger strike Jan. 3. They say they would rather die, if they must, on their own terms, rather than on a gurney by lethal injection. They want to strike a blow against confinement conditions so inhumane that they amount to torture.
Children in armed conflict: Olara Otunnu speaks to KPFA and Afrobeat Radio
January 7, 2011
Much of the world focuses on family and creating safe and loving environments for children during the holidays, but many of the world’s children suffer extreme deprivation and abuse of their human rights. Acholi children living in an internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in Kitgum, Northern Uganda, “think that a refugee camp is home.”
Standing on the side of the Black Panthers, not the police
January 3, 2011
Journalist JR Valrey, who was born in 1978, grew up mostly in Oakland, where the legend of the Black Panther Party was all around him. “A lot of the people around here are Panthers, or knew Panthers or are members of the Black Guerilla Family, which was an organization that Field Marshall George Jackson of the Black Panther Party founded. The revolution is very deep in Oakland. It’s not so cosmetic as it is other places. It’s not just about bandannas and t-shirts and concert throwing and posturing. I think it’s more grassroots here and more ingrained in the spirit of the people.”
Radioactive spill in Arlit, Niger, home to ‘significant quantities of uranium from Africa’
December 28, 2010
Arlit, Niger, in the Sahara Desert surfaced in international news in January 2003, when George W. Bush, in his State of the Union address, said what came to be known as “the 16 words” that became a central pretext for the Iraq War: “The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.”
Why not celebrate Nadra Foster and the Black community on KPFA?
December 18, 2010
We applaud broadcasters, artists and fans of KPFA who have come together to make sure that there is a station called KPFA in 2011. I want to be up front with why we have discussed protesting tomorrow night’s event. It is a principled stand against police terrorism in the Black community, cronyism to the Bush regime and the lack of Black public affairs programming on KPFA.
Haitians say, ‘Goodbye, UN! Bon voyage’
December 14, 2010
The U.N. has threatened to pull out of Haiti. Oh, what a blessed seasonal gift that would be. Bon voyage, U.N.! Goodbye. We’ll help you pack. The Haitian people on the streets demonstrating are asking for YOU, for the U.N. to go. Take Clinton, the Interim Haiti Reconstruction Commission (IHRC) and the NGOs with you, please.
KPFA’s working majority gets screwed by CWA job trust
December 9, 2010
I was raised by several generations of labor organizers, and in every labor dispute my side is easily chosen. I don’t cross picket lines, and I always stand with the workers against their bosses. With the recent layoffs at KPFA, it’s terrible to see people losing their jobs, but this is not union busting by any stretch of the imagination.
Pacifica Radio to broadcast news from Al Jazeera English
December 6, 2010
Pacifica Radio has announced that it will now carry news coverage from Al Jazeera English, which brings it for the first time to radio audiences in North America. Al Jazeera English is the award-winning 24-hour international news and current affairs channel and has become a world leader in the coverage of Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the Americas.
What’s happening at KPFA?
November 11, 2010
Two years ago, Brian Edwards-Tiekert reported to the Pacifica National Board that staff layoffs were imperative at WBAI in NYC and KPFK in LA even though those laid off would push back. Today at KPFA, Brian is the one being laid off and pushing back.
Hard Knock Radio needs your help!
November 10, 2010
Rally to build KPFA’s audience in communities of color and diverse communities Thursday, Nov. 11, 4:30 p.m., KPFA, 1929 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Berkeley. The potential elimination of Hard Knock Radio is a political insult to our communities and the mission of the Pacifica radio network. The programmers of color who work at KPFA have long standing contacts in the broader community. Our communities have fought, sacrificed and worked hard for KPFA, and the station’s budget must not be balanced on our backs. Hands off Hard Knock Radio!
Save KPFA’s Hard Knock Radio, Flashpoints and Full Circle
November 3, 2010
We must protect Hard Knock Radio, Flashpoints and Full Circle from the KPFA chopping block because in essence we are protecting our right to an accessible community radio station, where we can learn, teach and participate in local struggles for community power.
Two views: KPFA management proposes to cancel Flashpoints and Hard Knock Radio
October 18, 2010
The KPFA management plan was to remove Flashpoints from the 5 p.m. evening slot and replace it with a syndicated news program from an external source. To remove Hard Knock radio from the 4 p.m. evening slot and replace it with a syndicated Baltimore NPR program hosted by Michael Eric Dyson. Siding with management to advocate for unfair reductions that violate the basic seniority provisions in their own contract and endorsing slates in board elections is the kind of behavior that gives unions a bad name.
KPFA in crisis … and you can save it!
September 22, 2010
KPFA is one of the few community stations with an elected board. For example, KQED, where I also served two terms, got rid of elections in 2006. Our mission is to generate and support local, hard-hitting, radical journalism and prioritize coverage of and collaboration with underrepresented Bay Area communities that have little access to other media.
Jazz activist The Doug of Edwards has died
September 20, 2010
Pacifica radio station KPFA’s (94.1 FM) jazz programmer – or jazz activist, as he sometimes referred to himself – The Doug of Edwards has died, passing over on the early morning of Sunday, Sept. 19, 2010. On Saturday night 11 p.m.-1 p.m. for the past 30 years, he was heard live hosting his jazz show, Ear Tyme.
What’s up with KPFA?
September 3, 2010
KPFA’s election season has begun, with ballots and postcards arriving on our doorsteps. What should members do? There’s a really short answer. Don’t vote for the Save KPFA – Concerned Listeners – candidates. Any of them. No matter what.
Elect new leaders at KPFA
August 12, 2010
KPFA 94.1 FM, your Bay Area progressive radio station, began its local board election cycle June 1 that will end Sept. 30 when ballots need to be returned. As the voice of the progressive left, KPFA is an example of “‘citizens’ media” that enables the powerless to shape media and make it a new social force.
The legacy of El Hajj Malik El Shabazz lives! an interview wit’ his grandson Malcolm Shabazz
July 22, 2010
After Malcolm X passed on, his writings and teachings really took root in the minds of a new generation, inspiring young Black people in Oakland to create the Black Panther Party. Forty-five years later, his first male heir and grandson, Malcolm Shabazz, has come to the Bay. Meet him and Cynthia McKinney Thursday, July 22, 7:30 p.m., at Twinspace, 2111 Mission St., San Francisco.
Freedom Birthday Celebration for Mumia Abu-Jamal: Block Report Radio special on KPFA, appeals from Yuri Kochiyama and the International Action Center
April 23, 2010
Celebrate Mumia’s 56th birthday on Saturday, April 24, 4-6 p.m., on KPFA 94.1 FM and KPFA.org. Mumia is the award-winning journalist who has spent the last 28 years on death row. And come to Washington, D.C., on April 26 to call for a Justice Department investigation of his case.
Jada’s on the Radio: an interview wit’ Berkeley Liberation Radio dj Jada Simone of Pandora’s BoomBox
April 18, 2010
by Minister of Information JR
In 2010, it is important for us to realize how vital it is for us to make our own media. We should all know by now that Fox News, KMEL or KPFA isn’t going to… Read the rest »
LA demands justice for Oscar Grant
January 9, 2010
On Friday’s Hard Knock Radio and Flashpoints shows on KPFA at 4 and 5 p.m., Minister of Information JR reported straight out of Los Angeles on the first pre-trial hearing since the murder case of Johannes Mehserle, the BART police officer who executed Oscar Grant, was moved there from Oakland.