Alan Waldman : ‘Dalziel and Pascoe’ is a Dramatic Yet Funny Yorkshire Cop Series

Posted on October 8, 2013 by Thorne Dreyer

 
Waldman’s film and TV
treasures you may have missed:

For 59 episodes, its humorously mismatched lead characters stopped a wide range of dastardly doings.

By Alan Waldman | The Rag Blog | October 8, 2013

[In his weekly column, Alan Waldman reviews some of his favorite films and TV series that readers may have missed, including TV dramas, mysteries, and comedies from Canada, England, Ireland, and Scotland. Most are available on DVD and/or Netflix, and some episodes are on YouTube.]
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Tom Hayden : Becoming Two Countries in 2014

Posted on October 3, 2013 by Thorne Dreyer
Becoming two countries. Image from Shutterstock / sojourners.

The war for America:
Becoming two countries in 2014

Joined by a right-wing Roberts Supreme Court and funded by the likes of the Koch brothers, the Right is consolidating its power on a scale not seen since the Jim Crow era of the Dixiecrats.

By Tom Hayden | The Rag Blog | October 3, 2013

The logic of voter turnout data all but guarantees right-wing Republican congressional victories in 2014 and a sealing of the divide of America into two countries for the foreseeable future.
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INTERVIEW / Jonah Raskin : Oral Historian Margaret Randall on Che and the Cuban Revolution

Posted on October 2, 2013 by Thorne Dreyer
Margaret Randall, Berkeley, California, March 23, 2011. Photo © Scott Braley.

Interview with Margaret Randall:
Feminist, poet, and oral historian of Che,
Fidel, and the Cuban revolution

“Che, even on his early motorcycle adventure through Latin America, was deeply affected by human misery and beginning to figure out what he felt could be done to alleviate it.”

By Jonah Raskin | The Rag Blog | October 3, 2013

Margaret Randall, 77, lives today in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where her roots run as deep as they do in Mexico, Cuba, and Nicaragua where she has also lived for extended periods of time.
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RAG RADIO / Thorne Dreyer : Bruce Melton on Global Warming and Climate Change Denial

Posted on October 2, 2013 by Thorne Dreyer
Environmental activist Bruce Melton at the studios of KOOP radio in Austin, Texas, September 20, 2013. Photo by Roger Baker / The Rag Blog.

Rag Radio podcast:
Environmental researcher and
climate change activist Bruce Melton

Austin environmentalist and Rag Blog contributor talks about global warming, climate change denial, and Austin’s ‘Dry Lake Blues.’

By Rag Radio | The Rag Blog | October 2, 2013

Environmental researcher and climate change activist Bruce Melton was our guest on Rag Radio, Friday, September 20, 2013.
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Harvey Wasserman : The Demand for a Global Takeover at Fukushima

Posted on October 2, 2013 by Thorne Dreyer
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant’s reactor building number 4 seen in aerial view on July 5, 2012. Photo by Kyodo / Reuters.

The demand for a global takeover
at Fukushima has hit critical mass

Since the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami, the six-reactor Daichi site has plunged into lethal chaos.

By Harvey Wasserman | The Rag Blog | October 2, 2013

More than 48,000 global citizens have now signed a petition at NukeFree.org asking the United Nations and the world community to take charge of the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant. Another 35,000 have signed at RootsAction. An independent advisory group of scientists and engineers is also in formation.
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Kate Braun : The First Dark Moon of Autumn

Posted on October 2, 2013 by Thorne Dreyer
Moonless autumn night on Whidbey Island in Washington. Photo from rprtphoto.

Moon Musings:
Dark Moon
(October 4, 5, or 6, 2013)

By Kate Braun | The Rag Blog | October 2, 2013

“North, South, East, West,
help me to do my best”

A Dark Moon may be honored on each day on either side of the New Moon as well as on the day of the New Moon.
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Michael James : Free Speech at Sproul Plaza, Berkeley, Fall of 1964

Posted on October 1, 2013 by Thorne Dreyer
Gathering during Free Speech Movement at UC Berkeley, December 1964. At left, with mustache, is Jack Weinberg; center, in tie, is Michael Lerner; second from right, in glasses, is Marvin Garson. Photos by Michael James from his forthcoming book, Michael Gaylord James’ Pictures from the Long Haul.

Pictures from the Long Haul:
Free speech, Sproul Plaza with Jesus,
and the Roseville Auction, Fall of ’64

I am one of 773 arrested at Sproul Hall and hauled off to Santa Rita County Jail. One of many who goes limp, I am arrested with the added charge of
resisting arrest, and dragged down the stairs. It will not be the only time I’ll get that charge.

By Michael James | The Rag Blog | October 1, 2013

[In this series, Michael James is sharing images from his rich past, accompanied by reflections about — and inspired by — those images. This photo will be included in his forthcoming book, Michael Gaylord James’ Pictures from the Long Haul.]
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Lamar W. Hankins : A Case Study in DWI in San Marcos, Texas

Posted on September 30, 2013 by Thorne Dreyer
Kyle Maysel’s arrested is reported on San Marcos television. Image from kens5.com.

A case study:
DWI and the citizen accused

A San Marcos attorney was arrested on a DWI charge during a ‘no refusal’ weekend and questions have been raised about the conduct of the police and the judge involved in the case.

By Lamar W. Hankins | The Rag Blog | September 30, 2013

SAN MARCOS, Texas — This past August 30, San Marcos attorney Kyle Maysel was arrested on a DWI charge after a minor traffic accident in which he backed into a stopped car. That day was the start of the first “no refusal” weekend to be conducted by the San Marcos Police Department (SMPD), a weekend when anyone arrested for DWI would not be allowed to refuse to take a breath test or a blood test to measure the alcohol content of their breath or blood.
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RAG RADIO / Thorne Dreyer : Jim Hightower Brings the Lowdown on ‘Poopgate’ and ‘Tinkle-Down’ Economics

Posted on September 26, 2013 by Thorne Dreyer
Texas populist gadfly Jim Hightower at the studios of KOOP-FM in Austin, Texas, September 13, 2013. Photos by Roger Baker / The Rag Blog.

Rag Radio podcast:
Famed Texas populist commentator
and political gadfly, Jim Hightower

In 30 years, we’ve gone from Ronald Reagan’s ‘trickle-down’ to the Koch Brothers’ ‘tinkle down’ economics. We are resurrecting the robber barons and imposing a plutocracy over our democracy.

By Thorne Dreyer | The Rag Blog | September 26, 2013

Texas populist writer, commentator, and political gadfly Jim Hightower was our guest on Rag Radio, Friday, September 13, 2013.
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HISTORY / Bob Feldman : A People’s History of Egypt, Part 10, 1930-1945

Posted on September 25, 2013 by Thorne Dreyer
Signing of the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty in 1936. Image from Islam Project 2010.

A people’s history:
The movement to democratize Egypt

Part 10: 1930-1945 period — Anglo-Egyptian Treaty reaffirms Egypt’s ‘independence’ though British domination continues.

By Bob Feldman | The Rag Blog | September 25, 2013

[With all the dramatic activity in Egypt, Bob Feldman’s Rag Blog “people’s history” series, “The Movement to Democratize Egypt,” could not be more timely. Also see Feldman’s “Hidden History of Texas” series on The Rag Blog.]
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Alan Waldman: ‘Midsomer Murders’ is a Popular Long-Running British Rural Crime Series

Posted on September 24, 2013 by Thorne Dreyer

 

Waldman’s film and TV
treasures you may have missed:

So far, 100 episodes of this dramatic and humorous ‘whodunnit’ set in fictional Midsomer County have aired.

By Alan Waldman | The Rag Blog | September 24, 2013

[In his weekly column, Alan Waldman reviews some of his favorite films and TV series that readers may have missed, including TV dramas, mysteries, and comedies from Canada, England, Ireland, and Scotland. Most are available on DVD and/or Netflix, and some episodes are on YouTube.]
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Marilyn Katz : A Different Path for Syria, and Hopefully for Chicago

Posted on September 19, 2013 by Thorne Dreyer
child at funeral crop

Child at funeral in Chicago. Image from The Old Black Church.

And for Chicago?
A different path for Syria

Will U.S. diplomacy in Syria carve a new path towards peace at home and abroad?

By Marilyn Katz / The Rag Blog / September 19, 2013

CHICAGO — The example of our leaders cannot help but guide the thinking of our youth: Might makes right and those who are “wrong” — who disagree with our worldview — are The Other, ever-more-easily transformed into an enemy to be dealt with by whatever means necessary.
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