Global

The arrest of a prominent Palestinian activist, Musab Shtayyeh, and another Palestinian activist, by Palestinian Authority police on September 20 was not the first time that the notorious PA’s Preventive Security Service (PSS) has arrested a Palestinian who is wanted by Israel.

 PSS is largely linked to the routine arrests and torture of anti-Israeli occupation activists. Several Palestinians have died in the past as a result of PSS violence, the latest being Nizar Banat who was tortured to death on June 24, 2021. The killing of Banat ignited a popular revolt against the PA throughout Palestine.

Thankfully, we’re joined by the uniquely powerful JUDITH WHITMER, rebel Chair of the Democratic Party of Nevada, where an uprising of grassroots activists has transformed the playing field. 

Judith has helped lead the charge to at last put the Democratic Party apparatus in reach of grassroots activists who actually support a progressive agenda….and who are willing to fight for a progressive agenda.

We learn from GREG COLERIDGE that the horrendous Citizen’s United does not protect dark money’s ability to buy primaries, as they’re themselves the bailiwick of private corporations, ie the political parties.  

Thus we realize the possibility of actually having fair and accessible systems to choose partisan candidates, a revolutionary development to say the least.

DOROTHY REIK, THERESA BONPANE, JUSTIN LEBLANC, MARY STONEWALL and others chime in with great questions.

We’re FURTHER joined by WENDI LEDERMAN, who has compiled a brilliant and extremely important roster of non-partisan grassroots organizations around the country.  

September 16 marks the 40th anniversary of the Sabra and Shatila massacre, the killing of around 3,000 Palestinians at the hands of Lebanon’s Phalangist militias operating under the command of the Israeli army. 

 Four decades have passed, yet no measure of justice has been received by the survivors of the massacre. Many of them have died, and others are aging while they carry the scars of physical and psychological wounds, in the hope that, perhaps, within their lifetime they will see their executioners behind bars. 

Composer Gaetano Donizetti may have been born in the 18th century and his 1835 opera Lucia di Lammermoor may be based on Sir Walter Scott’s The Bride of Lammermoor, which was published 1819. But the updated version of Lammermoor that LA Opera is rather gloriously kicking off its 2022/23 season with is a startlingly spectacular state of the art production that is arguably the most cutting edge operatic live show that this longtime reviewer has ever had the good luck to behold. As directed by Switzerland’s Simon Stone, this rendition of an early 19th century work is a role model in how to successfully update classics for 21st century audiences, just as Leonard Bernstein and company brilliantly reset the tragic saga of Verona’s teen age sweethearts in Romeo and Juliet to Manhattan’s mean streets in West Side Story for 20th century viewers.

In his anticipated speech at the United Nations General Assembly on September 23, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas is expected to, once more, make a passionate plea for the recognition of Palestine as a full member. 

Lawsuit Filed Against Wake County Director of Elections for Violating the
Constitutional Rights of a Wake County Voter in Retaliation for her Advocacy

Contact:
TylerBrooks, Esq., 336-707-8855 btb@btylerbrookslawyer.com
Lynn Bernstein, 910-764-8328 transparentelectionsnc@gmail.com 

Case # 5:22-cv-00277-BO
Link to legal documents & exhibits: https://bit.ly/3Raegnf

Part 1:
We are then joined by the legendary KEITH ELLISON, Attorney-General of Minnesota and lead prosecutor in the legendary George Floyd case. 
Keith is a former multi-term US Representative and Vice-Chair of the national Democratic Party.
We discuss with him the relatively safe, democratic voting conditions in Minnesota and the desperate need to replicate them nationwide.
Keith is gratefully joined by RAY MCCLENDON of the Georgia NAACP, connecting powerful pro-democracy organizers in critical states where conditions are very different.
Joining them also are BOB FITRAKIS, JULIE WIENER, WENDI LIEDERMAN, HEDI TRIPP, TATANKA BRICCA and others.
The need for a national organization of progressive state Attorneys-General and secretaries of state has never been more critical.
We finish this amazing hour with JAMIAH HARGINS and his truly mind-boggling organization promoting urban farming and water conservation.
DANETT ABBOTT, MYLA RESON, PAUL SHERMAN, CYNTHIA PAPERMASTER and others chime in to this fantastically hopeful and powerful course of action for greening all of Los Angeles & ALL the world’s cities.

This critic usually reviews plays with deep social, psychological and philosophical significance, such as A Noise Within’s Animal Farm, Orwell’s satire about the revolution betrayed in Russia; Deaf West Theatre’s mounting of the Greek tragedy Oedipus at the Getty Villa; and Antaeus’ Everybody, an adaptation of the Christian morality play Everyman, about the meaning of life. I appreciated all of these quality productions but by far the most enjoyable work I’ve had the good fortune to experience this year is Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein, a musical comedy without any deep political, Freudian or existential messages.

Though Washington insists that it is not interested in a direct military conflict with Moscow, the latter claims that the US is, in fact, directly involved. But who is telling the truth? 

“What’s the point?” Everybody (Nicole Erb) plaintively asks about human existence as she confronts Death (a playful Anne Gee Byrd as a not so Grim Reaper) in Antaeus Theatre Company’s Everybody, a rollicking adaptation of the anonymously-written 15th century Christian morality play, Everyman. With its modern twists, including projections (designed by Yi-Chien Lee), sound (provided by Salvador Zamora) and lighting effects (illumined by Bryan Ealey) plus dialogue that translates Middle English into the 21st century vernacular, including loads of obscenities, penned by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Antaeus’ mounting brings this Middle Ages classic alive. The setting is a sort of dreamscape (Nicholas Ponting is the scenic and props designer)