whitebeard

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Project Censored Media Accountability Conference
Highlights Top Investigative Reporting October 26-27 at SSU

Thom Hartmann, Jeremy Scahill and a host of independent investigative journalists are coming to Project Censored's second annual Media Accountability Conference and Awards Ceremony on Oct. 26 and 27 in Ives Hall. Journalists Jeremy Scahill, Robert Parry, Frank Morales and Mike Whitney discuss the media's lack of response to recent erosions of civil liberties at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 26 in Ives 101.

Throughout the day on Saturday, Oct. 27, panelists discuss some of the investigative reports featured in the Censored 2008 Top 25 under-covered stories of the year which can be reviewed at http://www.sonoma.edu/pubs/newsrelease/archives/000273.html.

All the authors are honored at the popular Top 25 Awards Ceremony during the noon luncheon on Saturday which features radio host Thom Hartmann discussing "Holding Media Accountable: How We Recognize Censorship in the Modern Era." To register or to view a complete schedule, visit http://www.projectcensored.org/conference/07Confsite.htm or phone 664-3160.

FRIDAY SCHEDULE

October 26, 2007

4:00 - 5:00 PM - REGISTRATION Ives Hall

5:00 - 7:00 PM - Author Reception Ives 119

7:00 - 9:00 PM - OPENING PANEL

Warren Auditorium (Ives 101)

Defending Our Civil Liberties

Journalists Frank Morales, Robert Parry, Jeremy Scahill and Mike Whitney discuss the media's apparent lack of concern over our eroding civil liberties

(There will be a showing of Kevin Pina's documentary

Haiti: We Must Kill the Bandits following the opening panel)

SATURDAY SCHEDULE

October 27, 2007

8:00 -9:00 AM - Registration & Check in Ives Hall

9:00 -10:15 AM - SESSION 1

Panel 1A - Warren Auditorium (Ives 101)

Exploitation in the Service of Neocolonialism & Profit

Censored #11: Fariba Nawa

"Afghanistan Inc: a CorpWatch Investigative Report" - In June 2005, Action Aid revealed that much of the US tax money earmarked to rebuild Afghanistan actually ends up going no further than the pockets of wealthy US corporations.

Censored #23: Peter Byrne

"Senator Feinstein's Iraq Conflict" - As a member of the Military Construction Appropriations subcommittee Senator Feinstein voted for appropriations worth billions of dollars to her husband's firms.

Panel 1B - Ives 119

Moving Toward Martial Law and an Expanding Police State

Censored #2: Frank Morales

"Bush Moves Toward Martial Law" - The Defense Authorization Act of 2007 allows the president to station military troops anywhere in the United States and take control of state-based National Guard units without the consent of the governor or local authorities.

Censored #6: Mike Whitney

"Operation Falcon and the Looming Police State" - In 2006, more than 30,000 people were arrested in one of the largest dragnets in the nation's history. Many were undocumented workers from Latin America with no criminal history.

Censored #7: Jeremy Scahill

"Blackwater Inc and Bush's Undeclared Surge" - Bush's contracts with Blackwater have createdthe most powerful mercenary firm in the world and a company that most embodies the privatization of the military industrial complex on an international scale.

10:30 - 11:45 AM SESSION 2

Panel 2A - Warren Auditorium (Ives 101)

Hidden Agendas Along the US/Mexico Border

Censored #18: Joshua Holland

"Evidence of Election Fraud Grows in Mexico" - In an election riddled with mistakes, a recount in the recent Mexico election uncovered evidence of abundant stuffing and stealing of ballots, which favored the conservative - Calderon.

Censored #18: Nina Armand & Luciente Zamora (for Revolution Collective)

"Mexico: The Political Volcano Rumbles" - Mexico's questionable presidential election in 2006 caused millions to take to the streets. At the foundation of this struggle is Mexico's economy, the influnce of international forces and the legacy of NAFTA.

Panel 2B - Ives 119

Little Known Environment & Activism Policies

Censored #15: Tim Montague (for Peter Montague)

"Some Chemicals are More Harmful Than Anyone Ever Suspected" - New evidence about how genes interact with the environment may revolutionize medicine. It suggests that many industrial chemicals may be even more dangerous than is currently believed.

Censored #17: Sunny Lewis

"Factories, Cities Across USA Exceed Water Pollution Limits" - Industrial corporations and the U.S. military are dumping toxins into our ground water above limits established by the Clear Water Act - with few, if any, consequences.

Censored #20: Will Potter

"US House Passes Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act With Little Discussion or Dissent" - Corporations, industry groups and the politicians that represent them rushed through legislation labeling activists as “terrorists” on the first day back from Congressional recess

12:00 - 2:00 PM REAL NEWS AWARDS LUNCHEON

Niagara Room -- Recreation Center

2:30 - 3:45 PM SESSION 3

Panel 3A - Warren Auditorium (Ives 101)

Terrorism and the New Legal Realities

Censored #1: Robert Parry

"Still No Habeas Rights for You" - The Military Commissions Act of 2006, signed in October 2006, ushered in military commission law for US citizens and non-citizens alike. The NYT minimized the dangers posed by the act, which allows a military trial for 'any person' deemed to be an enemy of the state, regardless of American citizenship.

Censored #1: Thom Hartmann

"Repeal the Military Commissions Act" - The Military Commissions Act says that the Executive Branch may detain people indefinitely or exile them to concentration camps on distant islands.

Censored #20: Odette Wilkens

"The AETA is Invidiously Detrimental to the Animal Rights Movement" - In 2006, the term 'terrorism' was expanded to include any act that interferes, or promotes interference, with the operation of an 'animal enterprise.' Over 160 groups oppose this Act on grounds that its terminology is dangerously vague and poses a major conflict to the US Constitution.

Panel 3B - Ives 119

Media and Corruption Impact Military Policies

Censored #12: Wadner Pierre

"Haiti: Poor Residents of Capital Describe a State of Siege "

On the 21st anniversary of the fall of the dictator Duvalier , marches took place throughout Haiti, all calling for an end to the violence and that Aristide be allowed to return to the country. UN "peacekeepers" responded with violence and siege.

Censored #12: Dennis Bernstein (for Kevin Pina)

"UN in Haiti: Accused of Second Massacre"

In 2006, UN forces, under the pretense of capturing gangsters and kidnappers, attacked peaceful protestors, killing more than 30 unarmed civilians including women and children.

Censored #24: Arash Norouzi

"'Wiped Off The Map' - The Rumor of the Century" - Across the world, a mistranslated statement was spread that Iran's President Ahmadinejad has threatened to destroy Israel, saying, "Israel must be wiped off the map."

4:00 - 5:30 PM CLOSING KEYNOTE

Warren Auditorium

Holding Media Accountable:

How Do We Recognize Censorship in the Modern Era?

Radio Host Thom Hartmann

6:00 PM INFORMAL GATHERING AND DISCUSSION

at Redwood Cafe, downtown Cotati

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