Latin Waves Media

On June 5, 2015 the federal government of Canada and Marine Harvest appealed the precedent-setting Federal Court decision that struck down aquaculture licence conditions allowing private companies to transfer fish infected with viruses into net pens in our ocean. This is so disappointing and speaks to the depravity of the situation. Alex Morton is prepared to go back to Court to defend wild salmon and fight this appeal. With DFO and Marine Harvest trying to resurrect unlawful licence conditions to allow transfer of infected fish into the major wild salmon migration routes of this coast, it certainly begs the question: Is BC's farmed salmon industry dependent on farming with diseased fish? Stuart Richardson interviews Alex on this struggle with the Federal Government who is only interested in the protection of fish farms, Alex speaks about  how us citizens can assert our power to change our society when governments lose their way. Music by Rheostatics - Whale Music - California Dreamline

Banks create money when they make loans. Greece could restore the liquidity desperately needed by its banks and its economy by nationalizing the banks and issuing digital loans backed by government guarantees to its ailing businesses. Latin Waves host Sylvia Richardson speaks with Economist Robin Hahnel about the road ahead for Greece, their inspiring example to the world in the struggle against austerity. This moment can catalyze a possible model of sustainable prosperity for the world rejecting austerity and remembering social betterment depends of response-able governments that meet the needs of its peoples. But the road is not easy, Greece is being strangled by a hegemonic power in a financial war that is being waged against us all.

UBC Professor Dr Sunera Thobani speaks about her book Exalted Subjects, she gives a critical analysis of race and how the Canadian state has been active in nationalizing those “so called” Canadian values and then measuring them against the other in society.

Peter Mclaren is known as one of the leading architects of critical pedagogy and for his scholarly writings on critical literacy, the sociology of education, cultural studies, critical ethnography, and Marxist theory. He has developed a reputation for his uncompromising political analysis influenced by a Marxist humanist philosophy and a unique literary style of expression. His scholarship and political activism have taken him throughout Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. He speaks to Latin Waves about the need to decolonize education

The first paragraph of the TRC's final summary report reads. "For over a century, the central goals of Canada’s Aboriginal policy were to eliminate Aboriginal governments; ignore Aboriginal rights; terminate the Treaties; and, through a process of assimilation, cause Aboriginal peoples to cease to exist as distinct legal, social, cultural, religious, and racial entities in Canada. The establishment and operation of residential schools were a central element of this policy, which can best be described as “cultural genocide.” I speak to Kat Norris Indigenous activist and founder of the Indigenous Action Movement about her experiences in residential school, how she has turned her negative experiences into something positive by finding her voice and how she has become a warrior voice for her people. She shares her thoughts about the TRC (Truth and Reconciliation Commission) and what role first nations must play in the change that needs to happen and what role allies/settler populations must play.  

Dr Michael Parenti , internationally known award-winning author and lecturer and one of the nations leading progressive political analysts speaks about his new book "God and His Demons", a critical look at contemporary religion and his current and historic hypocrisies.

Robin Hahnel is Professor of Economics at Portland State University. He was a professor at American University for many years and traveled extensively advising on economic matters all over the world. He is best known for his work on participatory economics with Z Magazine editor Michael Albert. Latin Waves host Sylvia Richardson speak with radical economist and political activist Robin Hahnel about Greece's new majority government in the new elected Greek radical leftist Syriza party. What are the challenges ahead facing new finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, a radical economist himself as they introduce anti-austerity policies and force a renegotiation of Greek's debt. How Syriza's political victory may impact the leftist party Podemos in Spain; and the lesson to all leftists in political mobilization and winning the trust of the people.

David Bacon is an Award-winning photojournalist, author, and immigrant rights activist he has spent over twenty years as a labor organizer. For the past two decades he has been a reporter and documentary photographer, shooting for many national publications and independent projects, and exhibiting his work internationally. Bacon’s books include The Children of NAFTA, Communities without Borders, Illegal People (Beacon, 2008), and The Right to Stay Home (Beacon, 2013) Sylvia interviews David on this newest book “The Right to Stay Home” journalist David Bacon tells the story of the growing resistance of Mexican communities. Bacon shows how immigrant communities are fighting back—envisioning a world in which migration isn’t forced by poverty or environmental destruction and people are guaranteed the “right to stay home.” This richly detailed and comprehensive portrait of immigration reveals how the interconnected web of labor, migration, and the global economy unites farmers, migrant workers, and union organizers across borders.

Jorge Martin, international secretary of the Hands Off Venezuela campaign was interviewed regarding the upcoming election in Greece. Greece's Coalition of the Left, or SYRIZA, continues to lead in polls in the days before national elections on January 25, making it more and more possible that the government will soon be led by a left party committed to reversing the savage austerity program that has plunged Greece into an economic depression and catastrophic social crisis. What does this mean for Greece, the EU and workers movements all over the world against Austerity.

Robin Hahnel is Professor of Economics at Portland State University. He was a professor at American University for many years and traveled extensively advising on economic matters all over the world. He is best known for his work on participatory economics with Z Magazine editor Michael Albert. Greece will hold parliamentary elections on January 25 and Syriza, the left-wing party which has consistently called for debt restructuring and an end to austerity, is leading the polls. Latin Waves Host Sylvia Richardson speaks with Dr. Robin Hahnel to discuss what this may signal for the wave of dissent mounting against Neoliberalism in Europe. The IMF-European Commission-European Central Bank (Troika) is warning of the ‘threat’ of Syriza coming to power and have forcefully indicated their support for Greece's ruling coalition by conditioning further financial support on the re-election of a pliable government. A Syriza victory indeed threatens the suffocating grip of the European and global austerity regime, and for that reason should be welcomed and actively supported.

Latin Waves host Sylvia Richardson speak with immigrant rights activist Dr. Aviva Chomsky about her latest book Undocumented How Immigration Became Illegal. Dr. Chomsky speaks of how “illegality” and “undocumentedness” are concepts that were created to exclude and exploit. With a focus on US policy, she probes how people, especially Mexican and Central Americans, have been assigned this status—and to what ends. Blending history with human drama, She makes visible the legal, social, economic, and historical context and injustice that it perpetuates. Music, Sweet Little Lies' by Michael Franti

Christian Parenti is an American investigative journalist and author. His books include: Lockdown America: Police and Prisons in the Age of Crisis (2000), a survey of the rise of the prison industrial complex from the Nixon through Reagan Eras and into the present; The Soft Cage: Surveillance in America From Slavery to the War on Terror (2003), a study of surveillance and control in modern society. The Freedom: Shadows and Hallucinations in Occupied Iraq (2004), is an account of the US occupation in Iraq.His most recent book is Tropic Of Chaos: Climate Wars and the New Geography Of Violence (2011), Parenti has also reported from Afghanistan, Iraq, Venezuela, Bolivia, Ivory Coast and China. Dr Parenti engages in a lively discussion about the rise of Neo Liberalism that replaced Keynesian economics and the relationship to the Prison Industrial Complex

Suzanne Kyra is a registered clinical counselor and has been a therapist in Vancouver for over 30 years, Suzanne Kyra is a Gold Benjamin Franklin award recipient for the book Welcome Home To Yourself which she co-created with her son. Latin Waves host Sylvia Richardson speaks with Suzanne Kyra, How do we motivate ourselves to risk again when wounded by failure and betrayal ? Getting started on a journey of self discovery about the emotional triggers and what we can do to live a more fulfilled and fruitful life.

Sylvia Richardson host of Latin Waves speaks with Robert Jensen about liberation and finding a prophetic path to liberation. Media and education's role in the production and reproduction of cultural hegemonies: economic, social, ecological... that defines the limits of what is possible. The interview also explores the meaning of jubilee (Christmas) towards creating a society based on reciprocity, and respectful co-existence.

Derrick Jensen is an American author and environmental activist (and critic of mainstream environmentalism). Jensen has published several books questioning and critiquing modern civilization and its values, including The Culture of Make Believe and Endgame. He has also taught creative writing at Pelican Bay State Prison and Eastern Washington University. Latin Waves host Sylvia Richardson speaks with author Derrick Jensen on the’naturality’ of hierarchy and our culture of violation. Exploring alternative ways of being. Jensen turns the corrosive narrative of hierarchy (survival of the fittest) on its head and offers a new path of coexistence. ** Plus a short talk at the end by Noam Chomsky titled "Necessary Illusions"