Air Date: March 13, 2009

Playlist: Gogol Bordello, MIA, the Nightwatchman, Conor Oberst, State Radio, Bruce Springsteen, the Arcade Fire, Richie Havens and Neil Young.

Download: http://axisofjustice.net/audio/AOJ_Radio_01.mp3

iTunes: Play & Subscribe

Direct Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/AOJRadioPodcast

More: Main Podcast Page

Director: Stuart Townsend

In 1999, the members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) decided to hold their yearly meeting Seattle, WA, to talk make decisions about law and trade that would impact people around the globe, and their track record was appalling. But this time, activists from all walks to life planned to be there as well, to try to stop these meetings from taking place. The stage was set for conflict, and as they say, the whole world was watching. This movie is a fictional work about these real events, starring Charlize Theron, Andre 3000, Michelle Rodriguez, Channing Tatum, and more.

More>

Song: “Die for the Government”

CD: Die for the Government

Amazing think-for-yourself punk battle cry.

Website: www.anti-flag.com

By Howard Zinn, Paul Buhle and Mike Konopacki

Best-selling radical historian Howard Zinn turns his studies of American war and conquest into a graphic novel, with the help of fellow historian Paul Buhle and political cartoonist Mike Konopacki.  Give this one to  your friends who think that voting Democrat or Republican is going to save the world.

Buy This Book

Watch a short video about the book, narrated by Viggo Mortensen:

Director: Joshua Seftel

Star-studded cast bring this dark-humored satire to life, telling a tale of greed, depravity, and war for profit.

More>

Song: “March of Death”

Anti-war track produced and mass-released for free just prior to the US invasion of Iraq.  De la Rocha’s trademark lyrics and style over bass-heavy beats and furious scratching.

Website: www.marchofdeath.com

By John Perkins

For several straight decades, John Perkins was one of the bad guys. His job was to travel from country to country, corrupting Third World leaders into selling out their people for corporate riches. But as time passed, his conscience began to get the better of him, and he felt the need to atone for his mighty sins. He wrote Confessions of an Economic Hit Man in 2004, spelling out the ways in which he and others ruined the lives of millions for profit. And Secret History is his follow-up, explaining the techniques of global exploitation, and how to fight back.

Buy This Book

Directors: Eddy Moretti & Suroosh Alvi

Raised on American bands like Metallica and Slayer, four musicians in Baghdad formed Iraq’s only metal band, Acrassicauda in 2000 under the iron fist of Saddam Hussein. This documentary was shot in 2006, recording the band’s history, passion, and struggles to survive and rock in the face of occupation and civil war.

More>

Last week, the people of Iran went to the voting booth to elect their president.  The top two candidates were: the fiery, ultra-conservative incumbent Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, and the somewhat reformist Mir Hussen Mousavi.  Although there were no trustworthy polls taken right before the election, it was thought that the race was somewhat close, and there were predictions that, at the very least, neither candidate would get more than 50% of the votes, and there would have to be a run-off election.

So alarm bells went off in the minds of many when the Iranian election commission announced that not only had Ahmedinejad won, but that he had done so by a margin of nearly 30% of the votes!

We should mention at this point that the government of Iran is not democratic in the sense that we in the West might understand the term.  Iran is a theocracy, an “Islamic republic”.  While the citizens do elect a president, the president is under the supervision of the Supreme Leader, the highest political and religious figure in the nation.  And the Supreme Leader also appoints a council which uses religious rules to decide who can and cannot run for president.  The Supreme Leader and this presidential council are extremely conservative and traditional in their views on political and social issues, which puts the government into tension with its citizens, who are largely more modern and moderate.

So despite significant restrictions on their freedom to assemble and their freedoms of speech, both Mousavi supporters and Iranians who felt that the elections results seemed shady, took to the streets to call for justice.  This is extremely dangerous to do in Iran, where the government and its allies will go to great and oppressive lengths to suppress dissent and maintain control.

To be honest, none of us really know who won this election.  We’ve seen some persuasive arguments about why one candidate should have won and why the other lost, and we’re inclined to agree with the folks who think that the election was stolen.  But we don’t know.

So what do we do?  As people who believe in freedom and self-determination, we shouldn’t look to our own goals, but ways that we could support the goals of the people of Iran.  At present, the Iranian people look to be taking their own actions in their own ways, but are finding themselves blocked by censorship and government violence.  So we can try to support their desire for free communication, free media, and an end to repression and brutality.  Amnesty International has this campaign calling for an end to the brutality and barriers to free communication.  There may also be ways that tech-savvy people can help Iranians bypass these barriers, and we can all help spread the stories that the Iranian government wants to keep secret.

Many American activists go with their immediate instincts and want to have protests in the streets in favor of the less-dictatorial candidate, or put pressure on the White House to speak out against Ahmedinejad and the Iranian government.  But we have to be careful in this regard; Iran has plenty of reason to be suspicious of US intentions; they do not easily forget that the US overthrew their democratically-elected government in the 1950s (and helped install and support the ruthless Shah Pahlavi for decades), nor that the US has frequently tried to manipulate the politics of the Middle East region.  Intense American actions supporting either side of this Iranian conflict could look like yet another attempt to control Iran for American benefit.  So we think that careful, considered action should be taken, all the while listening closely for input and requests from the Iranian people.

Everyone keep your eyes and ears open, and we’ll do our best to help keep you informed.