December 11 - The Military on Our Streets?; Is Hugo Chavez Close to Death?; Occupy Student Debt

Full Program	LISTEN TO FULL PROGRAM
Part 1	We begin with an analysis of the Defense Authorization Bill that the President has threatened to veto, with Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson who was Secretary of State Colin Powell’s Chief of Staff and went public with his knowledge of torture approved by the Bush Administration. We look into provisions in the bill that appear to increase the role of Guantanamo Bay rather than close the place that has become synonymous with torture, as well as provisions that allow for American citizens to be arrested on U.S. soil and be held indefinitely without trial. We also explore other aspects of the bill that appear to make a war with Iran very likely and will drive up the price of oil in an election year.
Part 2	Then we look into rumors swirling around in Venezuela that Hugo Chavez is close to death. Javier Corrales, a professor of Political Science at Amherst College and author of “Dragon in the Tropics: Hugo Chavez and the Political Economy of Revolution in Venezuela” joins us. With Presidential elections scheduled for October of next year, we examine the likelihood that the terminally ill leader will not run, but without any clear succession in place, the possibility of civil unrest looms.
Part 3	Then finally we explore the role of student debt in the “occupy” movement with Andrew Ross, who is Professor of Social and Cultural Analysis at NYU and one of the organizers of the Occupy Student Debt Campaign. With student debt reaching one trillion dollars this year and the White House apparently buckling under pressure from well-connected lobbyists representing the for-profit colleges, we examine the reversal of reform of a 30 billion dollar predatory industry that thanks to its friends on Capitol Hill, is allowed to make enormous profits as a private enterprise that is 90% funded by the taxpayer. Meanwhile, more often than not, they provide students with a worthless education while saddling them with a mountain of debt.
	MUSIC: Dirty Projectors - Police Story; Cancion de Hugo Chavez; The National - Bloodbuzz Ohio; Vampire Weekend - The Kids Don't Stand A Chance