“Don’t Be a Puppet”
Last month, the FBI invited Arab, Muslim, and Sikh organizations to preview a new interactive website that they’ve designed for teachers and students. It features a series of games called “Don’t Be A Puppet” and it’s designed to teach students to identify peers who may be under the influence of what the FBI refers to as violent extremist predators on the Internet. The website was scheduled to launch this week as part of the FBI’s broader “Countering Violent Extremism” program, but the launch has been delayed after community organizations raised concerns about religious and racial profiling.
Guest:
Corey Saylor, National Legislative Director, Council on American-Islamic Relations
Trans Pacific Partnership
Yesterday morning, the US government publicly released the full text of the Trans Pacific Partnership – a massive trade deal that covers 12 Pacific Island and Asian countries as well as Australia, Canada, and the United States, and over 40% of the world’s economy. The TPP would rewrite the rules for people, governments, and corporations around the world.
Although the deal was negotiated in secret over the past four years, we learned through leaks that it would put a corporation’s right to profit over government’s ability to protect workers, the environment, or public health.
Now, critics are saying the TPP is worse than they had thought.
Guest:
Arnie Saiki, Coordinator of Moana Nui Action Alliance.
Berkeley High Walkout
As gentrification intensifies in Bay Area cities, attacks on black people and culture have also escalated. From white residents calling the police with noise complaints about black churches and drumming groups, to the threat of a public lynching that prompted over 1,000 Berkeley High students to walk out of school yesterday, we’ll talk about what the fight for black liberation look like in our schools, churches, and parks.
Guests:
- Jannya Solwazi, Junior at Berkeley High and part of the Academy of Medicine and Public Service student group that organized around a racist yearbook post last year
- Dante Ryan, Senior at Berkeley High and member of the Black Student Union
- Theo Williams, Artistic Director of Samba Funk Oakland
Hosted by Marie Choi
On the topic of Islamic relations in schools – Who was the speaker who talked about the school exercise involving puppets and cutting their strings? I believe it was someone from a US-Islamic relations group. I would love to learn more about this horribly offensive exercise and where it is being used, but I’m having trouble researching the topic. Thank you!