MONDAY, DECEMBER 17.
PROGRAM # 6852 12:00 PM PT
TOO BIG TO JAIL. Federal investigators uncovered a huge money laundering business at one of the world’s largest banks, HSBC. The bank facilitated money laundering for Mexican drug cartels and Saudi banks tied to terrorist groups. The United States Justice Department penalized HSBC with the largest fine ever charged to a bank, but announced its senior officials will avoid criminal prosecution, because prosecution would hurt the financial system. What was the extent and ramifications of the money laundering operation? Why is no one facing criminal charges?
Guest: Celina Realuyo, Assistant Professor of National Security Affairs , Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies, National Defense University, Washington, D.C., www.ndu.edu.
ALSO, TORTURER IN DEPORTATION. The former Minister of Defense of El Salvador, Guillermo García, is on trial for deportation in Florida, accused of massacres, torture, and other human rights violations in his country during the 1980s.
Guest: Almudena Bernabeu, International Attorney & Director of Transitional Justice Program, The Center for Justice & Accountability, San Francisco, CA, www.cja.org.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18.
PROGRAM # 6853 12:00 PM PT
NEWTOWN HORROR. The nation is shocked and saddened, after a gunman opened fire in two first grade classrooms in Newtown, Connecticut, killing 20 children of 6 and 7 years old, and 6 adults, as well as his mother and himself. Editors and commentators from news media around the country join this edition to discuss how they are covering this terrible massacre, what they are hearing from their listeners or readers, what can we learn from it, what can be done to stop this escalation of violence, and other issues haunting the country's hearts and minds.
Guests: Maria Hinojosa, Award-winning journalist, Anchor, Executive News Producer, NPR's Latinos USA, President of Futuro Media Group, New York, NY, www.futuromediagroup.org; Dr. Marcos Gutierrez, Director, Hecho en California, KIQI, San Francisco, CA; Gabriel Villalobos, Host and Producer, Contacto Total, KNUV 1190 AM, Phoenix, AZ.
Listen to the full program!
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19.
PROGRAM # 6854 12:00 PM PT
DREAMERS IN THE FIELDS. About one million and a half people could qualify for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, but hundreds of thousands in rural areas do not yet meet the education requirement. A researcher joins this edition to discuss ways for rural youth to overcome obstacles, such as budget cuts for community colleges, ESL classes, and vocational programs, as well as a lack of information and resources. Also, a philanthropic foundation set aside an unprecedented one million dollars for scholarships for undocumented students at the prestigious public university UC Berkeley.
Guests: Jesús Martínez, coordinador del Proyecto para la Acción Diferida en el Valle Central, Immigrant Legal Resource Center, Fresno, CA, www.ilrc.org ; Rubén Elías Canedo, Coordinator of research and mobilization projects, Educational Opportunity Program, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, www.berkeley.edu ; Carlos Hernández, Student and Student counselor for Undocumented Students, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, www.berkeley.edu
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 20.
PROGRAM # 6855 12:00 PM PT
NO PAPERS, NO AID. Immigrant workers living in New
York City lost homes, property, and jobs to Hurricane Sandy, but they report
obstacles to receiving federal and state aid. Many disaster survivors are
returning to flood-damaged homes contaminated by mold and other hazards. This
edition includes interviews with residents of Rockaway Beach and emergency
agency authorities, collected by reporter Marco Vinicio González.
Guests: Marco Vinicio González, Correspondent, Noticiero Latino, New York, NY;
Carmen Rodríguez, Spokesperson, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), New
York, NY, www.fema.gov; Sofía
Gallisá, Organizer, Occupy Sandy, Rockaway Beach, Queens, NY (pretaped
interview); Pretaped interviews with victims of Hurricane Sandy, Rockaway
Beach, Queens, NY.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21.
PROGRAM # 6856 12:00 PM PT
MEXICO EDITION. The demonstrators charged in connection with the violent incidents during the inauguration of President Pe ña Nieto could be exonerated of the "attacks against public peace" after relatives and activists got the local congress to agree to discuss the annulment of a critical provision in the local Criminal Code. According to the defense, there is no evidence to incriminate the 14 individuals who continue in detention. Additionally, environmentalists urge action to stop industrial waste that continues contaminating their areas. In Alpuyeca, Morelos, six years after the local dumpsite was shutdown, local officials have not completed a bioremediation program to clean up lands and water. In Tula, Hidalgo, after 40 years, a dam that was supposed to supply drinking water to Nahuatl and Otomi indigenous communities is now a repository of industrial waste. Martha Elena Ramirez hosts this edition of the Voz Pública series from Mexico City.
Guests: Attorney Juan de Dios Hernandez Monge, spokesperson, Liga de Abogados Primero de Diciembre; member of La Otra Campana - EZLN; (pre-taped) Guadalupe Sáyago, member, comisión representativa de la comunidad de Alpuyeca, Morelos; (Pre-taped): Yuri Zaret Uribe Montero, member, Federación Independiente de Obreros Agrícolas y Campesinos (FIOAC), member of Coordinadora Plan de Ayala Movimiento Nacional. Tula, Hidalgo.
Funds for Línea Abierta are provided in part by The National Endowment for the Arts, The California Endowment, the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund, The Ford Foundation, The California Wellness Foundation, the James Irvine Foundation, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.