Posted on 30 August 2010. Tags: FEMA, Gulf coast, hurricane, Katrina, new orleans
Five years later, RadioActive revisits the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita this Wednesday September 1 at noon on WWUH 91.3fm. Thanks to the efforts of Hartford Food Not Bombs, RadioActive gained access to perspectives not found in commercial media, as mainstream reporting and relief agencies were slow to respond to the disaster. WWUH’s Dave Rozza reported first hand some of the earliest accounts of the devastation and grassroots organizing within New Orleans city limits and other areas affected by the storms.
Hear the exclusive audio, this week on RadioActive. Re-airs Monday at 6pm on WHUS 91.7 fm, and Tuesday at 1pm on WESU 88.1fm.
Posted in News
Posted on 25 August 2010.
Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
25 August 2010
Contact:
John Merz, Executive Director
Connecticut AIDS Resource Coalition
(860) 761-6699
Paul Botticello, Executive Director
AIDS Project Hartford
(860) 951-4833
International Overdose Awareness Day
(Hartford) AIDS Project Hartford and the Connecticut AIDS Resource Coalition will join dozens of organizations in the U.S. as they participate in International Overdose Awareness Day on August 31st. The day honors and remembers those who have lost their lives to an overdose. The occasion is also an opportunity to educate policymakers and the public about the growing overdose crisis in Connecticut – and to promote concrete solutions that save lives.
In Connecticut and across the United States, the overdose crisis is growing.
Accidental drug overdoses have quadrupled since 1990 and now are the primary cause of death of more than 26,000 Americans every year. In Connecticut, drug overdoses are the leading cause of unintentional deaths among adults. More than 2,200 people have died in Connecticut from opiod overdoses in the past 11 years – more than one every other day – a survey of state medical records conducted by the Yale School of Public Health found. Only 22 of the state’s 196 towns did not have a reported overdose.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, drug overdose now rank as a leading cause of preventable death in the U.S, second only to motor-vehicle accidents. Most overdose deaths in the United States are now attributed to prescription opioid painkillers such as oxycodone.
AIDS Project Hartford and the CT AIDS Resource Coalition are advocating for two concrete actions that can help to prevent many overdose deaths. The first is a “Good Samaritan 911″ legislation which encourages people witnessing an overdose to call 911 without fear of arrest. New Mexico and Washington have passed legislation addressing this in recent years. The second proposal is to expand the availability of the overdose reversal drug Naloxone which restores normal breathing in two to three minutes when administered during an opioid overdose; which gives time to get the person to an emergency room for further treatment.
A press conference will be held at the office of AIDS Project Hartford, 110 Bartholomew Avenue, 3rd floor, Hartford, CT at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, August 31, 2010, to further describe these two policy initiatives.
International Overdose Awareness Day, started by the Salvation Army in Australia in 2001, is an opportunity for people around the world to:
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Provide an opportunity for people to publicly mourn for loved ones, some for the first time,
without feeling guilt or shame.
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Give community members information about the issue of overdose.
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Send a strong message to current and former drug users that their lives are valued.
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Stimulate discussion about overdose prevention and drug policy.
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Provide basic information on the range of support services that exist in the local community.
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Encourage people who use drugs to learn how to prevent, recognize and respond to an
overdose.
Connecticut AIDS Resource Coalition is the statewide umbrella organization supporting HIV/AIDS service providers in Connecticut.
AIDS Project Hartford is a private, non-profit organization that is dedicated to improving the quality of life of all people in Connecticut who are impacted by HIV/AIDS.
Posted in News
Posted on 24 August 2010. Tags: abortion, Advocacy, Connecticut, pro-choice, reproductive freedom
Jillian Gilchrest, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice CT, discusses recent successes and ongoing challenges in the reproductive freedom struggle.
Click here to download the MP3
Posted in Features, RadioActive
Posted on 18 August 2010. Tags: Connecticut, farm to table, farming, farms, local economy, small business
Adam Prizio discusses the need for affordable legal services for small farmers, farm production and farm businesses. He also discusses what his firm, Law for Food, describes as “nothing short of a revolution in American agriculture.”
Click here to download the MP3
Posted in Features, RadioActive
Posted on 16 August 2010. Tags: Peace, Vietnam, violence, war
“Nothing is true. Everything is permitted.”
- Saying attributed to the Old Man of the Mountain, leader of the assassins, the Hashishin
The events in Manchester Ct. at Hartford Distributors on August 3rd and what happened on September 11th in New York are bound together by a history of violence. The history in question is the past history of this nation, my nation, America. Born out of Revolutionary War and having waged the longest guerrilla war against the native indigenous people, 300+ years, we were born out of violence. As a young male during the 50’s and 60’s, Viet Nam was where I was going. I was raised inside the war machine as a military dependent (Army brat) for 14 years and on my 18th birthday in 1969 enlisted and volunteered for Viet Nam. I was born and bred for war, fed a daily diet of war programs disguised as high school sports. Filled with pride in our always victorious results we were suckled at the teats of wolves on the milk of violence.
This early psychological conditioning has been augmented by the use of even more intrusive and ubiquitous technology, the Internet, cell phones, i-pods and Black Berry’s. War games and interactive video have taught the bravery of being out of range and fed the vicarious hunger of voyeur killers. Americans have been conditioned to respond to any threat, real or perceived with violence.
There is a correlation between the rise in violent actions within society and the return to society of millions of veterans bringing their wars home with them. Civil society is pressured when our leaders respond with military actions by stoking fear and paranoia. Fear and suspicion is visible in every workplace, security officers are now the fastest growing career and the Office of Homeland Security by its very title reflects that paranoia. Do not think that our children do not see how we respond. They watch us and emulate us.
The Teeth of the Dragon is a reference to mythology. The Greek Jason of Argonaut and Golden Fleece fame, was tested by the King of Colchis. He was given the ensorcelled teeth of a dragon to plant on a field of battle. From the bloody soil sprang full grown warriors that he must then destroy. The test required violent response to violence conceived. This is the never-ending forever war that leaders of our nation nurture. It is replicated in society at large. One of my brothers-in –arms from Viet Nam says it succinctly, “What you do, you become.”
Dave Ionno
Veteran for Peace and Against the Wars
Posted in Commentary
Posted on 10 August 2010. Tags: Costa Rica, international, poverty
By John Dennehy, HIMC alumnus and American abroad
There are many reasons why I enjoy traveling to unlikely places in unusual ways; one of them is because it lets me be a child again.
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Posted in Features
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