From Starbucks to the sidewalk to surfing the web, we are being watched. The power and pervasiveness of surveillance technology in America today is unnerving. Robert O’Harrow Jr. will explain: he is a reporter for the Washington Post and author of No Place to Hide.
Plus: We’re still worrying about voting and vote-counting in presidential elections. Andrew Gumbel of The Independent points out that US vote-counting procedures don’t meet the standards we’ve applied to those beacons of democracy Ukraine, Georgia or Kyrgyzstan. His article “Failing the Electoral Standards” appeared at TheNation.com, and his book Steal This Vote will be published this spring.
Also: The most significant conquest of the 20th century may have been the triumph of America’s market empire over Europe. Columbia University historian Victoria de Grazia tells the story of “Americanization” — her new book is Irresistible Empire.
Web extra: May 4 is the 35th anniversary of the Kent State killings — four students killed by the National Guard, which was shooting at students demonstrating on campus against the war in Vietnam. President Nixon had told the media about “these bums, you know, blowin’ up the campuses.” Allison Kraus was one of those killed, shot through the chest 350 feet away from the guardsmen. The next day her father told the press, “my daughter was not a bum.” more info: http://kent.state.tripod.com/
