 Hi, welcome to CTN member highlight. I'm Leslie McVane and today my guests are from Peace Action, Maine. Joe D'Rivera and Devin Grayson Wallace. Thank you both for being here. Thanks for getting our names right. Well, I hesitated a little bit. But you're both on the board and you're here today to talk about a guest who's coming to speak, Normine Sheik. Sheik. Normine Sheik. Yes, I get her name mixed up, but she is one of the co-hosts of Democracy Now, which we air on Community Television Network. And tell us a little bit about what she's going to be talking about and why you decided to bring her to Portland. She's got a great topic. She's gonna be talking about what is the measure of progress? And when you stop and think about that, you know, what is the measure of progress? Really? And what is progress? And what's progress? And this is a woman who's really studied this because in her book, which by the way will be there, her book's called The Present as History. And it's interviews with people who study progress with Nobel economists and human rights activists and women's rights people, incredible people that she's spoken with and presents their ideas. So what I'm hoping we're gonna have is her ideas, because usually, you know, as a host on Democracy Now, you don't get to hear what she thinks. She's busy, you know, being an objective reporter. So I'm really looking forward to hearing what Naramie herself thinks. Right, and people who watch the show are really fascinated by her. And I think wanting to know more about her personal opinion is a great idea. Do you want to add anything to that? Just that I'm excited to see what she has to say right now with everything going on in the United States with our upcoming election. And one thing that I recently watched him would highly recommend is a TED Talk she gave where she did have an opportunity to speak for 15 minutes about her own perspective. And one of the things that really stood out to me was her encouragement to everyone, but particularly other citizens of the United States to look critically at our news sources and investigate where the news comes from and she has this great line she closes with to pay attention to the stories that we hear, but also think of the stories that we do not hear. Right, and she brings a sort of a more worldly view to the news because we do think that the only news sometimes is just what we produce. And you go outside of the United States and it's a whole different world out there. The news is presented in a different way. Now where I work, Democracy Now, which is an independent news hour based in New York City, our job is to find ways of telling stories of the underside of the civilization to try to speak to peoples whose voices are absent or simply silenced. We go to where the silences are. We try, it's not easy. We try very hard to get those who are not given an opportunity to speak, to allow them to speak. That we must listen for the silences. We must try to hear voices of the excluded. In every story of our civilizations, really unprecedented achievements, we also must look for the comparable stories, truthfully and simultaneously tell the stories of the catastrophe and barbarism that also exist. Because only in doing so can we allow this civilization to truly live up to its promise as civilization, as a democracy which is inherent to the concepts and one that we can share collectively as a collective human project. All of us, all of those who are excluded, all of those who we do not listen to. And if we begin to do that, if we're able to do that, we can start to ask ourselves the question of what kind of world we might create and what it would mean if all of us were able to listen to translate the stories we are told and the stories we aren't told. Yeah, anyone who's wondering whether or not they should come, should take a look at that TED talk or any of our YouTube videos. But in the TED talk, she's incredible, talking about the silences that the silences of the people of whom are behind civilization. So we know about civilization and we tend to forget the other side of it, the what's she calling it? The barbarism, the barbarism that exists. And in her book, and I assume in the talk too, she touches on the economics of the world. She talks about feminism, human rights, healthcare, Islam and different ways of looking at that. Anything else that you think she might be addressing in this? I mean, that sounds like everything right there. And as you say, at this time in history, when we're in so much turmoil, not just in our country, but around the world, to have someone who can bring some kind of logic to things. Well, how do we measure, I think this sounds amazing. The voices we don't get to hear of the refugees, for example. And yeah, I'm really looking forward to what she has to say. And Peace Action Maine, do they present speakers like this on a regular basis? Yeah, we bring in a couple of year, and others too, but two big speakers a year, I would say. And of course, one of the things we're really interested in is peace, because all this has to do with the culture of peace that I hope we're building slowly. I hope. Yeah, and where are you located as far as the physical space? Well, we have board members from all around Maine, mostly in the greater Portland area, but as far out as Brunswick and a little beyond. And we have members of Peace Action Maine, who are not on the board from all over the state. But we hold our meetings right now at the University of Southern Maine on the Portland campus, often either in the library or in the Wish Camper Center. And that's also where Nermeen will be coming to speak. Right, at the Abramson Center on the Portland campus of USM. In room 102, which is the TD Bank Room, October 29th at seven o'clock. Seven o'clock. There'll be a Peace Action Maine meeting at five, and a potluck, and the public's invited. Yeah, but the actual talk will begin at seven. Yep, and the whole event is free and open to the public, and there's free parking in the garage right there across from the Abramson Center. That's one of the best things about it. Well, thank you both for coming and telling us about this. I hope that we'll be able to hear more about what Peace Action Maine is doing, and speakers that you're bringing, and all the activity. Well, we'll guarantee you to give you that. Thank you so much for having me. Well, thank you both for being here, and I'm looking forward to this talk very much. Oh, good. Thank you. We're looking forward to seeing you there. I'll be there.