Thursday, January 26, 2012
Wisconsin Anti-Violence Effort
Madison Capitol Protesters shared Wisconsin Anti-Violence Effort's photo.
Update: Now, nearly 80% of Wisconsinites live in counties that have decided to k...eep guns out of most or all county buildings!
Hey, state government, the locals are doing a great job representing the people instead of the gun lobby: You should try it! Really.See More
Hey, state government, the locals are doing a great job representing the people instead of the gun lobby: You should try it! Really.See More
The Claremont Institute - Who is Ayn Rand?
The Claremont Institute - Who is Ayn Rand?
 |
| ||||||
In 1991, the book-of-the-month club conducted a survey asking people what book had most influenced their lives. The Bible ranked number one and Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged was number two. In 1998, the Modern Library released two lists of the top 100 books of the 20th century. One was compiled from the votes of the Modern Library's Board, consisting of luminaries such as Joyce Carol Oates, Maya Angelou, Edmund Morris, and Salman Rushdie. The two top-ranked books on the Board's list were Ulysses and The Great Gatsby. The other list was based on more than 200,000 votes cast online by anyone who wanted to vote. The top two on that list were Atlas Shrugged (1957) and The Fountainhead (1943). The two novels have had six-figure annual sales for decades, running at a combined 300,000 copies annually during the past ten years. In 2009, Atlas Shrugged alone sold a record 500,000 copies and Rand's four novels combined (the lesser two are We the Living [1936] and Anthem [1938]) sold more than 1,000,000 copies.
And yet for 27 years after her death in 1982, we haven't had a single scholarly biography of Ayn Rand. Who was this woman? How did she come to write such phenomenally influential novels? What are we to make of her legacy? These are the questions that finally have been asked and answered splendidly, with somewhat different emphases, in two new biographies published within weeks of each other: Goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand and the American Right by Jennifer Burns, an assistant professor of history at the University of Virginia, and Ayn Rand and the World She Made by Anne C. Heller, a former executive editor at Condé Nast Publications. Read Full Article Here | The Claremont Institute
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Bad River Drums Arrive at the Capitol January 25, 2012 - YouTube
Bad River Drums Arrive at the Capitol January 25, 2012 - YouTube
Okay, a little context for far-flung friends about this video. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Waler gave his "state of the state" address tonight. Simultaneously, a corporate-written anti-environmental mining bill is being voted on in the Assembly tomorrow. The bill is believed to have been written by Cline Group, whose taconite mine (G-Tac) would significantly encroach on the sovereignty of the Bad River ...Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, by rendering their hunting and wild rice gathering grouns hopelessly polluted with mining tailings and waste.
The drum group in this video are signing the "AIM Song" (acc. to Robert DesJarlait of Red Lake Chippewa). It is sung at protests nationwide and among First Nations in Canada. N-joy. There is actually just one drum in this song. Bobby Gee
Okay, a little context for far-flung friends about this video. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Waler gave his "state of the state" address tonight. Simultaneously, a corporate-written anti-environmental mining bill is being voted on in the Assembly tomorrow. The bill is believed to have been written by Cline Group, whose taconite mine (G-Tac) would significantly encroach on the sovereignty of the Bad River ...Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, by rendering their hunting and wild rice gathering grouns hopelessly polluted with mining tailings and waste.
The drum group in this video are signing the "AIM Song" (acc. to Robert DesJarlait of Red Lake Chippewa). It is sung at protests nationwide and among First Nations in Canada. N-joy. There is actually just one drum in this song. Bobby Gee
Scott Walker’s Plutonomy: An Economy for the One Percent | Truthout
Scott Walker’s Plutonomy: An Economy for the One Percent | Truthout
www.truth-out.org
At the hour petitions were being deposited on January 17, Mother Jones revealed that Walker was scheduled to attend a high-dollar fundraiser in the heart of the New York’s financial district at 339 Park Avenue -- the towering headquarters for global financial giant CitiGroup.
By Axing Parks, Politicos are Stealing the People’s Property | NationofChange
By Axing Parks, Politicos are Stealing the People’s Property | NationofChange
www.nationofchange.org
“The majority of states have been closing many of their parks, slashing hours and services at others or simply handing the public’s asset to profiteering corporations. Idaho’s governor has proposed eliminating the entire parks department; California shut the gates of a fourth of the state’s parks la...
FBI arrests cops for rampant abuse of Latinos — RT
FBI arrests cops for rampant abuse of Latinos — RT
maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com
Latinos living in East Haven, Connecticut, say they have been harassed and bullied by city police officers for years. "Many people are scared," one told the New York Times.
Bulgaria Bans Gas Fracking, Thwarting Chevron Drilling Plan - Businessweek www.businessweek.com Bulgarian lawmakers banned hydraulic fracturing and es
LET THE PEOPLE DECIDE! BAN HYDRAULIC FRACTURE IN MICHIGAN
www.businessweek.com
Bulgarian lawmakers banned hydraulic fracturing and established a 100 million-lev ($65 million) fine for offenders, thwarting Chevron Corp.’s plans to explore for natural-gas deposits in the Balkan country.
"While fracking has made the U.S the world’s largest gas producer, it has also raised concerns that the technique pollutes drinking water and causes earthquakes. The ban halts the process of issuing permits to Texas-based Integrity Towers Inc. and Denver-based oil producer Direct Petroleum Exploration Inc., which were interested in shale-gas exploration in Bulgaria.
"While fracking has made the U.S the world’s largest gas producer, it has also raised concerns that the technique pollutes drinking water and causes earthquakes. The ban halts the process of issuing permits to Texas-based Integrity Towers Inc. and Denver-based oil producer Direct Petroleum Exploration Inc., which were interested in shale-gas exploration in Bulgaria.
“The ban is for an indefinite period of time and is valid for the whole territory of the country, including the Black Sea territorial waters,” Valentin Nikolov, a lawmaker in the ruling Gerb party, said in parliament today.
France was the first country in the world to outlaw hydraulic fracturing of shale rocks last July. Last year exploration was suspended in the German state of North Rhine- Westphalia as well as in northwest England, where fracturing gas wells caused two tremors." Read More Here | Bulgaria Bans Gas Fracking, Thwarting Chevron Drilling Plan - Businessweek
Follow Fracking Issues Directly on this Facebook Page | LET THE PEOPLE DECIDE! BAN HYDRAULIC FRACTURE IN MICHIGAN
"TOMORROW- Your presence is needed in Madison- 5 to 7 pm, Weds Jan 25 - Bury the Mining Bill Protest Rally
Video by Ladyforward
"This absolute totalitarian move on the part of Stone and the Wisconsin Fascists to deny international law is more than just wrong. It’s immoral. The State does not have the power to deny treaty rights, nor to they have the power to alter those nations’ rights. But judging from their track record of repeatedly abandoning their posts as elected officials who swore to uphold the US constitution and protect it and the people of the State, this act of treason is not surprising.
But what Stone’s words should be is the final wake-up call as to the level of criminality we are being governed by. By moving this bill out of committee and onto the floor of the Assembly Thursday, they have declared war on us all.
When will this end? Understand in no uncertain terms: if they allow a mine to go into the Penokees, they begin the next phase of the genocide of the Native American people, beginning with the Bad River Tribe. It appears that Republican Representatives Stone, Loudenbeck, Williams and all the other Fascists will set their sights next on the non-Native Americans, as their actions will directly result in the loss of potable water in most of the northwestern part of the state. Without water, we will all die." Barbara With Read Full Article Here | wcmcoop.com/members/wisconsin-fascists-declare-war-on-sovereign-nations-of-wisconsin/
DIRECT Link to information below | Occupy the Capitol Reunion | Occupy Wisconsin
"TOMORROW- Your presence is needed in Madison- 5 to 7 pm, Weds Jan 25 - Bury the Mining Bill Protest Rally - at the State Street corner of Capitol Square. Protesting AB426 and Wetlands Deregulation Bill AB463.
Occupy Milwaukee
Full listing of Events here | Occupy the Capitol Reunion | Occupy WisconsinJanuary 24th Tuesday
- 10 am, Tues Jan 24 – Assembly Committee on Jobs, Economy and Small Business Executive Session, State Capitol room 412 East, Madison, will be discussing and voting on amendments to AB426, and voting to pass the bill on to the full Assembly on Thursday. More info
- Noon Solidarity sing a long
January 25th Wednesday
- 10am – 6 pm The PEOPLE’S State of the State
Open testimony: 10-5, North Hearing Room, 2nd Floor FB Event
“10 am to 5 pm, Weds Jan 25 – People’s State of the State Hearing, State Capitol North Hearing room. Members of the public invited to share their thoughts on the state of our state; hearing will be livestreamed by www.indiancountrytv.com. More info“ - At 11am in the State Capitol Occupy Milwaukee 99 Event – Senate Parlor
- 12 pm (Noon)- Solidarity Sing a Long Save Solidarity Sing-along – Protect 1st Amendment(reunion)
- 5 to 7 Pm Protest “BURY The BILL” protest Face book Link Meet at Lady Forward, State Street / The Capitol Square Protesting AB426 and Wetlands Deregulation Bill AB463. More info
- 7 pm, Weds Jan 25 – State of the State Address by Scott Walker in the Assembly Chambers. Admission to Assembly Gallery by invitation only, but the Capitol rotunda will be open.
- Pot Luck Wednesday Night after the Rally!
January 26th Thursday
- from 10am -6 pm. The People will be putting AB426 on trial. Detail on FaceBook The People’s Tribunal of AB426 10 am to 6 pm,
“Thurs Jan 26 – People’s Tribunal on AB426, State Capitol North Hearing room. Members of the public invited to share their testimonials, complaints, petitions, and alternative job growth suggestions to unsustainable mining. More info“ - 12 pm (Noon)- Solidarity Sing a Long Save Solidarity Sing-along – Protect 1st Amendment(reunion)
Please Share this information with others.
George Soros predicts riots, police state and class war for America — RT
George Soros predicts riots, police state and class war for America — RT
Addressing the issue of inequality, Soros tells Newsweek that the main issue that will make or break a reelection for US President Barack Obama will be whether or not the rich end up being taxed more. Among the current frontrunners in the Republic Party’s race for the GOP nomination, wealth and taxes have been of the biggest concern of party rivals. The top candidates have made millions off of investments, and at a time of immense inequality, represent what 99 percent of Americans don’t. Taxing the rich to a bigger degree might finally bring a chance, and Soros says, “It shouldn’t be a difficult argument for Obama to make.”
George Soros, Chairman of Soros Fund Management (AFP Photo / Brendan SMIALOWSKI)
Addressing the issue of inequality, Soros tells Newsweek that the main issue that will make or break a reelection for US President Barack Obama will be whether or not the rich end up being taxed more. Among the current frontrunners in the Republic Party’s race for the GOP nomination, wealth and taxes have been of the biggest concern of party rivals. The top candidates have made millions off of investments, and at a time of immense inequality, represent what 99 percent of Americans don’t. Taxing the rich to a bigger degree might finally bring a chance, and Soros says, “It shouldn’t be a difficult argument for Obama to make.”
Mining Bill Protesters Swarm Madison | Ashland Current
Jenna Pope
Mining Bill Protesters Swarm Madison | Ashland Current www.ashlandcurrent.comCitizens from around the state are planning to protest the proposed Assembly iron mining bill Wednesday and Thursday, according to the Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice.
Mining Bill Protesters Swarm Madison | Ashland Current www.ashlandcurrent.com
Citizens from around the state are planning to protest the proposed Assembly iron mining bill Wednesday and Thursday, according to the Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Bulgaria Bans Gas Fracking, Thwarting Chevron Drilling Plan - Businessweek www.businessweek.com
Posted on | LET THE PEOPLE DECIDE! PUT HYDRAULIC FRACTURE IN PENNSYLVANIA ON THE BALLOT
www.businessweek.com
Bulgarian lawmakers banned hydraulic fracturing and established a 100 million-lev ($65 million) fine for offenders, thwarting Chevron Corp.’s plans to explore for natural-gas deposits in the Balkan country.
Earth Focus and UK's Ecologist Film Unit looks at the risks of natural gas development in the Marcellus Shale.
www.linktv.org
"An original investigative report by Earth Focus and UK's Ecologist Film Unit looks at the risks of natural gas development in the Marcellus Shale. From toxic chemicals in drinking water to unregulated interstate dumping of potentially radioactive waste that experts fear can contaminate water supplie..."
"Beyond evil...It is fracking hell!.Of course the Bush Admin and Haliburton wanted to keep us in the dark about the chemicals in our water and profit on our environment!Expect HELL when you vote Republican." Rebecca Waleski
Earth Focus | An environmental news magazine that puts a human face on the environment by featuring under-publicized stories about how changes in our environment are affecting everyday people.
Originally posted on | LET THE PEOPLE DECIDE! PUT HYDRAULIC FRACTURE IN PENNSYLVANIA ON THE BALLOT
"Beyond evil...It is fracking hell!.Of course the Bush Admin and Haliburton wanted to keep us in the dark about the chemicals in our water and profit on our environment!Expect HELL when you vote Republican." Rebecca Waleski
18 min. Video Here | Fracking Hell: The Untold Story
Earth Focus | An environmental news magazine that puts a human face on the environment by featuring under-publicized stories about how changes in our environment are affecting everyday people.
Originally posted on | LET THE PEOPLE DECIDE! PUT HYDRAULIC FRACTURE IN PENNSYLVANIA ON THE BALLOT
Iceland Declares Independence from International Banks
netrightdaily.com
By Bill Wilson – Iceland is free. And it will remain so, so long as her people wish to remain autonomous of the foreign domination of her would-be masters — in this case, international bankers.
Thos E Peer shared this link.
Thos E Peer shared this link.
Occupy Congress - OFFICIAL VIDEO
www.youtube.com
These are the chronological events that took place on January 17th, 2012 by the Occupy Movement.Starting at the Capital building, then proceeding to the Rayb...
Monday, January 23, 2012
Mass Incarceration and Criminal Justice in America : The New Yorker
Mass Incarceration and Criminal Justice in America : The New Yorker
The Caging of America
Why do we lock up so many people?
by Adam Gopnik January 30, 2012
Six million people are under correctional supervision in the U.S.—more than were in Stalin’s gulags. Photograph by Steve Liss.
"... a growing number of American prisons are now contracted out as for-profit businesses to for-profit companies. The companies are paid by the state, and their profit depends on spending as little as possible on the prisoners and the prisons. It’s hard to imagine any greater disconnect between public good and private profit: the interest of private prisons lies not in the obvious social good of having the minimum necessary number of inmates but in having as many as possible, housed as cheaply as possible. No more chilling document exists in recent American life than the 2005 annual report of the biggest of these firms, the Corrections Corporation of America. Here the company (which spends millions lobbying legislators) is obliged to caution its investors about the risk that somehow, somewhere, someone might turn off the spigot of convicted men:
"Our growth is generally dependent upon our ability to obtain new contracts to develop and manage new correctional and detention facilities. . . . The demand for our facilities and services could be adversely affected by the relaxation of enforcement efforts, leniency in conviction and sentencing practices or through the decriminalization of certain activities that are currently proscribed by our criminal laws. For instance, any changes with respect to drugs and controlled substances or illegal immigration could affect the number of persons arrested, convicted, and sentenced, thereby potentially reducing demand for correctional facilities to house them." Corrections Corporation of America
Brecht could hardly have imagined such a document: a capitalist enterprise that feeds on the misery of man trying as hard as it can to be sure that nothing is done to decrease that misery."
Whirlpool Corporation: Neglect pays off — RT
Whirlpool Corporation: Neglect pays off — RT
One solution to joblessness in the US is a scheme where giant corporations create workplaces for local communities. They are even handed government money to that end – but somehow, jobs still get outsourced to a cheaper foreign workforce.
This allows big businesses to prosper, while small towns suffer.
In one of America’s most economically depressed cities resides the world’s largest producer of home appliances. Whirlpool Corporation is headquartered in Benton Harbor, Michigan, where 60 per cent are unemployed, 90 per cent live in poverty, and per capita annual income is roughly US $10,000.
“The citizens of Benton Harbor are living from one day to the next,” local resident and business owner Scott Elliot told RT. “They’re very poor and they’re very disheartened. There’s been very little effort on the part of Whirlpool, that runs everything, to try to involve the community.” Read Full Text Here | RT
Interview: Kalle Lasn, publisher, Adbusters magazine | CanadianBusiness.com
Interview: Kalle Lasn, publisher, Adbusters magazine | CanadianBusiness.com Email 
Kalle Lasn, publisher of Adbusters magazine (Photo: Jim Labounty/Adbusters)
Kalle Lasn, publisher of Adbusters magazine (Photo: Jim Labounty/Adbusters)
Canadian Business: On the U.S. presidential election:
Kalle Lasn: Most young people, 99% of the occupiers I would say, are pretty disillusioned with Obama. We feel that he has become a kind of a gutless wonder who didn’t do what he had promised. He has disappointed us bitterly. When it comes to a choice between somebody like Rick Perry and Obama, then of course people will vote for Obama, but not in great numbers and without much enthusiasm.
I think the really interesting thing that could happen leading up to the presidential election is that there will be rumblings of third parties. Especially people in the Occupy movement are totally sick of this Coca-Cola/Pepsi kind of choice that Americans have had for so long. They’re yearning for a real choice, for real democracy, and we may well see the beginnings of a third party rising next year. Of course, I don’t think that it will suddenly challenge the Republican and Democratic parties, but it could well play the role of the spoiler in the way that Ralph Nader and Ross Perot and the Green Party have never quite been able to do. Read More Here | CanadianBusiness.com
Demand The Impossible | Adbusters Culturejammer Headquarters
Demand The Impossible | Adbusters Culturejammer Headquarters
This article first appeared on Socialist.org
THE PAST four months of the Occupy Movement have brought the American left to new heights. For the 99 percent, who represent the vast majority of the world’s population, the Occupy movement was long overdue.
Occupy has been a podium from which muzzled mouths have made a militant microphone. From this platform, we have mic-checked the 1 percent, and finally, it seems that we have found a voice of our own.
As with any movement, Occupy has fostered an internal debate about what tactics are necessary to take the movement forward. It’s an important question that requires careful consideration of the relation of social forces at play, the existing support outside of the movement and, perhaps most importantly, what possibilities lie in front of the movement–that is, the tangible goals the movement can set for itself.
Some Occupiers feel strongly that the movement should demand absolutely nothing from the economic and political system it’s rising up against. After all, the argument goes, the strength of the Occupy Movement thus far has been its potent indictment of the ruling class, coupled with its refusal to make any discernable demands or empower any official spokespeople. read Full Article Here | Adbusters Culturejammer Headquarters
Inside ALEC: Naked Contempt for the Press and Public in Scottsdale | Truthout
Inside ALEC: Naked Contempt for the Press and Public in Scottsdale | Truthout
by: Beau Hodai, PRWatch | Report
"Mr. Hodai had a history at the conference--not a very pleasant history. He was considered to be a persona non grata..."
-- Westin Kierland General Manager Bruce Lange to Olivia Ward of the Toronto Star.
Evicting the Press, Part 1: Meet Mr. Black
Scottsdale, Arizona--A suburb awash in money and golf courses, set against the backdrop of the jagged mountains surrounding Phoenix.
I was sitting in a sports bar of the Westin Kierland Resort and Spa, swapping journalism stories with Olivia Ward of the Toronto Star on one of the bar's overstuffed leather couches. Over the course of an hour, the bar filled with conventioneers from the American Legislative Exchange Council's 2011 States and Nation Policy Summit (SNPS). (A new story on Westin's connections to other ALEC corporations is available here.)
My assignment was to cover the 2011 SNPS, taking place at the resort from November 29 through December 2. ALEC had refused to grant me media credentials. Nevertheless, I was a paid guest at the resort.
Most of the ALEC members trickling into the bar were fresh from the ALEC "Holiday Gala." As drinks were consumed and new rounds were ordered by guys with ALEC badges, the place began to take on a distinct "Animal House" vibe. Read More Here |Truthout
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
