February 12, 2012

Occupy Movement Regroups, Preparing for Its Next Phase

Far from dissipating, groups around the country say they are preparing for a new phase of larger marches and strikes this spring that they hope will rebuild momentum and cast an even brighter glare on inequality and corporate greed. But this transition is filled with potential pitfalls and uncertainties: without the visible camps or clear goals, can Occupy become a lasting force for change? Will disruptive protests do more to galvanize or alienate the public?

Though still loosely organized, the movement is putting down roots in many cities. Activists in Chicago and Des Moines have rented offices, a significant change for groups accustomed to holding open-air assemblies or huddling in tents in bad weather.

On any night in New York City, which remains a hub of the movement, a dozen working groups on issues like “food justice” and “arts and culture” meet in a Wall Street atrium, and “general assemblies” have formed in 14 neighborhoods. Around the country, small demonstrations — often focused on banks and ending foreclosure evictions — take place almost daily.

If the movement has not produced public leaders, some visible faces have emerged.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/12/us/occupy-movement-regroups-laying-plans-for-the-next-phase.html?_r=1&pagewanted=1&hp

February 7, 2012

Obama favors constitutional amendment on Citizens United:

Perhaps the most important news in Obama campaign manager Jim Messina’s announcement about Super PACs is this:

The President opposed the Citizens United decision. He understood that with the dramatic growth in opportunities to raise and spend unlimited special-interest money, we would see new strategies to hide it from public view. He continues to support a law to force full disclosure of all funding intended to influence our elections, a reform that was blocked in 2010 by a unanimous Republican filibuster in the U.S. Senate. And the President favors action — by constitutional amendment, if necessary — to place reasonable limits on all such spending.

As I reported here recently, this is the step that campaign finance advocates had hoped Obama would support. The question is how forcefully the President will now push for it, if at all.

There’s an argument to be made that a strong case for it would dovetail neatly with the Obama campaign strategy of painting Mitt Romney — who favors doing away with all limits on campaign contributions — as emblematic of all the ways the current system is rigged for the rich and corporations and against average Americans.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/the-morning-plum-dems-will-play-by-gop-rules/2012/02/07/gIQAeGCHwQ_blog.html

February 5, 2012

Secrets Hidden In Films Of Stanley Kubrick 1- 5

http://www.disclose.tv/action/viewvideo/74507/Secrets_Hidden_In_Films_Of_Stanley_Kubrick_1__5/

This film about director Stanley Kubrick offers a number of theories about hidden meanings imbedded in the filmmaker's movies, including conspiracy style theories that Kubrick staged the Apollo moon landing.

There are 5 parts to this and every one is worth watching. Please comment after watching what is a very compelling argument about Kubrick and his films.

February 2, 2012

Dylan Ratigan: 'Greedy Bastards' Pt. 2

February 2, 2012

Dylan Ratigan: 'Greedy Bastards' Pt. 1

January 30, 2012

Time - Are Companies More Powerful Than Countries?

Comment - It seems some at Davos are imagining a fascist, or China style, model for the world. China's totalitarian capitalism is to blame for this elite view, disrespecting Western democratic tradition. I find this article alarming as to what some in Davos are talking about.

Meanwhile, the top companies seem to exist in a world apart — they are booming, and their executives are prospering. If there is a meta theme to this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos, it is that the world’s largest companies are moving on and moving ahead of governments and countries that they perceive to be inept and anemic. They are flying above them, operating in a space that is increasingly disconnected from local concerns, and the problems of their home markets. And if the conversations here are any indication, they may soon take over much of what government itself does.

snip

On that, at least, politicians would agree. In her keynote opening speech at Davos, Angela Merkel said that unless the eurozone crisis was solved, Europe risked becoming “just a nice place to take a vacation.” The same could be said of all rich countries. One thing that’s becoming clear at Davos is that the core idea of the Enlightenment — that capitalism and democracy go hand in hand to create the best society — is under fire. And the struggle to create a new model may well pit nation against nation, corporations against government, poor against rich. The world, it turns out, isn’t flat – and it’s becoming bumpier all the time.

Read more: http://business.time.com/2012/01/27/are-companies-more-powerful-than-countries/#1_undefined,0_#ixzz1kxLOuGWV

January 30, 2012

Tonight's Solidarity Marches for OWS

Yesterday, Occupy Oakland moved to convert a vacant building into a community center to provide education, medical, and housing services for the 99%. Police responded with tear gas, rubber bullets, beanbag rounds and mass arrests. The state has compounded its policy of callous indifference with a ruthless display of violent repression. The Occupy movement will respond, as we have always responded: with an overwhelming show of collective resistance. Today, we take to the streets. Across the country, we will demonstrate our resolve to overcome repression and continue to build a better world grounded in love and solidarity for one another. All eyes on all Occupies.

SOLIDARITY SUNDAY starts at 7 p.m. EST, Sunday, January 29. Check your local Occupation for convergence points.

Be there.

NEW YORK
Washington Square Park 7PM

BOSTON
Copley Square 7PM

PHILADELPHIA
Love Park 7PM

Other places here: http://occupywallst.org/article/solidarity-sunday/

Livestream has live action happening now

http://livestream.com/globalrevolution

I love these guys.

January 30, 2012

Public Or Private: Keeping Google From Being 'Evil'

Google, whose unofficial corporate motto is "Don't Be Evil," mainly uses this data for targeted ads. But this past week, it announced changes to its privacy policy in order to merge user data across its various services: Gmail, YouTube, Google Calendar, Google+ and Google search. According to the company, it's so it can create "a beautifully simple, intuitive user experience across Google."

The changes go into effect March 1, and you can opt-out, but it means it will limit the usefulness of many of Google's services and even Android phones, which run on Google's operation system.

Google vs. Congress

Google's new policy is getting a lot of negative attention on Capitol Hill, in part, because the company now allows kids as young as 13 to sign up for its services. This means Google can, in theory, build a profile of you over several decades.

This worries Rep. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, a senior Democrat on the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet. He tells weekends on All Things Considered host Guy Raz that what he finds most objectionable is that users don't seem to have much say in all this.

NPR's staff did this story, read more: http://www.npr.org/2012/01/29/146062607/public-or-private-keeping-google-from-being-evil

January 30, 2012

Solidarity Sunday | OccupyWallSt.org

Yesterday, Occupy Oakland moved to convert a vacant building into a community center to provide education, medical, and housing services for the 99%. Police responded with tear gas, rubber bullets, beanbag rounds and mass arrests. The state has compounded its policy of callous indifference with a ruthless display of violent repression. The Occupy movement will respond, as we have always responded: with an overwhelming show of collective resistance. Today, we take to the streets. Across the country, we will demonstrate our resolve to overcome repression and continue to build a better world grounded in love and solidarity for one another. All eyes on all Occupies.

SOLIDARITY SUNDAY starts at 7 p.m. EST, Sunday, January 29. Check your local Occupation for convergence points.

Be there.

NEW YORK
Washington Square Park 7PM

BOSTON
Copley Square 7PM

PHILADELPHIA
Love Park 7PM

Other places here: http://occupywallst.org/article/solidarity-sunday/

January 29, 2012

Why the Republican race could be irrelevant

Republican presidential candidates have devoted months, if not years, of their lives to chasing their party’s nomination, they’ve raised and spent (along with their super PAC allies) tens of millions of dollars, and they’ve participated in more than a dozen debates – each of which has attracted a massive television audience.

But a startling new poll underscores what has got to be a maddening possibility for Republicans: It could all be for naught – and there may be nothing they can do about it. The NBC News/Wall Street Journal survey points to a measurable uptick in optimism about the country’s economic direction, and in the public’s assessment of President Obama’s performance.

By a 37 to 17 percent margin, respondents said they expect the economy to improve in the next year; back in October, they thought it would get worse by a 32-21 margin. And the number of Americans who believe the country is heading in the right direction now stands at 30 percent – hardly a huge number, but a clear jump from the 17 percent who said so in the fall. Overall, Obama’s approval rating is at 48 percent, the highest it’s been in an NBC/WSJ poll since June, when he was still basking in the afterglow of Osama bin Laden’s demise.

http://www.salon.com/2012/01/26/why_the_gop_race_could_be_irrelevant/