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Book Burning in Arizona
Posted by Michael Butler, Friday, February 10, 2012Hedges vs Graeber on “Diversity of Tactics” at OWS
Chris Hedges recently wrote "Cancer in Occupy" after some recent incidents of property damage by members of the Black Bloc anarchist movement at Occupy events (and some idiot who burned an American flag in Oakland .. not sure if that was BB, maybe an undercover cop), writing Black Bloc "is a gift from heaven to the security and surveillance state". In response prominent Occupy organizer David Graeber wrote, "Concerning the Violent Peace-Police: An Open Letter to Chris Hedges" .. here's an interesting passage from Graeber's letter to Hedges-As one of the authors of the original [OWS] Gandhian strategy, I can recall how well aware we were, when we framed this strategy, that we were taking an enormous risk. Gandhian strategies have not historically worked in the US; in fact, they haven’t really worked on a mass scale since the civil rights movement. This is because the US media is simply constitutionally incapable of reporting acts of police repression as “violence.” (One reason the civil rights movement was an exception is so many Americans at the time didn’t view the Deep South as part of the same country.) Many of the young men and women who formed the famous Black Bloc in Seattle were in fact eco-activists who had been involved in tree-sits and forest defense lock-downs that operated on purely Gandhian principles—only to find that in the US of the 1990s, non-violent protesters could be brutalized, tortured (have pepper spray directly rubbed in their eyes), or even killed, without serious objection from the national media. So they turned to other tactics. We knew all this. We decided it was worth the riskI recognize what Graeber says about the incapability of the media to accurately report on OWS, and its a somewhat maddening dilemma. Is it even a realistic goal to win hearts and minds thru our corporate media lens? But then if the only other option is resorting to petty vandalism and throwing rocks at police then that's pretty fucking useless as well, and has no legs in terms of a sustained movement in this country. Where does that lead? What can these tactics ever gain? It's a dead end in my opinion. Hedges is right. OWS gained its strength thru non-violence and is losing strength now. Thoughts? - mab
Posted by Mike Blaxill, Friday, February 10, 2012
NYT (5): National News
Finally, a "bailout" for homeowners; Washington effectively becomes 7th state to legalize same-sex marriage; House passes insider trading bill, despite G.O.P. excising of important provision; G.O.P. sees birth control as new "cultural wars" wedge issue; As youth watch less TV (but more media in general), older people watch more.Posted by Ian Alterman, Thursday, February 9, 2012
NYT Editorial & Op-Eds (4)
"A federal appeals court struck down California’s ban on same-sex marriage, bringing this nation a step closer to full equality and fairness" (Editorial); "On popular Web sites, misinformation about antipiracy legislation amounted to an abuse of trust and a misuse of power" (Guest Op-Ed); "Observing democratic awakenings in places like Egypt, Syria and Russia puts a glow in your heart and a pit in your stomach" (Friedman); "Ending Iran’s influence in Syria would transform the Middle East" (Guest Op-Ed)Posted by Ian Alterman, Wednesday, February 8, 2012
NYT (6): National News
Prop 8 is struck down by fed appeals court; Study finds U.S. Muslims no threat re terrorism; PA sets local taxes on fracking; Santorum up, Gingrich down, Romney stable; Manhattan D.A. drops rape charges against Commish Kelly's son; 30-year NYC battle over loitering (homeless) arrests ends.Posted by Ian Alterman, Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Truthdig – The Cancer in Occupy – Chris Hedges
Here lies a great danger with violence entering the Occupy movement. Violence will hurt us all in the end run. mbPosted by Michael Butler, Wednesday, February 8, 2012
The Right’s Stupidity Spreads, Enabled by a Too-Polite Left | Common Dreams
Posted by Michael Butler, Wednesday, February 8, 2012Army Officer Turned Whistleblower: How Many More Must Die?
Posted by Michael Butler, Wednesday, February 8, 2012Internet Protests Could Be Equalizer
Posted by Michael Butler, Tuesday, February 7, 2012NYT Op-Eds (2)
"To see the future of same-sex marriage, look to savvy companies" (Bruni); "President Obama should return to his community-organizing roots and remember the importance of leveraging diversity to solve problems" (Brooks)Posted by Ian Alterman, Tuesday, February 7, 2012
FOCUS | Facebook Is Using You
Posted by Michael Butler, Monday, February 6, 2012The Cancerous Politics and Ideology of the Susan G. Komen Foundation | Common Dreams
Posted by Michael Butler, Sunday, February 5, 2012Smirking Chimp (4)
Is America a police state?; Is Obama a failed president?; "Progressive Democrats"; A drumbeat toward war with Iran?Posted by Ian Alterman, Sunday, February 5, 2012
NYT Editorial & Op-Eds (10)
"Three major legal cases may influence the 2012 election, but the cases also illustrate how politics shape the Supreme Court" (Editorial); "Whether Barack Obama wins or loses in November, the Democratic Party’s attention will immediately turn to 2016" (Guest Op-Ed); "Whether you can obtain a job, credit or insurance can be based on your digital doppelgänger — and you may never know why you’ve been turned down" (Guest Op-Ed); "Anyone entertaining such dreams of the Internet as a refuge for the bohemian, the hedonistic and the idiosyncratic probably didn’t know the reasons behind the disappearance of the original flâneur" (Guest Op-Ed); "How do the laws and mores of different nations manage, if at all, the multinational companies that now govern our digital lives?" (Guest Op-Ed); "Romney’s Mormon faith is too central to his biography and identity to be swept to the side" (Bruni); "Web tools can turn the world upside down. Change.org has empowered ordinary people to close down homophobic 'clinics' in Ecuador, shine a light on sex trafficking, and force banks to drop fees" (Kristof); "Vladimir Putin has been unable to make the political, economic and educational changes needed to make Russia a modern European state. Will he step up?" (Friedman); "Can Callista transform Newt so that he can transform her into the First Third Lady?" (Dowd); "Half of the country wants to restrict or end abortion, but you wouldn’t know that from the coverage of the Planned Parenthood-Komen controversy" (Douthat)Posted by Ian Alterman, Sunday, February 5, 2012
Susan G. Komen and the Planned Parenthood Jihad
Posted by Michael Butler, Saturday, February 4, 2012NYT Op-Eds (2)
"Mitt Romney said that he was concerned about 'middle-income Americans.' He certainly has a funny way of showing it" (Blow); "With that big political dust-up about breast cancer this week, we’ve clearly hit the point where there’s nothing that can’t be divided into red state/blue state" (Collins)Posted by Ian Alterman, Saturday, February 4, 2012
Marcy Wheeler: I Always Hated Pink, Anyway
Wheeler ..Komen just pretended to reverse its decision defund Planned Parenthood’s cancer screening services (it promises only to consider Planned Parenthood applications in the future, not to fund them) .. But now that everyone has become aware of Komen’s sleaziness, it’s time to look at what they – and the cancer industry – do more generally. They fund efforts to diagnose and find a cure but they work against things like prevention. They also tend to push back against research that shows we’ve been over-diagnosing and over-treating breast cancer .. We ought to use this scandal to examine more closely where cancer money gets spent – on treatment, turning cancer patients into customers – and rarely on prevention. While I appreciate the gesture, pink ribbons to me have come to symbolize cancer patients as profit centers, both for consumer goods capitalizing on an association with the goodwill (and Komen), as well as for ungodly expensive drugs that don’t always provide better outcomes.. read more
Posted by Mike Blaxill, Saturday, February 4, 2012
Atheism in the US. The last big taboo. FT, Julian Maggiani
Posted by Alexander Harper, Friday, February 3, 2012One Town’s War on Gay Teens | Politics News | Rolling Stone
Posted by Michael Butler, Friday, February 3, 2012In the Assange Case We Are All Suspects Now
Posted by Michael Butler, Friday, February 3, 2012NYT Op-Eds (3)
"Mitt Romney has said that his comments about not caring about the very poor were taken out of context. But the more context you give them, the worse it gets" (Krugman); "At a time when political leaders never admit fault and rarely accept responsibility, Komen did both, and that's worth celebrating" (Rosenthal); "The viral phenomenon of 'Why I Hate Religion, but Love Jesus' and the debate that it prompted have a fogy offering advice on how to beat the fogies" (Brooks)Posted by Ian Alterman, Friday, February 3, 2012
NYT (3): National News
In wake of growing outrage, Komen Foundation reverses itself, restores funding to Planned Parenthood; Why is SEC still giving banks a pass?; Senate overwhelmingly passes ethics bill re insider trading.Posted by Ian Alterman, Friday, February 3, 2012
“Gasland” Director Josh Fox on Democracy Now – Part 1
Posted by Mike Blaxill, Friday, February 3, 2012
“Gasland” Director Josh Fox on Democracy Now – Part 2
Josh Fox: Obama’s Support for Natural Gas Drilling "A Painful Moment" for Communities Exposed to Fracking
Posted by Mike Blaxill, Friday, February 3, 2012
NYT Editorial & Op-Eds (5)
"The Supreme Court of the United States should broadcast its hearings live. Adding video would enhance public understanding of the court" (Editorial); "Gov. Mitch Daniels signed a bill making Indiana another 'right to work' state" (Rosenthal); "This primary season, pro-choice Republican women don’t have good options" (Guest Op-Ed); "The Republican Party used to be known for its moderate pragmatists. Then the party forced moderates like Mitt Romney to feign extremism just to compete" (Kristof); "Did you hear? Mitt Romney said he doesn’t care about poor people. Really, he did. Let’s break this down" (Collins)Posted by Ian Alterman, Thursday, February 2, 2012
