December 2011

12/30

‘Terrible’ and Plenty of It: The Oil That Comes in from the Cold
by Humberto
Inter Press Service

*All the fuel we need

To run ourselves right over the cliff

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/12/30-4
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Has America’s Stolen Election Process Finally Hit Prime Time?
by Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/30-2
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Let Your Life Be a Counter-Friction to Stop the Machine
by Jennifer Browdy de Hernandez

*We must ask ourselves

Should we break immoral laws

Or allow immoral laws to break us?

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/30-3
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2011 “Are You Serious?” Awards
by Conn Hallinan

*That’s the insane reality of all this

These schmenges are serious

Deadly serious

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/30-0
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In Bahrain’s Hour of Peril, Where Does the U.S. Stand?
by William Fisher

*Playing “Risk” with people’s lives

http://therealnews.com/t2/component/content/article/100/863
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Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR)
Center for Constitutional Rights and Nobel Peace Prize Winner Condemn Plan to Allow Yemeni President Entrance Into U.S.
Nobel Laureate and Human Rights Activists Urge Obama Administration Not to Permit Brutal Dictator Responsible for Recent Killings of Hundreds of Peaceful Protestors to Enter United States

*Give us your vicious, your venal, your arrogant murderers yearning to escape justice

http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/12/30-0
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DEMOCRACY NOW!
Scott Olsen, U.S. Vet Wounded at Occupy Oakland, on Recovery, Protests, Iraq and Bradley Manning

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/30/scott_olsen_us_vet_wounded_at

Election Fraud Galvanizes Russian Opposition, Communist Party 20 Years After Soviet Union’s Collapse

*Cohen’s correct about the complicated nature of the situation, but I’d reserve judgment on the accuracy of what he relates here until I hear other views, considering his connections with vanden Heuvel and Gorbachev.

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/30/election_fraud_galvanizes_russian_opposition_communist

12/29

FDA Draws Criticism After U-Turn on Antibiotics in Animal Feed
Environmental groups dismayed after agency drops long-held plan to regulate use of human antibiotics fed to healthy animals
by Karen McVeigh
The Guardian/UK

*This sums up “Hope and Change” ™ about as well as anything, doesn’t it?

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/12/29-10
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Corporate Monopolies ‘May Dominate Green Economy’
by SciDev.net

*”Going green” means only one thing to these bastards

And that’s getting more of it

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/12/29-8
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Occupy Geeks Are Building a Facebook for the 99%
by Sean Captain
Threat Level Blog/Wired

*Creating a shared cyberspace

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/12/29-2
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The Return of Waterboarding?
by Robert Pallitto

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/29
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‘Repeat After Me: The United States Is Not an Imperialist Country—Oh, and Don’t Get Emotional About War’
by Bill Bigelow

*An occupation of land

And of memory

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/29-5
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Time for Supreme Court to Weigh in on Forced DNA Collection
by Rebecca Jeschke

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/29-2
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Someday I Want to Own a Yacht
by Matt Hern

*Changing the narrative from “what I want”

To “what we need”

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/29-8
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DEMOCRACY NOW!
Syrian Activist Speaks Out from Hiding as Arab League Mission Fails to Slow Deadly Crackdown

*I need to know more about the motivations behind the Arab League mission. Obviously it has nothing to do with protecting the people.

And, as always, understanding how the US seeks to take advantage of the situation is vital to assessing how folks here should respond to the horrors in Syria.

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/29/syrian_activist_speaks_out_from_hiding

North Korea’s New Leader Kim Jong-un Inherits Father’s Nuclear Legacy & Country’s Uncertain Future

*I’m not sure how much stock to put into Cumings’ analysis – e.g., his focus on a factor like these leaders’ appearance seems odd to me – but perhaps there’s some intel which will prove useful in conjunction with information from other sources.

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/29/north_koreas_new_leader_kim_jong

Tucson Orders Closure of Mexican-American School Program as Ethnic Studies Faces Nationwide Threat

*Deep South by Southwest

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/29/tucson_orders_closure_of_mexican_american

12/28

Oh, Canada’s Become a Home for Record Fracking
by Nicholas Kusnetz
ProPublica

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/12/28-10
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Occupy Our Food
Text by Peter Rothberg / Video by Anthony Lappe
The Nation

http://www.commondreams.org/video/2011/12/28-0
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Occupy Everywhere – But Not at the Mall
by Jen Schradie

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/28-5
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Equality Must Be the Legacy of the Arab Spring
If minority rights are not protected, they will be like loose threads that can be pulled to unravel these new democracies
by Rachel Shabi

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/28-2
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Oakland Institute
Eight Myths and Facts About AGRISOL Energy in Tanzania
US Ambassador Challenged on Spurious Claims of Benefits that AgriSol’s Land Deal Would Bring to Tanzania

http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/12/28
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DEMOCRACY NOW!
Author Russell Banks on Writing Through the Voices of Outcasts, Criminals and Revolutionaries

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/28/author_russell_banks_on_writing_through

Alaa Abd El Fattah, Egyptian Blogger and Critic of Military Regime, Speaks Out After Months in Jail

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/28/alaa_abdel_fattah_egyptian_blogger_and

12/27

These are links to a podcast of a radio program I recently did on the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s campus station.

I feel I could have done a helluva lot better. Hopefully I’ll get another shot down the line.

http://tmiwithaldous.podbean.com/2011/12/23/tmi-12172011-occupy-at-three-months-pt-1-of-2/

http://tmiwithaldous.podbean.com/2011/12/23/tmi-12172011-occupy-at-three-months-pt-2-of-2/
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Afghan Refugee Strategy A ‘Big Mistake’: UNHCR
by Agence France-Presse

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/12/27
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Half of America In Poverty? The Facts Say It’s True
by Paul Buchheit

*Do the math

And then let’s change the equation

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/27-0
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2011’s Big Wins – Brought to You by Women
by Yifat Susskind

*It’s a girl thing

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/27-9
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Support Attracted by Ron Paul Sends Chills
by Tony Norman

*The company he keeps

For decades

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/27-5
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Women are the Biggest Losers: Reflecting on the War in Iraq
by H. Patricia Hynes

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/27-8
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Vote Obama – If You Want a Centrist Republican for US President
Because Barack Obama has adopted so many core Republican beliefs, the US opposition race is a shambles.
by Glenn Greenwald

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/27-10
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Worldwatch Institute
12 Simple Steps for Going Green in 2012
As we ring in the new year, here are twelve steps that we can all take to reduce our impact on the environment

*Mostly no-brainers, from both a self-interested and altruistic standpoint, which is a good thing, because we’re going to need all the brainpower we can muster to have any chance of surviving the mess greed has made of this planet

http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/12/27
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Occupy Iowa Caucuses
Occupy Des Moines To Preempt January 3rd Iowa Caucus
“Occupy Des Moines has the first in the nation caucus now, not the political parties”

http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/12/27-0
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Witness Against Torture
Anti-Torture Activists to “Occupy” Washington, Jan. 2-12

http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/12/27-1
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Satellite Imagery Indicates Shell Spill May Be Worse Than Reported
by Emily Gertz
Talking Points Memo

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/12/26-0
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Two Icons, Two Deaths, Two Worlds: The Media Simplified Them Both
by Danny Schechter

*The monochrome of manipulative propaganda

http://therealnews.com/t2/component/content/article/50/860
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FAIR Media Advisory
Occupy the P.U.-litzers!

*You’ve tried ignoring, ridiculing, defaming and co-opting

But nothing gets rid of that nasty Occupy stain on the reputation of corporatism

What is a corpress to do?

http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=4451
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DEMOCRACY NOW!
U.S. Grants Entry to Yemen President as Arab Spring Protesters Demand Accountability, Regime Change

*I think what’s left out of this is that, like anticommunism before it, “counterterrorism” is a chimera meant to mask US aggression.

In the empire game, you can’t boogie without a boogeyman.

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/27/us_grants_entry_to_yemen_president

The War at Home: Militarized Local Police Tap Post-9/11 Grants to Stockpile Combat Gear, Use Drones

*It’s worrying that even critics of this police state of mind, so to speak, can seem to adopt similar attitudes. Schulz talks of alternatives to force when dealing with protesters, but doesn’t mention the one just alternative …

Letting people exercise their First Amendment rights.

He seems to be saying that it’s a legitimate objective to effect a “decampment”. It just should be done via “negotiation”, rather than using SWAT tactics.

Isn’t than akin to stating that lunch counter protesters and Freedom Riders really didn’t have a constitutional right to protest discrimination, but the police should have dealt with them more “rationally”?

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/27/the_war_at_home_militarized_local

Oil Slick from Massive Spill in Nigeria Threatens Coastline, May Be Largest Spill in a Decade

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/27/oil_slick_from_massive_spill_in

12/24

I just wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a holiday filled with humanity. Whatever your view of it, it affords an opportunity to reflect on just why we’re here and what we can do to make our lives meaningful, and to realize that the only way we can do that is with each other’s help.

We’re all we’ve got.

If we work it right, we’re all we need.

12/23

The Best of Times and the Worst of Times, When It Comes to Healthcare
by Roger Bybee
In These Times

*Call it “sick pay”

And the sick pay

And pay

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/12/23-10
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A Christmas Message From America’s Rich
by Matt Taibbi
Rolling Stone

*Pretty righteous piece, but when Taibbi says we don’t mind these bastards being rich or successful (read “rich”), he’s way off in my book.

They’re rich and successful at the expense of the rest of us. That’s the only way they can be. That’s how profit works. You win, I lose. I win, you lose.

In the end, which their “success” has brought us to, we’ll all lose, of course.

Try buying your way out of that one.

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/12/23-1
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In Ad for Newsletter, Ron Paul Forecast “Race War”
by Mark Hosenball and Samuel P. Jacobs
Reuters

*”Oh, it’s all ancient history”, his supporters might say.

Just like the Crusades and the Inquisition.

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/12/23-12
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Despite Obesity Crisis, Govt Slow to Rein in Fast Food Industry
by Elizabeth Whitman
Inter Press Service

*Living high off the fat of the land

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/12/23-9
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The Champion of Painkillers
by Charles Ornstein and Tracy Weber
Pro Publica

*Fronting for Big Pharma

Take the money and run interference

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/12/23-11
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I Am Sorry for the Role I Played in Fallujah
As a US marine who lost close friends in the siege of Fallujah in Iraq seven years ago, I understand that we were the aggressors
by Ross Caputi

*This is vital to read. Caputi engages in no rationalizations. He looks at his actions with utter honesty.

He puts the lie to the recent homages to US benevolence in Iraq, as the war “ends”.

His eyes are open.

Ours must be, as well.

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/23-5
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Amid War, Following Yonder Star Towards Peace
by Kathy Kelly

*السلام يكون معكم

Peace be with you

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/23
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Friends of the Earth
Six Billion Dollar Subsidy for Dirty Corn Ethanol Defeated
Corn ethanol no longer a sacred cow; After long campaign, diverse coalition prevents renewal of blenders’ tax credit

*Corn for our tummies

Not our tanks

http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/12/23-1
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ACLU
Court Blocks Implementation of Arizona Law that Withholds Critical Resources for Women’s Health
State Law Withholds Resources from Organizations that Provide Abortion Referrals or Counseling

http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/12/23-0
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DEMOCRACY NOW!
U.S. Troops Charged After Fellow GI, Hazing Victim Danny Chen Found Dead in Afghanistan

*This is sickening, needless to say, but it’s also extremely frustrating to see that so few in this country understand the nature of the military, that incidents like this are entirely predictable, and yet still there’s this idealized view of “service to the country”.

That Chen wanted to be a cop is another example of the wholesale ignorance regarding a corrupt and oppressive institution, don’t you think?

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/23/us_troops_charged_after_fellow_gi

As Bradley Manning Hearing Concludes, Military Prosecutors Say WikiLeaks Disclosures Aided al-Qaeda

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/23/as_bradley_manning_hearing_concludes_military

Newt Gingrich’s Campaign Resurgence Funded by Secretive Coterie of Super PACs, Wealthy Backers

*The money flows around and around the toilet bowl that is electoral politics, flushing our voice down the drain

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/23/newt_gingrichs_campaign_resurgence_funded_by

12/22

When Democracy Becomes Disposable
by Roger Bybee
In These Times

*Corporatizing the commons

The wealthy’s wet dream of “urban renewal”

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/12/22-7
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Local Police Stockpile High-Tech, Combat-Ready Gear
by Andrew Becker and G.W. Schulz
Center for Investigative Reporting

*A police state of mind

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/12/22-6
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Mothers Rise Against Nuclear Power in Japan
by Suvendrini Kakuchi
Inter Press Service

*You can’t fool mothers

And nature

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/12/22-1
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Too Late to Contain Killer Flu Science, say Experts
by Steve Connor
The Independent/UK

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/12/22-3
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Why America’s 99% Have Rebelled
by Mark Engler

*Changing the narrative by telling our stories

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/22-6
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What If We Occupied Language?
by H. Samy Alim

*Language is a virus

And, potentially, a cure

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/22-8
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Prism Break: Seeing Beyond the Shadows on the Walls Around Us
by Randall Amster

*You can’t fight what you can’t see

Nor can you build what you can’t imagine

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/22
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Governor Cuomo Is Still Governor One Percent
by Eric Alterman

*A “liberal” education in sophistry

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/22-9
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‘Ag Gag’: Why Whistleblower Suppression Laws Are A Bad Idea
by Bruce Friedrich

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/22-5
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ACLU
Federal Court Blocks Major Parts of South Carolina’s Anti-Immigrant Law

http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/12/22-0
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FAIR Blog
New York Times Finds Noam Chomsky Fit to Print

*”[A] prominent source of intellectual inspiration for President Hugo Chávez” …

What’s a corpress quoting of Chomsky without a little redbaiting?

I guess the answer to that is, “Pretty damn unlikely.”

http://www.fair.org/blog/2011/12/22/new-york-times-finds-noam-chomsky-fit-to-print/
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FAIR Media Advisory
2011 P.U.-litzers: Journalism That Doesn’t Pass the Smell Test

*Something’s rotten in the State of Denial

http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=4449
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Institute for Public Accuracy
Christianity and Occupy Wall Street

*WWJD?

Ask the money changers

http://www.accuracy.org/release/christianity-and-occupy-wall-street/
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DEMOCRACY NOW!
NATO Forced to Admit Air Strikes Killed Dozens of Libyan Civilians, Contradicting Initial Denials

*Of course, this was supposed to be strictly a “no fly zone” operation, wasn’t it? And, of course, if you bomb in civilian areas you’re going to kill civilians, regardless of your “intent” to avoid doing so.

Left out of this is the fact that the Times and the corpress en masse essentially accepted NATO assurances at the time, didn’t they?

So we’re talking SOP for both NATO and the corporate media, aren’t we?

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/22/nato_forced_to_admit_airstrikes_killed

With Indefinite Detention Measure, Has Congress Also Expanded Rendition of U.S. Citizens Abroad?

*Big Brother gets a new toy for Xmas

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/22/with_indefinite_detention_measure_has_congress

Ariz. Sheriff Joe Arpaio: Mounting Storm of Anti-Latino Bias, Prisoner Abuse, Sex-Crimes Negligence

*The ghost of Bull Connor has retired to Arizona

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/22/ariz_sheriff_joe_arpaio_mounting_storm

12/21

Conflict Minerals Law Hold-up Threatens Lives in DR Congo
by Amanda Wilson
Inter Press Service

*When you hear McDermott speak of “honest profit”, you have to look askance at just how far these measures will go to truly promote justice, don’t you?

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/12/21-10
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In Haiti, Sweatshops Open For Business
by Correspondents*
Inter Press Service/Haiti Grassroots Watch

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/12/21
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Season’s Greetings From the Climate Change Deniers at Fox News
by Media Matters

*The forecast:

Clouded logic, with a 100% chance of snow jobs

http://www.commondreams.org/video/2011/12/21-0
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Break Up Bank of America Before it Breaks Us
by Mary Bottari

*Bailing out

The banks get the parachutes

We’re in freefall

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/21-5
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The United Nations Must Face Up to the Disaster It Caused in Haiti
Despite overwhelming evidence, the UN has still not taken responsibility for the cholera disaster in Haiti
by Mark Weisbrot

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/21-3
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Do Private Military Contractors Have Impunity to Torture?
by Laura Raymond

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/21-2
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Public Citizen
Buying Insider Trading Information From Congress – and Getting Rich
Congress Must Prohibit ‘Political Intelligence Consultants’ – as Well as Themselves – From Congressional Insider Trading

http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/12/21-19
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FAIR Blog
CBS, Panetta and (Hypothetical) Iranian Nukes

*I’d be curious to know how Paul responded to the followup. The assumption here is that if Iran had a nuclear weapon, it would be “destabilizing” to the region.

The reality is that such a weapon could only be of use in a defensive posture, to deter the possibility of military action against it.

The only sane solution is to rid the world of these abominations. The US blocks that at every turn, so we’re forced into these contortions in an attempt to figure out how to keep untold numbers of fellow human beings from being killed.

It’s maddening, but it’s necessary, if we’re to take our duty to humanity seriously.

http://www.fair.org/blog/2011/12/21/cbs-panetta-and-hypothetical-iranian-nukes/

ABC’s Bogus Big Government Debate

*If Ryan and Will comprise the right wing of that bird, and Frank and Reich the left …

It’s in for one hell of a nosedive.

http://www.fair.org/blog/2011/12/21/abcs-bogus-big-government-debate/
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DEMOCRACY NOW!
Bradley Manning’s Defense Strategy on Display as Military Prosecutors Rest Case in Pretrial Hearing

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/21/bradley_manning_defense_strategy

Iraq Combat Veteran Dan Choi Forcibly Ousted, Barred from Bradley Manning Hearing at Ft. Meade

*Choi sees an ideal of military service that has never existed in reality. His view is akin to that of many Americans who decry the sins committed in the name of the nation, because to them those crimes are in direct opposition to what the nation stands for.

I don’t think history supports either view.

One day I hope the facts will.

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/21/iraq_combat_veteran_dan_choi_forcibly

In Exiting Iraq, U.S. Military Discards Trove of Found Documents on 2005 Haditha Massacre of Iraqis

*McGirk wants to paint this incident, and this war, as some sort of aberration, in which the basic instincts of “good, ordinary Americans” were perverted.

But from the massacres of Native Americans, to those of Vietnamese, to today’s horrors in Afghanistan, this is precisely what war, American style, has always been.

But to acknowledge that would crumble the facade of American exceptionalism, and so the pretense of something having “gone wrong” is employed to keep it propped up.

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/21/in_exiting_iraq_us_military_discards

12/20

Europe Moves to Block Trade in Medical Drugs Used in US Executions
New export controls will further limit the ability of states already facing severe shortages of sedatives used to kill prisoners
by Ed Pilkington
The Guardian/UK

*Dear Misleader wants more drugs for death, while drugs for life are kept from those in need by the greed of those he serves.

That he could be considered the lesser of two evils shows just how evil this system truly is, doesn’t it?

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/12/20-6
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Argentina Shows World How to Beat the Crisis
by Marcela Valente
Inter Press Service

*The political freedom the people seek cannot be disconnected from the economic system. While Argentina may now have a “kinder, gentler” capitalist model, it will never deliver the dignity every person deserves, for that isn’t its purpose, is it?

True democracy cannot exist within a capitalist framework, which by definition is hierarchial and exploitative.

Those qualities are impervious to “reform”. Our freedom can only be realized within the context of an economy working in harmony with both our inherent rights and the natural world around us.

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/12/20-2
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This Bastardized Libertarianism Makes ‘Freedom’ an Instrument of Oppression
It’s the disguise used by those who wish to exploit without restraint, denying the need for the state to protect the 99%
by George Monbiot

*My freedom has no worth

If it comes at your cost

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/20-5
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What a Busted Robot Airplane Tells Us About the American Empire in 2012 and Beyond
The Drone That Fell From the Sky
by Nick Turse

*Flying blind

Technically

And morally

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/20-7
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Un-Happy Holidays for Seniors and the Disabled – Here’s Your Donut
by Donna Smith

*Poisoned pill profiteering

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/20-6
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Worldwatch Institute
Global Natural Gas Consumption Regains Momentum
Rise in global consumption indicates renewed popularity of natural gas as an energy resource.

*And you thought Afghanistan was about “terrorism”

http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/12/20-0
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DEMOCRACY NOW!
The Death of Kim Jong-il and the Future of U.S. Relations with the Two Koreas

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/20/the_death_of_kim_jong_il

North Korea’s Human Rights Record Assailed as Nation Prepares for Transition of Power

*As always, the “leaders” play the geopolitical game

And the people – the pawns – pay the price

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/20/north_koreas_human_rights_record_assailed

Police Crack Down on Occupy Wall Street Protesters, Journalists on
Movement’s 3-Month Mark

*What’s clear here is that the corpress could care less about “freedom
of the press”, even when it’s their reporters being attacked and
arrested.

They make a pretense of protest, but has any mainstream outlet made
this a major story?

It’s a rhetorical question. And that’s all that’s being engaged in
with these pro forma complaints.

Empty rhetoric.

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/20/police_crackdown_on_occupy_wall_street

12/19

Occupy Education: Corporate School Reform Attracts Renewed Heat
The Occupy movement takes on neoliberal education reform and the Bloomberg Department of Education.
by Liza Featherstone
The Nation

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/12/19-11
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The US is Blind to the Price of War That is Still Being Borne by the Iraqi People
by Gary Younge

*You can call it moral amnesia

But can you forget something you never bothered to remember?

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/19-3
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Image of Unknown Woman Beaten by Egypt’s Military Echoes Around World
by Ahdaf Soueif

*Women on the front lines will no longer take a back seat

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/19-5
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The False Equation: Religion Equals Morality
by Gwynne Dyer

*Religion doesn’t equal morality

And a quick check of history – and the news of the day – make it abundantly clear that morality sure as (there is no) hell doesn’t equal religion, does it?

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/19-2
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Migrants’ Rights Are Human Rights! Take Local Police Out of Immigration Enforcement
by Bill Quigley and Sunita Patel

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/19-1
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Christmas is No Time to Talk About War and Peace
by Jim Rigby

*A literal Xmas

Censoring the true meaning of a transcendent message

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/19-0
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Witness Against Torture
Ten-Day DC Occupation Decries Ten Years of Injustice at Guantanamo, January 2012
Marking 10th Anniversary of Guantanamo, Events to Include 10-Day Fast, Courtroom Support for Activists Who Spoke Out in Congress, and a Human Chain from the White House to Congress

http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/12/19
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Institute for Public Accuracy
U.S.-Backed Egyptian Military Killing Pro-Democracy Protesters

http://www.accuracy.org/release/u-s-backed-egyptian-military-killing-pro-democracy-protesters/
.

DEMOCRACY NOW!
Bradley Manning Hearing: Alleged WikiLeaks Whistleblower in Military Court, 19 Months After Arrest

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/19/bradley_manning_hearing_alleged_wikileaks_whistleblower

Adrian Lamo, Bradley Manning Informant, Defends Role in Turning in Alleged WikiLeaks Whistleblower

*Read only if you have a high tolerance for slime-soaked self-justification.

Maybe Lamo’s auditioning for a job as a corporate PR flack?

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/19/adrian_lamo_bradley_manning_informant_defends

Bradley Manning Faces Life Sentence, While Criminals WikiLeaks Exposed Have Suffered No Consequences–Glenn Greenwald

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/19/bradley_manning_faces_life_sentence_while

Obama Prepares to Authorize Indefinite Detention of U.S. Citizens for First Time Since McCarthy Era–Glenn Greenwald on NDAA

*A promise of “change”

A reality of chains

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/19/obama_prepares_to_authorize_indefinite_detention

Egyptian Military Kills 14 Protesters, Attacks Journalists in Brutal Crackdown in Tahrir Square

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/19/egyptian_military_kills_14_protesters_attacks
.

FAIR Blog
Now It Can Be Told: Libyan Civilian Deaths

*So, any takers on whether this is pressed by the Times (or any other corpress outlet), or do you think it will be another one-off quickly buried under the mountain of propaganda that passes for “all the news that’s fit to print”?

There’s no doubt as to where I’ll place my wager.

Didn’t Chomsky once say something along the lines of being able to find most all of what you need to know by reading the NYT? The point being that it won’t be splashed across the front page, but will appear mostly in the nooks and crannies if you’re diligent enough to search for it every damn day.

But the charge of journalism is to give us the facts every damn day, not just on those rare occasions when the corporate media decide to actually do their job, and then expect to be lauded for it.

Their “awards” are more ironic testament to their failings than emblematic of their earnest effort.

http://www.fair.org/blog/2011/12/19/now-it-can-be-told-libyan-civilian-deaths/

12/18

How Maliki and Iran Outsmarted the U.S. on Troop Withdrawal
by Gareth Porter
Inter Press Service

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/12/17-1
.

Walker Enlists Karl Rove Protégé to Promote New Protest Policy
by Brendan Fischer
PR Watch

*You can’t say she’s not qualified for the job

The real job

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/12/17
.

Top 100 Corporate Crime Stories of 2011
by Russell Mokhiber

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/17-2
.

After Durban: We Must Pull the Emergency Brake Before the 1 Per Cent Drive Us Off the Cliff
by Derrick O’Keefe

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/18-1
.

World Poses Growing Challenge to Generosity of Our Hearts
by Caroline Arnold

*Our humanity is our most valuable possession

And the one the system that runs this world values least

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/18-4
.

Big Shoulders in Chicago and Kabul
by Kathy Kelly

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/18-0
.

Immigrants Occupy! Broadening a Movement Culture
by Michelle Chen

*The occupational hazard of an incomplete circle

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/17

12/16

Climate Change May Modify Half Earth’s Plants
by Cosmos Magazine

*Grave new world

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/12/16-6
.

Desmond Tutu Urges Trinity Church to Allow Occupy Protester Camp
South African archbishop enters row over Wall Street church’s refusal to allow a winter encampment on its property
by Karen McVeigh
The Guardian/UK

*WWJD?

Consult with his lawyers?

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/12/16-11
.

How to Occupy the World
by Jason Hickel

*There’s a great deal of nostalgic ignorance regarding just how “The American Dream” ™ was at one point realized (and for only a portion of the population).

An essential factor was the exploitation of the people and resources of the global South, which continues to the present.

If we, and they – all of us – are to have any future, if will have to be fought for on a global scale.

Solidarity must be shoreless.

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/16
.

Obama’s “Mission Accomplished”
Troops and Prisons Move, Wars and Torture Never Ends
by Ted Rall

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/16-3
.

Dante’s Divine Comedy: Banksters Edition
by William K. Black

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/16-7
.

Do We Need Health Insurance?
by Philip Caper

*True American exceptionalism

Making money off misery

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/16-9
.

How To Save Our Great Lakes
by Maude Barlow

*Telling the profitizers to go jump out of the Lakes

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/16-5
.

Earthjustice
Arctic Attack in House Funding Bill
Many anti-environmental provisions dropped from must-pass bill

*Toxic to the ecosphere

And to democracy

http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/12/16-2
.

Bradley Manning Support Network
Veterans and Supporters of Bradley Manning Demonstrate at Gates of Fort Meade Hearing
Reinforcements Arrive from Occupy Wall Street

http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/12/16-1
.

FAIR Blog
The New Anti-Corporate Populism Isn’t So New

*The contradictions in our own lives make it impossible for the corporate media to keep most of us blind and deaf to the reality of oligarchy and the servility of the political class to their interests.

Its function is to keep us dumb and dumbfounded as to just what to do about it.

Anger is one thing.

Productive action is quite another.

http://www.fair.org/blog/2011/12/16/the-new-anti-corporate-populism-isnt-so-new/
.

Institute for Public Accuracy
Congressional Deal on Backs of D.C. Residents

*A deadly deal they can’t refuse

Because they have no power to

http://www.accuracy.org/release/congressional-deal-on-backs-of-d-c-residents/
.

DEMOCRACY NOW!
U.S. Withdrawal from Iraq: “In Terms of Destroying Iraq, It’s ‘Mission Accomplished'”

*Truth is the first casualty of war

Its death makes possible the rest

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/16/us_withdrawal_from_iraq_in_terms

The Costs of War: Tens of Thousands Dead, Billions Spent, and a Country Torn Apart

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/16/the_costs_of_war_tens_of

Iraqi Women’s Activist Rebuffs U.S. Claims of a Freer Iraq: “This Is Not a Democratic Country”

*The rotten fruits of “freedom”

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/16/iraqi_womens_activist_rebuffs_us_claims

Bradley Manning: Famed Whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg on Alleged WikiLeaks Soldier’s 1st Day in Court

*Paying a terrible price for acting with true honor and and a sense of duty

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/16/bradley_manning_famed_whistleblower_daniel_ellsberg

12/15

The Making of the American 99% And the Collapse of the Middle Class
by Barbara Ehrenreich and John Ehrenreich

*So how do we make this a class act, in more ways than one?

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/15-7
.

Recovering from Authoritarian Simpatico Syndrome (ASS): “Because the Cops Don’t Need You and Man They Expect the Same”
by Phil Rockstroh

Rockstroh makes essential points about the romanticizing of police and soldiers, even by many of their victims in the case of the former, and the element of free will in their acts of brutality.

At the same time, we do have the phenomenon of soldiers, at least, confronting their sins, and reclaiming their humanity. It’s an infintesimal percentage, to be sure, but it does occur on a not infrequent basis.

Yet this isn’t the case with cops. To my knowledge, no active duty officer has refused to follow orders, much less join the ranks of protesters, although the odd retiree has crossed lines. Of course, when it comes to “routine” treatment of “the other” outside of political confrontations, we know the score, don’t we?

So what accounts for this difference? Does the intensity of warfare play a role? Are the few soldiers who open their eyes compelled to do so because their internal walls cannot stand against the naked inhumanity all around them?

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/15-2
.

The Spiritual Jackpot
by Robert C. Koehler

*The colonizing of consciousness

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/15
.

Food Industry Brings Bitter Harvest to Child Cocoa Laborers
by Michelle Chen

*Youth will be served

To satisfy the insatiable appetite of the profit machine

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/15-8
.

Free Press
Congress Must Not Trample Internet Users in Rush to Pass Copyright Legislation

http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/12/15-7
.

FAIR Blog
Time Paints Paul Ryan as Deficit-Slashing Superhero

*A pretty shaky balance when one “person” gets a few condescending pseudoprops, while being undermined the rest of the Time …

And the other receives fully sincere kudos, and 24/7 support …

Wouldn’t you say?

http://www.fair.org/blog/2011/12/15/time-paints-paul-ryan-as-deficit-slashing-superhero/

Why WaPo Won’t Cover Ron Paul: He Looks Funny, Sounds Funny

*Looks and sounds “funny” …

That must be why Dubya wasn’t taken seriously.

Wait a minute …

I take Paul quite seriously, because there’s nothing funny about an ideology that advocates “freedom” over our collective responsibility to and for each other.

I guess that only applies if you believe in that whole Golden Rule thing, though.

http://www.fair.org/blog/2011/12/15/why-wapo-wont-cover-ron-paul-he-looks-funny-sounds-funny/
.

DEMOCRACY NOW!
As Syria Toll Tops 5,000, Activist in Hiding Urges Global Action to Stop Assad Regime Crackdown

*This is the conundrum persons concerned with justice face in these situations, when a repressive regime has outlived its usefulness to the US and the West, and they seek to replace the current oligarchy with those they can continue to “work with”:

How do we support the struggle of the people, and not aid Western machinations?

It’s difficult, but I think a core priniciple has to be that we have to be utterly honest in our public assessment of the motives of the West, even while we might support some of the same actions, for vastly differing reasons.

I hope that makes some sense.

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/15/as_syria_toll_tops_5_000

Wave of Restrictive Voting Laws Prompts Federal Probes, Grassroots Activism Ahead of 2012 Elections

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/15/wave_of_restrictive_voting_laws_prompts

“Worker-Owners of America, Unite”: Will Cooperative Workplaces Democratize U.S. Economy?

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/15/worker_owners_of_america_unite_will
.

Institute for Public Accuracy
The Iraq War Disaster

*Jarrar hits the nail pretty squarely, don’t you think?

http://www.accuracy.org/release/the-iraq-war-disaster/

America Beyond Capitalism

*But just as a “green economy” controlled by corporations is no solution to climate change, neither is a “worker-owned” economy based on competition and profit, rather than cooperation and shared benefit, a solution to economic injustice, is it?

The engine needs to be replaced, as well as the driver.

http://www.accuracy.org/release/america-beyond-capitalism/

12/14

Soviet-Armed Iraq Switches Allegiance to US Weapons Systems
by Thalif Deen
Inter Press Service

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/12/14-9
.

Shock as Retreat of Arctic Sea Ice Releases Deadly Greenhouse Gas
Russian research team astonished after finding ‘fountains’ of methane bubbling to surface
by Steve Connor
The Independent/UK

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/12/14
.

Rush for Land a Wake-Up Call for Poorer Countries, Report Says
by Claire Provost
The Guardian/UK

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/12/14-2
.

Occupy Economics Departments
Conventional economists have a lot to answer for but will they listen?
by David Morris

*What I see are valid refutations of laissez-faire free market principles, and proposals for how to make the current system more equitable.

What I don’t see is a challenge to the profit system itself, and without that, economic justice is a mirage.

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/14-0
.

DEMOCRACY NOW!
Russia’s Putin Faces Unprecedented Challenge as Tens of Thousands
Protest Electoral Fraud

*Included for the intel, but Harding’s blasé view of Navalny’s
immigrant bashing, his condescending and nonsensical remark about
“small” and “very small” Russian officials, and his foolish comment
about Westerners taking honest elections for granted (at least
informed Westerners) lead me to look elsewhere for more reliable
analysis.

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/14/russias_putin_faces_unprecedented_challenge_as

Corzine Grilled over MF Global Collapse After Witness Suggests
Knowledge of Misused Funds

*Kabuki theatre of the absurd

While in the real world, lives are devastated

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/14/corzine_grilled_over_mf_global_collapse

Egypt Heads to the Polls, Round II

http://www.democracynow.org/blog/2011/12/14/egypt_heads_to_the_polls_round_ii
.

FAIR Blog
Driving Out Politics From Privately Owned Public Space

*I was reading a transcript of a DEMOCRACY NOW! segment today dealing with the protests in Russia, and the guest stated that the people there were demanding what we in the West “take for granted.”

And I think about that, and beyond the prima facie evidence presented here that no sane person in the West should ever take our rights “for granted”, I also consider the literal meaning.

Who “grants” our rights to us? Don’t we possess them by the mere fact of our existence? Aren’t we all endowed by – however you want to say it; I’ll go with “our humanity” – with certain inalienable rights?

We aren’t required to petition any authority to grant us our rights. They come as standard equipment.

We don’t have to “earn” them.

But we sure as hell have to fight for them.

http://www.fair.org/blog/2011/12/14/driving-out-politics-from-privately-owned-public-space/

A New Lowe in Advertiser Cowardice

*”Traditional values” …

Well, you can’t get much more traditional that racial and religious
hatred in these here United States.

Take it from an ol’ Suthin boy who grew up in apartheid Miss’ssippi,
not that things are much better these days.

Let’s hope this proves to be boycott bait.

http://www.fair.org/blog/2011/12/14/a-new-lowe-in-advertiser-cowardice/

12/13

FAIR Blog
For False Balance, WaPo Cites Phony Report on Vote Fraud

*If you’re looking for vote fraud, I can suggest a few state capitols

http://www.fair.org/blog/2011/12/13/for-false-balance-wapo-cites-phony-report-on-vote-fraud/
.

Military Spending is the Weakest Job Creator
by Miriam Pemberton

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/13
.

Making Repression Our Business: The Pentagon’s Secret Training Missions in the Middle East
by Nick Turse

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/13-3
.

Center for Biological Diversity
New Lease Sale Ignores BP Deepwater Horizon Disaster
Groups Challenge Lease Sale 218, Citing No Lessons Learned From Gulf Disaster

*No sea change

http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/12/13-4
.

ACLU Files Lawsuit Challenging Wisconsin’s Unconstitutional Voter ID Law
Restrictive Photo Identification Requirement is Part of a Nationwide Effort to Suppress the Fundamental Right to Vote

http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/12/13-2
.

DEMOCRACY NOW!
Occupy Protesters Shut Down Major West Coast Ports, Targeting Goldman Sachs

*Ironic that the ILWU prez spoke of “co-opting”, isn’t it, given labor “leadership”‘s attempt at same with Occupy?

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/13/occupy_protesters_join_to_shut_down

12/12

Newburgh Four: Poor, Black, and Jailed Under FBI ‘Entrapment’ Tactics
In June, four men were jailed for 25 years over a US terror plot. The FBI painted them as dedicated fanatics, but were they lured by the promise of cash from a fake informant?
by Paul Harris
The Guardian/UK

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/12/12-6
.

Blackwater 3.0: Rebranded ‘Academi’ Wants Back In Iraq
by Spencer Ackerman
Danger Room Blog/Wired

*What’s in a name?

Rebranding the branded

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/12/12-5
.

The 1% Election: How to Turn Election Year Into Election Life
Their Bread, Our Circus
by Tom Engelhardt

*An electoral collage of money and manipulation

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/12
.

Presenting America’s Ten Greediest of 2011
One puts on football pageants. Another makes mega millions on a virtual farm. They all remind us how much needs to change, economically and politically, in 2012 and beyond.
by Sam Pizzigati

*The avatars of avarice

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/12-2
.

A Tale of Two Deficit Charts
by Dean Baker

*There’s always been an honesty deficit

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/12-4
.

What a Difference an Occupation Makes
by Laura Flanders

*Moving to the ‘hood

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/12-3
.

Occupy the Food System
The world can feed itself, without corporate America’s science-experiment crops and expensive chemicals.
by Jim Goodman

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/12-0
.

Environmental Working Group (EWG)
Gas Drilling Doublespeak
Landowners Say Companies Kept Them in the Dark on Risks

http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/12/12-0
.

Islamic Parties Win 75 Per Cent of Seats in Egyptian Elections
by Esam Al-Amin

*The author’s presentation of the forces at play, and how they interrelate

http://therealnews.com/t2/component/content/article/109/831
.

DEMOCRACY NOW!
Climate Activists: Durban Deal is “Very Weak” Agreement, Lacks “Ambition, Equity, Justice”

*The insanity of running out the clock when we’re behind

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/12/climate_activists_durban_deal_is_very

“Don’t Kill Africa”: Climate Activists Occupy Durban Talks Demanding Binding Emissions Cuts

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/12/dont_kill_africa_climate_activists_occupy

The Lost Decade: Bolivian Pablo Solón Decries Climate Deal Postponing New Emissions Cuts Until 2020

*Climate apartheid is a chimera. Ultimately, no one will escape the catastrophe of climate change, no matter their wealth or power.

Any rational person would understand that.

But it appears no rational person has any say in the matter.

Unless we do all we can to force our voices to the fore.

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/12/the_lost_decade_bolivian_pablo_solon
.

FAIR Blog
Washington Post: Campaign Journalism or Campaign Advertising?

*These jokers are going to put satirists out of business.

It’s pretty damn hard to invent something more pathetic than this, isn’t it?

http://www.fair.org/blog/2011/12/12/washington-post-campaign-journalism-or-campaign-advertising/
.

FAIR Extra!
Steve Jobs and the Cult of the CEO
Like Da Vinci or the Dalai Lama—only better
by Peter Hart

*Hell is for “heroes”

If there’s any justice

http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=4439
.

Institute for Public Accuracy
Climate Talks Agreement a “Roadmap to Disaster”

*If this is the end of the world as we know it, let it be to the bangs of our outrage, and not the whimpers of our despair

http://www.accuracy.org/release/climate-talks-agreement-a-roadmap-to-disaster/

12/9

FAIR Extra!
Media Justice and the 99 Percent Movement
How net neutrality helped Occupy Wall Street
by Betty Yu

*The corpress can no longer ignore, at least to some extent, this movement.

So its aim now is to define it in as condescending and negative terms as possible.

Our ability to combat that lies largely in the use of independent and effective social media, so the struggle for net neutrality is vital to our success.

http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=4440
.

Wall Street Protesters Vow to Reoccupy on Movement’s Anniversary
Occupy Wall Street hopes call will re-energise movement after a series of evictions from New York to Los Angeles
by Karen McVeigh in New York
The Guardian/UK

*I think the occupation of physical space has to be seen as a direct action in itself, not separate from external action. The effort to create an alternative model of society is a core goal of the movement, and you can’t do that without someplace for that model to exist, can you?

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/12/09-8
.

WalMart Heirs Have Same Net Worth As the Bottom 30 Percent Of Americans
by Pat Garofalo
ThinkProgress

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/12/09-6
.

Maine Farmer the Face of Organic Growers’ Fight Against Monsanto
by Kathryn Olmstead
Bangor Daily News (Maine)

*Sewing the seeds of resistance

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/12/09-1
.

Tis the Season to Be Jolly on Wall Street, Still
by Sam Pizzigati

*The profits of loss

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/09-3
.

Land of the Free, Home of the Hungry
Nowhere is the chasm between America’s political class and its working poor more vast than in the demand to cut food stamps
by Gary Younge

*Let them eat cake

If they can sneak into a bakery dumpster

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/09-2
.

Seattle WTO Shutdown ’99 to Occupy: Organizing to Win 12 Years Later
by David Solnit

*Useful intel, I’d say

See if you agree

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/09-4
.

Out of the Backyard: New Latin American and Caribbean Bloc Defies Washington
by Benjamin Dangl

*No panacea

But perhaps an ipecac

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/09-5
.

A Peaceful Warrior Lives On in Us
by Frida Berrigan

*I found this very moving.

It reminded me of my last visit with a dear friend who was dying of breast cancer, and of her spirit, which lives on in me and all those who were close to her.

She was a friend, and she was a comrade.

Whatever our differences among ourselves, however legitimate we deem them to be, let’s remember what binds us together in spirit, and let that spirit guide our actions.

In the end, we only have each other.

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/09-0
.

The Sound of Food Sovereignty in Durban
by Karen Hansen-Kuhn

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/09
.

Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
Civil Rights Groups Again Ask Government to Block South Carolina Voter ID Law
Coalition Calls the Law Racially Discriminatory; Asks Justice Department to Intervene

*Jim Crow on the wing

http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/12/09-1
.

Congressman Dennis Kucinich
Kucinich: Protect Our Food Supply from Manufactured Crises

http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/12/09-0
.

FAIR Blog
Joe Klein: Newt’s Kids-as-Janitors Plan Too Narrow

*The thing is, Klein ain’t stupid, is he?

He frames Gingrich’s ideas as benificence, omitting his large hand in perpetuating the dire conditions his supposed beneficiaries endure.

It’s a very old trick. The slice of bread is feted, while the hoarding of the loaves is hidden from view.

In PR circles, I imagine it’s known as “the lie of largesse”.

http://www.fair.org/blog/2011/12/09/joe-klein-newts-kids-as-janitors-plan-too-narrow/

Why Is PBS Telling Us That Profit Is Journalism’s Friend?

*Can we just go ahead and make the name change now?

PBS

Profit
Before
Scruples

http://www.fair.org/blog/2011/12/09/why-is-pbs-telling-us-that-profit-is-journalisms-friend/
.

DEMOCRACY NOW!
U.S. Publicly Shifts Climate Stance in Face of Widespread Criticism — Then Quietly Backtracks

*A 2020 vision is insane blindness

So what does that say about the US’ field of sight?

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/9/us_publicly_shifts_climate_stance_in

“Get It Done”: Urging Climate Justice, Youth Delegate Anjali Appadurai Mic Checks U.N. Summit

*Powerful words wasted on the blind, the deaf …

And the unforgivably dumb

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/9/get_it_done_urging_climate_justice

Obama Admin Denounced for “Startling Level of Obstructionism and Defeatism” on U.N. Climate Deal

Lauding “Collapse of Global Warming Movement,” Sen. Inhofe Tells U.N. Summit “You Are Being Ignored”

*Don’t you wish you could take all the climate deniers – and all those who say they “get it”, then make damn sure it doesn’t get done – and leave them on top of a melting glacier or in the middle of a drought-ridden savanna?

My humanity wouldn’t allow me to do that.

But I have to confess it does me good to imagine it.

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/9/obama_admin_denounced_for_startling_level

Developing Countries Call for Green Climate Fund Independent of Western Control

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/9/developing_countries_call_for_green_climate

Frustrated By Inaction, Youth Delegates Occupy COP 17 Plenary in Durban

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/9/frustrated_by_inaction_youth_delegates_occupy
.

Institute for Public Accuracy
Climate Disruption Talks and the Global 99%

*Apocalypse as a growth market

http://www.accuracy.org/release/climate-disruption-talks-and-the-global-99/

12/8

Used-Up Heroes
by Robert C. Koehler

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/08-0
.

My Occupy LA Arrest
by Patrick Meighan

*Meighan goes into literally excruciating detail, and I think it’s important to know just how this shit goes down. Of course, some folks have had it much worse.

Please keep in mind who’s behind this – “liberal” mayors in many cases, and Dear Misleader’s “Homeland Security” caballistas.

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/08-3
.

Center for Biological Diversity
Proposed Obama Policy on Endangered Species Act Is Recipe for Extinction

http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/12/08-6
.

DEMOCRACY NOW!
Mumia Abu-Jamal Spared Death Penalty After Prosecutors Drop 30-Year Bid for Execution

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/8/mumia_abu_jamal_spared_death_penalty

South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu Calls for Release of Mumia Abu-Jamal

*Sentenced to “life”

Can the irony be greater?

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/8/south_african_archbishop_desmond_tutu_calls

“I’m Scared for My Future”: Student Disrupts Speech by U.S. Climate Envoy Todd Stern in Durban

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/8/im_scared_for_my_future_student

Critics: Rich Polluters—Including U.S.—Should Face Sanctions for Rejecting Binding Emissions Cuts

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/8/critics_rich_polluters_including_us_should

Entrepreneur: Capitalism Will Save World from Climate Crisis to Preserve Markets for iPads, Coke

*If only the US Chamber of Commerce understood the magic of the market …

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/8/entrepreneur_capitalism_will_save_world_from

“His Nickname Is George W. Obama”: Leading Climate Change Denier Embraces U.S. Stance at U.N. Talks

*New horse

Old tricks

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/8/his_nickname_is_george_w_obama

Wanjira Maathai: U.S. Should “Shape Up or Get Out” at U.N. Climate Talks

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/8/wanjira_maathai_us_should_shape_up

12/7

In Crisis, The Rich Get Richer
World Inequality Rises Following Failed Economics
by A.D. McKenzie
Inter Press Service

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/12/07-1
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Tennessee Family Home Burns While Firefighters Watch
by Eric Pfeiffer
Yahoo News

*Pay or pray

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/12/07-6
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Time to Save the Post Office
by Ralph Nader

*Treating mail dysfunction

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/07-10
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Why the International Climate Negotiations in Durban Matter for Women
by Mary Pittman and Kavita Ramdas

*Sistas are doin’ it for themselves

And everyone else

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/07-7
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The Conservative Plan To End Inequality: Deny It
by Paul Buchheit

*Playing with the percentages

The 1% has plenty of company just down the block

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/07-3
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How to Start Participatory Budgeting in Your City
by Maria Hadden and Josh Lerner

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/07-2
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Black America at the Bottom
by Margaret Kimberley

*A horseshitter of a different color

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/07-6
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Put the Fat Cats on a Diet: Stop Buying Tainted Food From Billion Dollar Corporations
It’s time for the Great Boycott of Big Food Inc.
by Ronnie Cummins

*Taking the bite out of their crimes

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/07-5
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Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA)
“Big 6” Guilty of Human Rights Violations
Citing Systematic Human Rights Violations, International Court Hands Down Verdict to Six Largest Pesticide Manufacturers

*Until the perps are jailed

The poisoning will prevail

http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/12/07-17
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NARAL Pro-Choice America
HHS Decision on Plan B® a Blow to Sound Science and Young Women’s Health
Obama administration’s decision at odds with medical experts, misses opportunity to help prevent teen pregnancy

*Another case study in “The Audacity of ‘Nope'” ™

http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/12/07-13
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Environmental Working Group (EWG)
Kids’ Cereals Pack More Sugar Than Twinkies and Cookies
More than three-quarters of the cereals assessed fail proposed federal nutrition standards

http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/12/07-9
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FAIR Blog
Republicans and the Hezbollah-in-Mexico Menace

*Only a matter of time ’til they start with the “Al Qaeda working groups” within the Occupys?

http://www.fair.org/blog/2011/12/07/republicans-and-the-hezbollah-in-mexico-menace/

When Right-Wing Tax Spin Goes Unchallenged

*Somehow a “small business owner” with an AGI of $1M US seems something of an oxymoron, doesn’t it?

http://www.fair.org/blog/2011/12/07/when-right-wing-tax-spin/

Covering OWS, With Expert Commentary by Andrew Breitbart

*It’s a bit difficult to make a case for the perniciousness of helping folks who’ve lost or are in danger of losing their homes, isn’t it?

So you try to make a case for the sinister insincere plot behind it.

Enter one Mr. Breitbart.

Funny that whole thing about the federal gummint colluding with city admins to obliterate Occupy sites.

You always hurt the one you love.

http://www.fair.org/blog/2011/12/07/covering-ows-with-expert-commentary-by-andrew-breitbart/

Clear Channel Tunes Out Bay Area Progressive Radio

*For some reason, this tune floated up from the bottom of my brainpan:

http://www.lyricsdepot.com/elvis-costello/radio-radio.html

http://www.fair.org/blog/2011/12/06/clear-channel-tunes-out-bay-area-progressive-radio/
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DEMOCRACY NOW!
Hopes Fade for Binding Climate Deal as Durban Summit Enters Final Stages

*Was there any realistic hope to begin with?

Nero would be proud of these bastards.

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/7/hopes_fade_for_binding_climate_deal

Canadian Activists Barred from Durban Summit for Protesting Environment Minister

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/7/canadian_activists_barred_from_durban_summit

Tuvalu Minister Urges World Leaders to Save Pacific Nations From Rising Seas

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/7/tuvalu_minister_urges_world_leaders_to

Least Developed Countries, Small Island States Face U.S. Resistance to Binding Climate Deal

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/7/least_developed_countries_small_island_states

Nobel-Winning IPCC Chair Rajendra Pachauri Urges Obama to “Listen to Science” on Global Warming

*Some useful intel, but for me Pachauri chooses his words far too carefully in laying the blame at the foot of those responsible.

We’re talking the end of the world as we know it, and it’s time to end any hesitancy in naming names, don’t you think?

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/7/nobel_winning_ipcc_chair_rajendra_pachauri

Mohawk Youth Activist Jessica Yee on Why She is Attending U.N. Climate Change Conference COP 17

*Making the connections

And I’m glad to hear Yee point out that while apartheid has legally ended, its reality continues for the vast majority of black folks in South Africa.

Governments may change. Control may not.

http://www.democracynow.org/blog/2011/12/2/mohawk_youth_activist_jessica_yee_on_why_she_is_attending_un_climate_change_conference_cop17

12/6

The Future of the Occupy Movement
by Jules Lobel

*The question is often put as how we can be effective externally while maintaining equality internally.

I’d say we can’t be effective in the wider world unless we are committed to equality among ourselves.

To me, that doesn’t entail a dogmatic adherence to consensus. I think there’s a place for individual and small group decision-making – which must be fully accountable to the whole – in order to facilitate the best use of our skills and talents, and thus allows us to be as effective as we can be.

That’s a simple thing to say, and the demons, as always, are in the details. But to say that effectiveness and accountability are mutually exclusive aims is to not understand the nature of either.

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/06-6
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Time to Recall the Land Grabbers
Right Livelihood Award 2011 Acceptance speech
by Henk Hobbelink

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/06-0
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Localization v. Globalization: A False Dichotomy
by Zoe Weil

*The principle is paramount to the process

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/06-4
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Playing With Fire: Obama’s Risky Oil Threat to China
by Michael T. Klare

*Important intel on the empire’s eastward drift

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/06-5
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Occupy Wall Street
#OWS & Brooklyn Community Reclaim Vacant Bank of America House
Brooklyn Community & Occupy Wall Street Stand with Homeless Family, Help Them Reclaim Vacant House Foreclosed by Bank of America

http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/12/06-11
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Institute for Public Accuracy
Analyst Blasts U.S. Negotiator at Climate Talks: Warns of “Eco-Apartheid”

*Whistling past their graveyard

http://www.accuracy.org/release/analyst-blasts-u-s-negotiator-at-climate-talks-warns-of-eco-apartheid/
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DEMOCRACY NOW!
At Durban Summit, Leading African Activist Calls U.S. Emissions Stance “A Death Sentence for Africa”

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/6/at_durban_summit_leading_african_activist

Indigenous Activists from Canada Protest Tar Sands Oil at Durban Climate Change Summit

*”Ethical oil” slick

And slimy

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/6/indigenous_activists_from_canada_protest_tar

U.S. Focus on China, India Emissions Burdens World’s Poor, Skirts Own Responsibility–Praful Bidwai

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/6/us_focus_on_china_india_emissions

Labor Leaders Call for Review of Decision to Host 2012 U.N. Climate Talks in Qatar

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/6/labor_leaders_call_for_review_of

12/5

Fukushima Plant Leaks Radioactive Water
Radioactive water might have found its way into the Pacific ocean and experts believe it could contain strontium
by Justin McCurry
The Guardian/UK

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/12/05
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Coming to a Theater Near You: The Greatest Water Crisis in the History of Civilization
The Age of Thirst in the American West
by William deBuys

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/05-0
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The Water, Energy and Food Nexus
by Shiney Varghese

*The bogusness of “beneficence”

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/05-1
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Taking Back the Capitol: Why I’m Going to Washington
by Rev. C.J. Hawking

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/05
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Technocrats
by Thomas S. Harrington

*Leaving it to the “experts”

Losing it to the oligarchs

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/05-6
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Endless Needless Deaths
by Linh Dinh

*Nothing borderline about this sociopathy

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/05-2
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Who Is Winning The War on Wall Street? Making It Personal Is One Way To Seize The Initiative.
by Danny Schechter

*Fashion forward

From pinstripes to prison stripes

http://therealnews.com/t2/component/content/article/50/826
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FAIR Blog
Anonymous Experts Agree: Newt Gingrich Is Smart, Caring

*Every “serious” candidate for president carries “Wall Street baggage”.

Which they duly deposit into their campaign chests.

http://www.fair.org/blog/2011/12/05/anonymous-experts-agree-newt-gingrich-is-smart-caring/
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DEMOCRACY NOW!
Thousands March at U.N. Climate Summit in Durban to Demand Climate Justice

*It’s discouraging to see climate change often not connected to the other issues various groups focus on. It’s all of a piece, all caused by greed and lust for power, and if we don’t get it right environmentally, in the end the rest won’t matter, will it?

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/5/thousands_march_at_un_climate_summit

South Africa Arrests, Deports Greenpeace Activists After Attempted High Stakes Banner Hang

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/5/greenpeace_activists_detained_after_risky_stunt

The Road to Durban: Tracking Global Warming’s Devastating Impact Across the African Continent

*On the road to ruin

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/5/the_road_to_durban_tracking_global
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Institute for Public Accuracy
Climate Talks: “Africa vs the 1%”

http://www.accuracy.org/release/climate-talks-africa-vs-the-1/

12/4

“This is Where I’m Going to be When I Die,” say Prisoners sentenced for Juvenile Crimes
by William Fisher

*Justice is never served by an absence of humanity in its application

http://therealnews.com/t2/component/content/article/100/821
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The Long War at Home: The Case of “Grand Strategy” at Wisconsin
by Allen Ruff

*Copious piece on how the tentacles of the Military Industrial Complex and the push for the privatization of higher education intertwine at universities across the country

http://therealnews.com/t2/component/content/article/108/818

12/2

Fukushima Fuel Rods May Have Completely Melted
One of the plant’s nuclear reactors was close to being breached as fuel rods bore through its concrete floor, says Tepco
by Justin McCurry in Tokyo
The Guardian/UK

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/12/02
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Arsenic—It’s in Animal Feed Too
by Ben Lilliston
ThinkForward

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/12/02-5
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Chicago Can’t Wait, Mayor Emanuel: Residents Unveil City Hall Exhibit on Human Costs of Deadly Coal-Fired Plants
by Jeff Biggers
CommonDreams.org

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/12/02-4
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After Fukushima: Enough Is Enough
by Helen Caldicott

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/02-11
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Ten Years of Guantanamo Demands Our Action and Our Outrage
by Frida Berrigan

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/02-9
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From Tahrir Square: The Leaderless Revolution Meets the Ballot Box
by Stefan Simanowitz

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/02-6
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Global Rebellion: The Coming Chaos?
Global elites are confused, reactive, and sinking into a quagmire of their own making, says author.
by William I. Robinson

*Ever read something that elicits a visceral reaction of “This person really gets it … and is helping me to get it”?

See what you get out of this.

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/02-3
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Food & Water Watch
Advocates for Safe, Clean, Affordable Water Oppose System to Raise Water Rates by Bypassing Standard Regulatory Review 
Bills Would Increase by as Much as Five Percent Under New Utility Surcharge

http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/12/02-9
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DEMOCRACY NOW!
“Hancock 38” Defendants Found Guilty for Bold Army Base Protest Against U.S. Drone Attacks Abroad

*Correction: The Pakistani soldiers were killed in an airstrike, not a drone attack.

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/2/hancock_38_defendants_found_guilty_for

Richard Wolff: Eurozone Woes Result from Mating of Our “Dysfunctional” Political, Economic Systems

*Wolff provides useful insight, and makes some important points, but at the end he seems to advocate for a more “just” profit system, and I think the two concepts are wholly antithetical to each other.

A system based on profit, read “competition”, is by its nature uncooperative. It can be less destructive than the beast destroying our lives and our planet, but it will always create winners and losers, and that goes against the very idea of justice, doesn’t it?

In the end, we have to eliminate the role of profit, and money, in our lives, if we truly believe in a world in which each of us live in dignity.

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/2/richard_wolff_eurozone_woes_result_from

12/1

Top GOP Strategist Admits He’s ‘Scared’ Of Occupy Wall Street Because It’s ‘Having An Impact’
by Zaid Jilani
ThinkProgress

*Maybe we haven’t got ’em on the run

But it’s at least a brisk stroll

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/12/01-3
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Occupy Montreal Protesters Branded by Police
by CTV Montreal

*Technology goosesteps on

From tattoos to UV tags

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/12/01-5
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Occupy Economics
by Adbusters

http://www.commondreams.org/video/2011/12/01-0
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Arundhati Roy: ‘The People Who Created the Crisis Will Not Be the Ones That Come Up With a Solution’
The prize-winning author of The God of Small Things talks about why she is drawn to the Occupy movement and the need to reclaim language and meaning
by Arun Gupta

*I think Roy eloquently exposes the ultimately empty exercise of attending the “vaudeville” of electoral politics now playing here and in her home country.

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/01-9
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Amid The Architecture Of Declining Capitalism: Memes, Death Genes And Real Estate Schemes
by Phil Rockstroh

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/01
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7-7-7: Jobless? Face It. Obama’s Not That Into You
by Ted Rall

*It’s not 6-6-6

But it’s got its own satanic vibe going

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/01-8
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Is China’s Economic Miracle Hitting the Fan?
by Michelle Chen

*Solidarity can know no borders

Or we will never know justice

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/01-6
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Twenty Examples of the Obama Administration Assault on Domestic Civil Liberties
by Bill Quigley

*What was on the back of those “HOPE” posters

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/12/01-7
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Occupy Wall Street
December 6: Occupy Wall Street “Goes Home”
National Day of Action to Stop (and Reverse) Foreclosures

*Bringing – and keeping – it home

http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/12/01-8
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Public Citizen
Department of Labor Should Protect Child Farm Workers From Excessive Heat Exposure
Public Citizen Urges Agency to Require Employers to Provide Rest and Water Breaks, Train Employees About Heat-Related Illness

http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/12/01-6
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DEMOCRACY NOW!
Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood Takes Early Lead in First Post-Mubarak Elections

*It’s frightening to think that, after so much sacrifice, the majority of the population might accept a facade of democracy in order to achieve “stability”.

I understand why that may occur, and it’s going to be the grand task of activists to clearly present the consequences of doing so to the people, to get them to see that “stability” is a false choice which will only push them back into the hole that they’ve scratched and clawed to dig themselves out of.

Let’s hope they’re up to it.

And that we will be, as well.

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/1/egypts_muslim_brotherhood_takes_early_lead

Democracy Now! Correspondent Anjali Kamat on Reporting the Revolutions in Egypt and Libya

*What Libyans must never forget is what has been the role of the West in the aftermath of uprisings it’s supported.

Otherwise they’ll find they’ve traded one yoke for another.

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/1/democracy_now_correspondent_anjali_kamat_on

Democracy Now! Exclusive: Occupy Protesters Confront NYPD Commissioner With Images Of Abuse

*Call it another kind of “class struggle”

And most in this class didn’t seem too keen on experiencing a truly “unique learning opportunity”, did they?

http://www.democracynow.org/blog/2011/11/30/democracy_now_exclusive_occupy_protesters_confront_nypd_commissioner_with_images_of_abuse
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Institute for Public Accuracy
* Egypt * Burma * Eurozone