January 6, 2012

Keiser Report: Wall Street saints above God & law

January 6, 2012

A Nightmare on Wall Street...

Watch and share this video presented by the National Nurses United promoting a financial transaction tax on Wall Street trading to help restore the economy. The video portrays a banker whose greed contributes to the economic meltdown of a nation, resulting in lost pensions and jobs, as well as home foreclosures, and financial ruin for many Americans. The entertaining video short is inspired by The Twilight Zone, an American television anthology series created by Rod Serling.

January 5, 2012

Noam Chomsky - Institutions vs People: Will the Species Self Destruct - Parts 1-3

04/10/2001 -- Lecture at MIT

Noam Chomsky has written and lectured widely on linguistics, philosophy, intellectual history, international affairs and U.S. foreign policy.

January 5, 2012

12 Reasons You'll Be Hearing More About the Commons in 2012

from OnTheCommons.org:



12 Reasons You'll Be Hearing More About the Commons in 2012
We Power stands at the convergence of economic and cultural trends

By Jay Walljasper


1. The Commons is Essential to Our Health, Security & Survival

The commons comprises valuable assets that belong to all of us. This includes clean air and fresh water; national parks and city streets; the Internet and scientific knowledge; ethnic cuisines and hip-hop rhythms; the U.S. Weather Service and blood banks. But it’s more than just things—it’s also the set of relationship that make those things work. When you stop to think about it, most essential elements of our lives exist outside the realm of private property.

2. Discovery of the Commons Signals a Shift from “Me” to “We” in Modern Society

The continuing economic crisis shows the foolishness of promoting selfish individualism as the chief operating principle for our society. People today are rediscovering the value of what we share in common. Everyone’s net worth includes a number of valuable jointly-owned assets that enrich our lives as much as what own privately. Public services like libraries, recreation centers and public transportation are there for us when we can no longer afford new books, health clubs or another car.

3. The Commons is Not an Abstract Theory, But Rather an Organic Organizing Principle of Human Civilization

The commons is more than just a nice idea; it encompasses a wide set of practical measures that offer fresh hope for a saner, safer, more enjoyable future. At the heart of the commons are four simple principles, which have been practiced by humans for millenia: 1) serving the common good; 2) ensuring equitable use of what belongs to us all; 3) promoting sustainable stewardship so that coming generations are not cheated and imperiled; 4) creating practical ways for people to participate in decisions shaping their future.

These goals foster a spirit of cooperation that results in commons-based solutions to major problems. One longstanding commons-based solution is the North Dakota State Bank, which supports worthy projects and saves taxpayer money. It’s one reason the state is enduring the current economic crisis better than any other. A dozen other states are now looking into the idea. ............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://onthecommons.org/12-reasons-youll-be-hearing-more-about-commons-2012

January 5, 2012

Secrets of Empire And Self-Deceptions Of Partisans

Published on Thursday, January 5, 2012 by [font color="blue"]CommonDreams.org[/font]

Secrets of Empire And Self-Deceptions Of Partisans
A howling defiance into the darkness of the corporate state night

by Phil Rockstroh


It is laughable (in a weeping outright sort of way) that Obama and his fellow Democratic Party supporters and apologists can't find a more resonant campaign theme than, "We carry out the agendas of the national security/bankster/militarist state (i.e., the one percent) while appearing to be less crazy than Republicans."

The notion of even possessing a preference as to whom should be president of this crumbling, faux republic...is a bit like asking what color uniform one would prefer that the crew tasked with rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic should don as they go about their duties.

In times such as these, when escaping into one's comfort zone is no longer a viable option, one is advised to evince the audacity of hopelessness, because the act leaves one desperate enough to embrace this daunting proposition:



Although, for the present and foreseeable future, the propitious aspects of the sentiment will not hold true for Bradley Manning…whose plight displays the punitive, hyper-authoritarian nature of late U.S. empire. As is the case with Manning, in a national security state, few acts will cause one to lose his freedom in a more rapid manner than to reveal the secrets of lawless, ruthless power. ........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/01/05-2

January 5, 2012

Boredom & empty pockets boost neo-Nazi ranks

January 5, 2012

The Keiser Report: The Cojones Defense of Jon Corzine

January 5, 2012

Secrets of Empire And Self-Deceptions Of Partisans

Published on Thursday, January 5, 2012 by [font color="blue"]CommonDreams.org[/font]

Secrets of Empire And Self-Deceptions Of Partisans
A howling defiance into the darkness of the corporate state night

by Phil Rockstroh


It is laughable (in a weeping outright sort of way) that Obama and his fellow Democratic Party supporters and apologists can't find a more resonant campaign theme than, "We carry out the agendas of the national security/bankster/militarist state (i.e., the one percent) while appearing to be less crazy than Republicans."

The notion of even possessing a preference as to whom should be president of this crumbling, faux republic...is a bit like asking what color uniform one would prefer that the crew tasked with rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic should don as they go about their duties.

In times such as these, when escaping into one's comfort zone is no longer a viable option, one is advised to evince the audacity of hopelessness, because the act leaves one desperate enough to embrace this daunting proposition:



Although, for the present and foreseeable future, the propitious aspects of the sentiment will not hold true for Bradley Manning…whose plight displays the punitive, hyper-authoritarian nature of late U.S. empire. As is the case with Manning, in a national security state, few acts will cause one to lose his freedom in a more rapid manner than to reveal the secrets of lawless, ruthless power. ........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/01/05-2

January 5, 2012

Capitalism Is The Crisis (full documentary)

Capitalism Is The Crisis: Radical Politics in the Age of Austerity examines the ideological roots of the "austerity" agenda and proposes revolutionary paths out of the current crisis. The film features original interviews with Chris Hedges, Derrick Jensen, Michael Hardt, Peter Gelderloos, Leo Panitch, David McNally, Richard J.F. Day, Imre Szeman, Wayne Price, and many more!

The 2008 "financial crisis" in the United States was a systemic fraud in which the wealthy finance capitalists stole trillions of public dollars. No one was jailed for this crime, the largest theft of public money in history.

Instead, the rich forced working people across the globe to pay for their "crisis" through punitive "austerity" programs that gutted public services and repealed workers' rights.

January 5, 2012

Time to Stop Being Cynical About Corporate Money in Politics and Start Being Angry

from TomDispatch:



Armed With Naïvete
Time to Stop Being Cynical About Corporate Money in Politics and Start Being Angry

By Bill McKibben


My resolution for 2012 is to be naïve -- dangerously naïve.

I’m aware that the usual recipe for political effectiveness is just the opposite: to be cynical, calculating, an insider. But if you think, as I do, that we need deep change in this country, then cynicism is a sucker’s bet. Try as hard as you can, you’re never going to be as cynical as the corporations and the harem of politicians they pay for. It’s like trying to outchant a Buddhist monastery.

Here’s my case in point, one of a thousand stories people working for social change could tell: All last fall, most of the environmental movement, including 350.org, the group I helped found, waged a fight against the planned Keystone XL pipeline that would bring some of the dirtiest energy on the planet from Canada through the U.S. to the Gulf Coast. We waged our struggle against building it out in the open, presenting scientific argument, holding demonstrations, and attending hearings. We sent 1,253 people to jail in the largest civil disobedience action in a generation. Meanwhile, more than half a million Americans offered public comments against the pipeline, the most on any energy project in the nation’s history.

And what do you know? We won a small victory in November, when President Obama agreed that, before he could give the project a thumbs-up or -down, it needed another year of careful review. (The previous version of that review, as overseen by the State Department, had been little short of a crony capitalist farce.) Given that James Hansen, the government’s premier climate scientist, had said that tapping Canada’s tar sands for that pipeline would, in the end, essentially mean “game over for the climate,” that seemed an eminently reasonable course to follow, even if it was also eminently political. ...............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175485/tomgram%3A_bill_mckibben%2C_buying_congress_in_2012/ (follows a brief intro)