January 31, 2013

BREAKING: Blockader Disrupts Oil & Gas Pipeline Conference

Tatiana Makovkin ‏@Tatianichka

BREAKING: Blockader Disrupts Oil & Gas Pipeline Conference #NoKXL #TarSands
http://www.tarsandsblockade.org/17th-action/
Retweeted by Occupy New England

(I'm not able to get through to the page right now for some reason, sorry.)

January 31, 2013

North Korea imposes martial law, orders troops to ‘be ready for war’ - report

Source: RT

North Korea has allegedly been placed under martial law and its ruler Kim Jong-un has ordered the army to “prepare for war”, a South Korean daily claims.

­The North Korean leader issued a series of orders to his top defense and security officials on Saturday to conclude preparations for a new nuclear test, the Seoul based Korea JoongAng Daily alleges citing an unnamed source.

The source reportedly said that Kim Jong-un issued a secret order to “complete preparations for a nuclear weapons test <…>and carry it out soon”.

According to the source, Kim Jong-un also said, “The country will be under martial law starting from midnight January 29th and all the frontline and central units should be ready for war.”

Read more: http://rt.com/news/martial-law-north-korea-180/

---

(More at the link.)

January 31, 2013

Free On-line Viewing of Shift of the Ages Available Until February 5, 2013

(Note that I have not yet seen this but will be doing so.)

http://www.fwii.net/profiles/blogs/on-line-viewing-of-shift-of-the-ages-free-in-until-feb-5-2013

The Idle No More Movement and other related Global Movements, whether understood by all, as yet, are deeply rooted in the long held prayers and prophecies of Indigenous Elders and Visionaries. These Prophecies, including the 8th Council Fire, the Hopi’s, the Mayan’s Black Elk, Sweet Medicine, Handsome Lake, Deganiwida, Quetzalcoatl, Viracocha, Chilam Balam, the Reunion of the Condor and the Eagle, The Slaying and the Return of the White Buffalo and others foretold that after a long, bitter spiritual wintertime that a new spiritual springtime would arise and that Indigenous Peoples and other allies of the Human Family would arise, at first slowly and then with great spiritual strength and create a new global civilization. This new global civilization will be founded in social, environmental, economic justice and cultural and spiritual harmony and respect.

These prophecies are highlighted in the new film, Shift of the Ages, a dramatic documentary film that reveals the story of the Mayan culture and its sophisticated prophecies of time, as told for the first time by the Grand Elder of the Mayan people, Alejandro Cirilo Perez Oxlaj. Commissioned on behalf of the Maya nation, the Shift of the Ages is the first official discourse to the world from the Mayan Council of Elders, intended to dispel misconceptions and replace them with the positive story long foretold in many Indigenous Prophecies about the emergence of the “5th Sun and the unfolding of a new global civilization based justice, harmony for all members of the Human Family! Known as “Wandering Wolf,” Tata Alejandro is the elected Grand Elder of the living Maya and mystical Aj Q’ji, or timekeeper of tradition.

You may still view the Shift of the Ages global online benefit premiere until February 5th, 2013 at http://www.ShiftoftheAges.com , without cost. You may give a donation if you wish.

January 31, 2013

Criminalizing Dissent and Punishing Occupy Protesters: Intro to Henry Giroux’s "Youth in Revolt"

via Occupy News Service on FB

http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/14224-criminalizing-dissent-and-punishing-the-occupy-movement-protesters-introduction-to-henry-girouxs-youth-in-revolt


Young people are demonstrating all over the world against a variety of issues ranging from economic injustice and massive inequality to drastic cuts in education and public services.1 In the fall of 2011, on the tenth anniversary of September 11, as the United States revisited the tragic loss and celebrated the courage displayed on that torturous day, another kind of commemoration took place. The Occupy movement shone out like flame in the darkness—a beacon of the irrepressible spirit of democracy and a humane desire for justice. Unfortunately, the peacefully organized protests across America have often been met with derogatory commentaries in the mainstream media and, increasingly, state-sanctioned violence. The war against society has become a war against youthful protesters and in­creasingly bears a striking resemblance to the violence waged against Occupy movement protesters and the violence associ­ated with the contemporary war zone.2 Missing from both the dominant media and state and national politics is an attempt to critically engage the issues the protesters are raising, not to mention any attempt to dialogue with them over their strate­gies, tactics, and political concerns. That many young people have become "a new class of stateless individuals ... cast into a threatening and faceless mass whose identities collapse into the language of debt, survival, and disposability" appears to have escaped the attention of the mainstream media.3 Matters of justice, human dignity, and social responsibility have given way to a double gesture that seeks to undercut democratic public spheres through the criminalization of dissent while also resorting to crude and violent forms of punishment as the only mediating tools to use with young people who are at­tempting to open a new conversation about politics, inequality, and social justice.

In the United States, the state monopoly on the use of violence has intensified since the 1980s and in the process has been di­rected disproportionately against young people, poor minorities, immigrants, women, and the elderly. Guided by the notion that unregulated, market-driven values and relations should shape every domain of human life, a business model of governance has eviscerated any viable notion of social responsibility and conscience, thereby furthering the dismissal of social problems and expanding cutbacks in basic social services.4 The examples are endless, but one in particular stands out. In March 2012, Texas governor Rick Perry7 joined eight other states in passing legislation to ban funding for clinics, including Planned Parent­hood facilities, affiliated with abortion services for women.5 As a result, the federal government has stopped funding the Texas Women's Health Program. Unfortunately, this attempt by Perry to punish all women because of his antiabortion stance means that more than 130,000 women in Texas will not have access to vital services ranging from mammograms to health care for their children. There is more at work here than a resurgent war on women and their children or "an insane bout of mass misogyny."8 There is also a deep-seated religious and political authoritarianism that has become one of the fundamental pil­lars of what I call a neoliberal culture of cruelty. As the welfare state is hollowed out. a culture of compassion is replaced by a culture of violence, cruelty, waste, and disposability.7 Banks, hedge funds, and finance capital as the contemporary registers of class power have a new visibility, and their spokespersons are unabashedly blunt in supporting a corporate culture in which "ruthlessness is prized and money is the ultimate measure."8 Collective insurance policies and social protections have given way to the forces of economic deregulation, the transformation of the welfare state into punitive workfare programs, the privatiza­tion of public goods, and an appeal to individual culpability as a substitute for civic responsibility. At the same time, violence—or what Anne-Marie Cusac calls "American punishment"—travels from our prisons and schools to various aspects of our daily lives, "becoming omnipresent ... [from] the shows we watch on television, [to] the way many of us treat children [to] some influential religious practices."9

David Harvey has argued that neoliberalism is "a political proj­ect to re-establish the conditions for capital accumulation and to restore the power of economic elites" through the implementation of "an institutional framework characterized by strong private property rights, free markets, and free trade."10 Neoliberalism is also a pedagogical project designed to create particular subjects, desires, and values defined largely by market considerations. National destiny becomes linked to a market-driven logic in which freedom is stripped down to freedom from government regulation, freedom to consume, and freedom to say anything one wants, regardless of how racist or toxic the consequences might be. This neoliberal notion of freedom is abstracted from any sense of civic responsibility or social cost. In fact, "neoliberalism is grounded in the idea of the 'free, possessive individual,'" with the state cast "as tyrannical and oppressive."11 The welfare state, in particular, becomes the archenemy of freedom. As Stuart Hall points out, according to apostles of free-market fundamentalism, 'The state must never govern society, dictate to free individuals how to dispose of their private property, regulate a free-market economy or interfere with the God-given right to make profits and amass personal wealth."12

Paradoxically, neoliberalism severely proscribes any vestige of social and civic agency through the figure of the isolated automaton for whom choice is reduced to the practice of end­less shopping, fleeing from any sense of civic obligation, and safeguarding a radically individualized existence. Neoliberal governance translates into a state that attempts to substitute individual security for social welfare but in doing so offers only the protection of gated communities for the privileged and incarceration tor those considered flawed consumers or threats to the mythic ideal of a white Christian nation. Neoliberalism refuses to recognize how private troubles are connected to broader systemic issues, legitimating instead an ode to self-reliance in which the experience of personal misfortune becomes merely the just desserts delivered by the righteous hand of the free market—not a pernicious outcome of the social order being hijacked by an antisocial ruling elite and forced to serve a narrow set of interests. Critical thought and human agency are rendered impotent as neoliberal rationality "substitutes emotional and personal vocabularies for political ones in formulating solutions to political problems."13 Within such a depoliticized discourse, youths are told that there is no dream of the collective, no viable social bonds, only the ac­tions of autonomous individuals who must rely on their own resources and who bear sole responsibility for the effects of larger systemic political and economic problems.

January 31, 2013

TSA, DHS to gropinate the Super Bowl, Mardis Gras

http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2013/01/30/new-orleans-challenge-policing-the-super-gras/

Fans can expect to be watched, sniffed and pawed as they enter the Superdome.

“Fans can expect to pass through metal detectors and a pat-down search. After the pat-down search, fans will be asked to unzip any coats. All bags will be x-rayed,” Miller said.

Gamma ray scanners can see through six inches of steal, monitored from a command center.

“TSA of course is working on making sure the airspace around the stadium is closed during the game. Also working providing K-9 teams and screeners and all the rest, said Janet Napolitano, Homeland Security Secretary.

(More at the link. And don't worry; once everyone is in the stadium there will be an announcement to begin having fun...NOW.)

January 31, 2013

JOIN the NDAA Lawsuit, on WEDS, Feb 6, in NYC

https://www.facebook.com/OMCorg/posts/297094913746238

From our friend and NDAA lawsuit plaintiff, Tangerine Bolen:
"We are now less than a week away from the moment of *TRUTH*! We NEED A SHOW OF FORCE AND SUPPORT FOR ENDING INDEFINITE DETENTION! PLEASE JOIN the NDAA Lawsuit Freedom Seven, on WEDS, Feb 6, in NYC at 9:45am! SHARE THIS EVENT INFO, AND EVEN BETTER, JOIN US TO BRING ATTENTION TO THIS HISTORIC AND FUNDAMENTALLY IMPORTANT ISSUE! Making a strong public showing at this juncture is critical! We need your support!"

EVENT INFO HERE: https://www.facebook.com/events/123804614457311/?ref=22

January 31, 2013

Koch brothers pour more cash into think tanks, ALEC

Derek Cressman ‏@DerekCressman

Koch brothers pour more cash into think tanks, ALEC | The Center for Public Integrity http://ow.ly/himPE

http://www.publicintegrity.org/2013/01/31/12105/exclusive-koch-brothers-pour-more-riches-think-tanks-alec?utm_source=iwatchnews&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=rss

Four foundations run by billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch hold a combined $310 million in assets according to tax filings obtained by the Center for Public Integrity.

The documents also show that the brothers, principal owners of the second-largest privately held company in the United States, combined in 2011 to donate $24 million through those foundations with much of the money going to support free-market and libertarian think tanks and academic centers.

A $4.5 million grant to the George Mason University Foundation makes up nearly 15 percent of the university foundation’s revenue for 2011. The school is the largest recipient of Koch foundation money since 1985, and it houses several free-market and libertarian research centers including the Institute for Humane Studies, which received $3.7 million from the Koch foundations.

The D.C.-based American Legislative Exchange Council received $150,000 to help finance its activities, including meetings where corporate representatives draft model legislation with state legislators. The Koch brothers have decades-long connections with ALEC, which gave the brothers the Adam Smith Free Enterprise Award in 1994.

(More at the link; note the donation to the Ayn Rand Institute.)

January 31, 2013

New Order Found in Quantum Electronic Material: May Lead to New Materials, Magnets, Superconductors

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130130184410.htm

Jan. 30, 2013 — Two Rutgers physics professors have proposed an explanation for a new type of order, or symmetry, in an exotic material made with uranium -- a theory that may one day lead to enhanced computer displays and data storage systems and more powerful superconducting magnets for medical imaging and levitating high-speed trains.

Their discovery, published in this week's issue of the journal Nature, has piqued the interest of scientists worldwide. It is one of the rare theory-only papers that this selective publication accepts.

Collaborating with the Rutgers professors was a postdoctoral researcher at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) who earned her doctorate at Rutgers.

"Scientists have seen this behavior for 25 years, but it has eluded explanation." said Piers Coleman, professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy in the School of Arts and Sciences. When cooled to 17.5 degrees above absolute zero or lower (a bone-chilling minus 428 degrees Fahrenheit), the flow of electricity through this material changes subtly.

(More at the link.)

January 31, 2013

Occupy Sandy: Join Us for the People’s Recovery Summit – FREE – Fri 2/1 Thru Sun 2/3!

Occupy Sandy ‏@OccupySandy

Join Us for the #PeoplesRecovery Summit - FREE - Fri 2/1 Thru Sun 2/3! http://interoccupy.net/occupysandy/?p=18147 …


http://interoccupy.net/occupysandy/2013/01/join-us-for-the-peoples-recovery-summit-free-fri-21-thru-sun-23/



Over the past three months, we’ve seen people from all over the city and the country come together in response to Sandy. We turned entire churches into “holy warehouses” of donated items and distributed them to dozens of “hubs” all over the city, working shoulder-to-shoulder with community leaders and residents to care for the most vulnerable among us.

On Feb. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd we’re organizing the People’s Recovery Summit, a gathering of residents, volunteers, organizers, performers, and community leaders ready to strategize on the recovery effort.

We hope to springboard an equitable and sustainable rebuilding process with workshops, trainings, and discussions on grassroots organizing, economic justice, environmental sustainability and much, much more. See our Summit Goals below.

EVENT INFO:

People’s Recovery Summit
Feb 1st – 3rd, 2013
9am – 7pm Daily

FREE

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner will be provided.
Nightly entertainment begins at 8pm

Church of St. Luke and St. Matthew
520 Clinton Avenue
(between Fulton Street and Atlantic Avenue)
TRAINS: C and G trains or 15 min walk from Barclays Center (2,3,4,5,B,D,N,Q, and R trains)

Visit our website for more information! http://summit.peoplesrecovery.org/



PEOPLE’S RECOVERY SUMMIT NEEDS VOLUNTEERS

If you have any spare time at all, please sign up on this form to volunteer!



Our Summit Goals are as follows:

~ Connect environmental + economic justice issues and concerns.

~ Better understand what the City/State/Federal agencies are/aren’t doing, and what we need them to do.

~ Present a “Recovery Statement” for equitable/accountable development based on Human Rights and Environmental justice.

~ Further develop a toolkit of best practices for organizers + affected residents.

~ Debate the role and relationships of a social movement to community organizing and post disaster recovery.



Together, we can restore power to the people and build back better!



Solidarity,

The Peoples Recovery Summit Planning Committee

January 31, 2013

Rolling Jubilee/Strike Debt and OWS members to visit Occupy Detroit, Feb. 2nd

https://www.facebook.com/events/424556677620784/?ref=3

Some members of Occupy Wall Street and #StrikeDebt will be visiting Detroit this weekend and want to talk to YOU about what's going on in Detroit, because our city is on the tip of many a tongue as either an example of urban decay and "successful" federal bailouts, or as a place where a paradigm shift is happening.

"As individuals, families, and communities, most of us are drowning in debt to Wall Street for the basic things things we need to live, like housing, education, and health care. Even those of us who do not have personal debt are affected by predatory lending. Our essential public services are cut because our cities and towns are held hostage by the same big banks that have been bailed out by our government in recent years.

We are not a loan. Strike Debt came from a coalition of Occupy groups looking to build popular resistance to all forms of debt imposed on us by the banks. Debt keeps us isolated, ashamed, and afraid. We are building a movement to challenge this system while creating alternatives and supporting each other. We want an economy where our debts are to our friends, families, and communities — and not to the 1%."
-strikedebt.org

Critical Moment community newspaper and the Boggs Center is hosting a low-key, informal meet & greet to talk about Strike Debt, the Rolling Jubilee, Land Trusts and cross-pollinating grass roots organizing.

Bring some food to share and drinks if that's your thing. We will too!

Links for info on the Rolling Jubilee:

CNN - Occupy, this time for the people's debt: http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/14/opinion/rushkoff-occupy-debt/index.html

Forbes - Let's talk about Debt: How Rolling Jubilee Aims to Strike at the Crisis: http://www.forbes.com/sites/deannazandt/2012/11/28/lets-talk-about-debt-how-rolling-jubilee-aims-to-strike-at-the-crisis/

US News: Rolling Jubilee Aims to Buy and Forgive Debt: http://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/articles/2012/12/03/rolling-jubilee-aims-to-buy-and-forgive-debt

Village Voice Blog: The Rolling Jubilee Mails its First Debt Forgiveness Letters: http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2012/12/the_rolling_jub.php

Huffington Post: Behind Occupy's Rolling Jubilee Debt Campaign, Personal Finance Book for Debtors and Defaulters http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/15/occupy-debt-personal-finance_n_2132948.html