When companies are owned by workers and the community—instead of Wall Street financiers—everything changes. Our economic system is profoundly broken. To anyone paying attention, that much is clear. But what’s less clear is this: Our approach to fixing the economy is broken as well. The whole notion of “fighting corporate power” arises from an underlying belief that there is no alternative to capitalism as we know it. Starting from the insight that capitalism has become virtually a universal economy, we conclude that our best hope is to regulate corporations and work for countervailing powers like unions. But then we’ve lost…
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Media & Society
Julian Assange interviews Hassan Nasrallah (The World Tomorrow)
In the world premiere of Julian Assange’s ‘The World Tomorrow‘ on RT, he interviews Hezbollah leader Sayyid Nasrallah, his first appearance in international media in over six years. For interviewing such a “radical” on an English-language Russian news network, Assange predicted that he would be denounced as a traitor. And sure enough Assange’s predictions are being proven true by the reactions of the international corporate media. Episode 1:
Dear Germany: It’s okay to criticise Israel (by Mark Levine)
Irvine, CA – My parents would never buy a Mercedes. Period. They couldn’t understand Jews who would (legitimate adults didn’t buy Volkswagons either back in the 1970s, at least where I lived). In fact, aside from long-dead German composers and pastries from the local German-American bakery – whose owners were probably Jewish – Jewish-Americans wanted nothing to do with Germany. For obvious reasons. Even today, it’s very hard for non-Jews to understand the trauma Jews born in the post-Holocaust generation experienced related to Germany. Our family lived in a strange zone between the past and present. At regular moments throughout the…
Can You Understand the Republican Brain? (Mark Karlin interviews Chris Mooney)
Scientific American lauds author Chris Mooney “as one if the few journalists in the country who specialize in the now dangerous intersection of science and politics.” Having interviewed Mooney about his first book, the highly praised, “The Republican War on Science,” Truthout/BuzzFlash interviews Mooney about his latest release, “The Republican Brain: The Science of Why They Deny Science – and Reality.” Truthout and BuzzFlash readers can directly obtain “The Republican Brain” and support uncompromised journalism by clicking here. Mark Karlin: Progressives often say of Fox that they create facts to bolster their opinions. Is this true of the Republican mind set in general? Chris Mooney: This…
The UK government’s war on internet freedom (by Trevor Timm)
San Francisco, CA – Last summer in the wake of the London riots, British Prime Minister David Cameron insisted that the government should have the power to censor social media and “stop [alleged rioters] from communicating via these websites”. But after Cameron’s plan was widely compared to the tactics of former Egypt President Hosni Mubarak – not to mention the same social media services were instrumental in helping organise post-riot cleanup – the proposal never materialised. Unfortunately, Cameron’s declaration that the “free flow of information” can sometimes be a problem, then an aberration, seems to have turned into a pillar of the UK government’s 2012 agenda.…
Connected, but alone? (lectures by Sherry Turkle)
In this lecture, Sherry Turkle turns her attention to the world of social media and sociable robots. As she puts it, these are technologies are the “architect of our intimacies.” In her most recent book, Alone Together: Why We Expect More From Technology and Less From Each Other, Turkle argues that the social media we encounter on a daily basis are presenting us with a moment of temptation. Drawn by the illusion of companionship without the demands of intimacy, we confuse postings and online sharing with authentic communication. We are drawn to sacrifice conversation for mere connection. Turkle suggests that…
Move over SOPA & PIPA: Here comes CISPA (by Anne Sewell)
In the wake of SOPA and PIPA, there is yet another terrifying bill on the table. The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (or CISPA for short) which is currently being discussed by Congress. In Washington, Congress is discussing the best way to avert the ongoing cyberattacks and some legislators have put forward a new act which, if it passes Congress, will allow the government access to personal correspondence of any person of their choosing. Much like the Big Brother tactics in the United Kingdom recently, this bill will likely cause an outcry of condemnation and criticism, as…
The assault on public education (by Noam Chomsky)
Public education is under attack around the world, and in response, student protests have recently been held in Britain, Canada, Chile, Taiwan and elsewhere. California is also a battleground. The Los Angeles Times reports on another chapter in the campaign to destroy what had been the greatest public higher education system in the world: “California State University officials announced plans to freeze enrollment next spring at most campuses and to wait-list all applicants the following fall pending the outcome of a proposed tax initiative on the November ballot.” Similar defunding is under way nationwide. “In most states,” The New York…
Finally some good news for the cows
A long-term study conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health and published recently in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that eating red meat of any type in any amount significantly increases the risk of premature death. While a subscription to the journal is required to access it online, one can read about the study in this article from the L.A. Times. The news article also links to the chart copied below, which presents the findings of this study in graphic form. As the chart shows, the study found that adding a small serving of red meat to one’s daily…
New PR for the coming attack on Iran
Peter King, the Republic Chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security convened a meeting this week to explain that the United States is currently facing a grave threat from a new scary monster: Iranian-backed Hezbollah agents that are inside the country and ready to attack. The shocking new evidence upon which these claims are based appears to be reports of Iranians videotaping subway tracks. Scary stuff indeed. In light of these reports, King claimed that “We have a duty to prepare for the worst.” One can listen to his opening speech at the committee meeting. It’s truly breathtaking.…
Nine strategies to end corporate rule
Yes Magazine has put together an interesting collection of articles, written by various writers, around the question of the century: What can we do to bring an end to corporatocracy and help build a sustainable society that prioritizes human needs above corporate profits. The collection of articles can be found here. The nine strategies: 1. Amend the constitution to end corporate personhood. 2. Dive into grassroots campaigns. 3. Hold corporations accountable to our laws. 4. Get Past the Propaganda 5. Support independent media and keep the Internet free. 6. Protect the Commons 7. Vote. Protect our democracy. 8. Make your…
What public relations can do for human excrement
Most of us are taught from an early age that human shit is taboo–it should neither be touched nor touched upon in polite conversation. Consequently, most people probably don’t think much about what happens to their shit after they flush it down the toilet. But perhaps they should, and perhaps this taboo around shit needs to be abandoned, for there are people, businesses, entire industries working in dark corners of the waste economy finding clever ways to sell you your own shit. How is this possible? Why would anyone want to buy it? Good questions and very much related to…
The Crisis of Civilization (documentary)
The Crisis of Civilization is a documentary feature film investigating how global crises like ecological disaster, financial meltdown, dwindling oil reserves, terrorism and food shortages are converging symptoms of a single, failed global system. Weaving together archival film footage and animations, film-maker Dean Puckett, animator Lucca Benney and international security analyst Dr. Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed, offer a stunning wake-up call proving that ‘another world’ is not merely possible, but on its way. The film consists of seven parts which explore the interconnected dynamic of global crises of Climate Catastrophe; Peak Energy; Peak Food; Economic Instability; International Terrorism; and the Militarization…
Media failures in the Iran war debate
Has the American media informed or mislead the public on the debate about whether or not the US should initiate or support an attack on Iran? In this article, originally published in Foreign Policy, Stephen Walt, Professor of International Affairs at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, provides a helpful list of the top ten media failures on this issue. He also participated in this related discussion on an NPR radio program. .
The Kony controversy
In the middle of the two or three-day period in which the Kony 2012 went viral, a note was posted on this blog linking to the video and recommending support for the campaign to arrest Kony. The world is now witnessing a viral explosion of criticism of the Kony 2012 video, which also deserves some comment. Aljazeera has devoted a section of its website to what it calls the “Kony Debate,” though it is less a debate than it is a collection of complaints against the film. Nonetheless, it is probably the single best source of information for understanding the criticisms…
A Call Against Arms (Aljazeera report on Jeju naval base)
In a tiny village on a small island off the coast of South Korea an entire community is taking on the might of the South Korean navy and government to contest the construction of one of the region’s largest naval bases. The village of Gangjeong on the island of Jeju has fewer than 2,000 inhabitants but it has become the epicentre of growing discontent over one of the world’s biggest arms races. The South Korean government is adamant that the Gangjeong naval base, which it began constructing in 2007, will strengthen national security. But those opposed to it fear that…
Speaking out on climate change (TED lecture by James Hansen)
Another lecture that really should be required viewing for everyone. James Hansen, head of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, is a credible expert on climate change and global warming. In this lecture he describes some of the main features of the climate change taking place today and gives a good sense of just how much time is left before we reach the point of no return. Most amazing is the fact that Hansen firmly believes that the greatest challenge facing human civilization has a simple and elegant solution, which is for governments to collect a gradually rising carbon…
What Are Iran’s Intentions? (by Noam Chomsky)
Published on Saturday, March 3, 2012 by The New York Times Syndicate. Written by Noam Chomsky. The January/February issue of Foreign Affairs featured the article “Time to Attack Iran: Why a Strike Is the Least Bad Option,” by Matthew Kroenig, along with commentary about other ways to contain the Iranian threat. The media resound with warnings about a likely Israeli attack on Iran while the U.S. hesitates, keeping open the option of aggression—thus again routinely violating the U.N. Charter, the foundation of international law. As tensions escalate, eerie echoes of the run-up to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are in the…
Coronary Capitalism (by Kenneth Rogoff)
FRANKFURT – A systematic and broad failure of regulation is the elephant in the room when it comes to reforming today’s Western capitalism. Yes, much has been said about the unhealthy political-regulatory-financial dynamic that led to the global economy’s heart attack in 2008 (initiating what Carmen Reinhart and I call “The Second Great Contraction”). But is the problem unique to the financial industry, or does it exemplify a deeper flaw in Western capitalism? Consider the food industry, particularly its sometimes-malign influence on nutrition and health. Obesity rates are soaring around the entire world, though, among large countries, the problem is perhaps…
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