In a previous post I described a new technological approach to track consumer behavior, utilizing data from security surveillance cameras and outlined some of the ethical issues that arise from the use and abuse of this technology. A recent NYT article (How Companies Learn Your Secrets by Charles Duhigg) adds valuable insight to the issue. Duhigg outlines the conversations he had with Andrew Pole, one of the leading statisticians of Target, the second largest retailer in the United States, focusing on Target’s interest in identifying pregnant female costumers to be able to specifically target them with advertisements. Though I recommend reading the…
Support Wikileaks
Democracy
Progressive movements in the US
The Occupy Movement received a lot of attention in 2011 and it was indeed one of the most promising signs that although the economic and political system is profoundly unjust and has been hijacked and corrupted by corporations that quite literally own the country, the game is not completely over. The people are down but not thoroughly defeated, and we are now witnessing a reawakening of political consciousness. The lesson of the movement is simple and profound: if people unite, they can resist the corporate takeover of their country and instead democratize it. Within and alongside the Occupy Movement are…
Video: The Story of Broke
Annie Leonard has done it again. The Story of Broke is a nice follow-up video to her massive hit the Story of Stuff. It focuses on the economic choices that sustain the dinosaur economy and the political choices people have to create a sustainable future. She has a real talent for taking a complex issue, boiling it down to its essentials, and presenting it in a lively and entertaining fashion. You can watch the Story of Broke either on her website or here.
American diplomacy: bags of cash
The role of hard cash in America’s diplomacy and international relations is difficult to overstate. In his excellent book Overthrow: America’s Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq, Stephen Kinzer provides a detailed account of how US politicians, spies, business men, and CIA operatives conspired on numerous occasions to depose of foreign monarchs, presidents, and prime ministers that weren’t working in the interests of American corporations. One of the most striking stories is that of Kermit Roosevelt, a CIA agent and grandson of Teddy Roosevelt, who in 1953 was sent to Iran with a bag of cash to fund…
Containing China
Recent headlines from Democracy Now describe the US plans to increase its military presence in the Philippines and the growing opposition movement there. Renato Reyes, spokesperson for the New Patriotic Alliance, states that: “We are very opposed to the plans to re-align and deploy more U.S. troops in the Philippines, and we are very aware that this is in line with the U.S. strategy to build up its armed forces in Asia to counter China. And we feel that the Philippines might be caught in the rising tension between the two countries if we allow the U.S. to base their troops in…
Less inequality during the Roman Empire than in the US today
Walter Schiedel and Steven Friesen recently analyzed papyri ledgers, biblical passages, and previous scholarship to conduct a study on the ancient Roman Empire and found that the top one percent of income earners in ancient Rome controlled 16% of society’s wealth. Per Square Mile, a data analysis blog by writer Tim De Chant, took the study and compared it to contemporary income disparity in the US and found that the Romans had less inequality than the Americans currently have. Some Quotes: Over the last 30 years, wealth in the United States has been steadily concentrating in the upper economic echelons. Whereas the…
Rocky Anderson for U.S. Justice Party
Very interesting interview on Democracy Now: A new political party has entered the fray as an alternative to Democrats and Republicans ahead of the 2012 elections. On Monday, the Justice Party formally kicked off its formation with an event in Washington. Former Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson will run for president on the Justice Party ticket. Although hailing from a solidly red state, Rocky Anderson has been known as one of the most progressive mayors of any major U.S. city in recent years. During his two mayoral terms from 2000 to 2008, Anderson was an outspoken champion of…
Constitutional amendment: corporations are not people
Sen. Bernie Sanders proposed an amendment to the Constitution to exclude corporations from First Amendment rights to spend money on political campaigns. The bill is a reaction to the 2010 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision, in which the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the government cannot put limits on election advertisements funded by corporations, unions, or other groups. Democrats have charged that the decision essentially treats corporations as people who can enjoy First Amendment rights. Some Quotes: Make no mistake, the Citizens United ruling has radically changed the nature of our democracy, further tilting the balance of power toward…
The network of global corporate control
Unfortunately, though there are many books and articles written on the tight grip multinational corporations have on global governance, there is relatively little empirical research conducted on this matter. This recently published paper by Swiss researchers however provides some practical empirical evidence and background research on the network of global corporate control: Abstract: The structure of the control network of transnational corporations affects global market competition and financial stability. So far, only small national samples were studied and there was no appropriate methodology to assess control globally. We present the first investigation of the architecture of the international ownership network, along…
Video: Speech by Chomsky on academic freedom and the corporatization of universities
On April 6, 2011 Chomsky gave a speech at the University of Toronto mainly focusing on the decline of academic freedom going and the coporatization of universities. In his speech he connects the issue with the larger picture of corporate reality. The recorded Q&A session after his speech is especially worth watching. Quote: There’s, furthermore, no way to measure the human and social costs of converting schools and universities into facilities that produce commodities for the job market, abandoning the traditional ideal of the universities: fostering creative and independent thought and inquiry, challenging perceived beliefs, exploring new horizons and forgetting…
Democracy Now
Democracy Now News Feed
- Trump in the Dock: First Criminal Trial of a Former U.S. President Begins Today in NYC April 15, 2024
- Is Regional War at Stake as Israel Weighs Response to Iran? Roundtable from Tehran, Tel Aviv & D.C. April 15, 2024
- Headlines for April 15, 2024 April 15, 2024
- Israeli Scholar Neve Gordon on Israeli Mass Surveillance in Gaza & the Use of AI to Kill Palestinians April 12, 2024
- "A Stalemate and Attritional Grind": Journalist Luke Mogelson on 2 Years of Russia's War in Ukraine April 12, 2024
- "Council of War": Walden Bello on Biden's Trilateral Summit with Philippines & Japan to Contain China April 12, 2024
- Headlines for April 12, 2024 April 12, 2024