Are You ‘Spring Training’ For May Day?
Stand fast, then, Oh Workers, your ground,
Together pull, strong and united:
Link your hands like a chain the world round,
If you will that your hopes be requited.When the World’s Workers, sisters and brothers,
Shall build, in the new coming years,
A lair house of life—not for others,
For the earth and its fulness is theirs.—Walter Crane, The Workers’ Maypole (1894)
When you hear the term “spring training,” most of us think baseball, but, this year, it has a different context because the Occupy Movement has appropriated the term to describe educating and preparing activists for nationwide protests and a hoped for General Strike slated for May Day 2012, this May 1st.
The idea of “spring” may be more connected to the “Arab Spring,” a time of revolt than the season we’ve entered.
Can this relatively new movement pull off an ambitious General Strike to shut down a city like New York? In many ways, the success of this tactic…
From Kettles To Courtrooms: Authorities’ Backlash Against Protest
Via Red Pepper, Nina Power on the ominous crackdown on our right to protest:
For every uprising, protest and political action there is an unequal and oppressive reaction. 2011 may have been ‘the year of the protester’, as even mainstream magazines such as Time acknowledged, but it also saw severe policing tactics, serious criminal charges and heavy sentences for those taking part in demos and other direct actions.
The past few months have seen students and other protesters charged with major offences – particularly ‘violent disorder’, which carries with it a maximum five-year sentence. Many people, often in their teens and early twenties, have faced crown court trials and been sent to jail for the flimsiest of reasons – throwing a lightweight placard stick, for example – and their lives have been seriously compromised by the stress and humiliation of a trial and the shock of prison. At the same time, policing…
Earliest Painting of Transvestite Uncovered in British Gallery
Jeanna Bryner writes on LiveScience:
An 18th-century portrait sold in New York to a British gallery as a “woman in a feathered hat” turns out to actually portray a man dressed as a woman, becoming the earliest known painting of a transvestite.
The transvestite painting, now called the “Chevalier D’Eon,” is currently hanging in the Philip Mould Ltd. gallery in London and will possibly become a permanent feature in the British National Portraits Gallery, said art dealer and art historian Philip Mould, director of Philip Mould Ltd.
“We spent 30 years honing our skills at looking at British portraits, and you begin to spot anomalies,” Mould told LiveScience. “Portraiture, despite the diversity of odd-looking people in the world, particularly in the 19th century, before advances in cosmetic science and dentistry and medical advances had taken place, but portraiture is always extremely straight-laced.”
Anarchism and Steampunk
Exploring the radical roots of a popular science fiction genre. Via Airships, Anarchists, & Anachronisms:
Steampunk began as a radical satirical form of fiction, but today it encompasses much more. What precisely is steampunk? As the editors of Steampunk Magazine explain, steampunk is “a vibrant culture of DIY crafters, writers, artists, and other creative types, each with their own slightly different answer to that question.” By its diverse nature, steampunk resists definition. Furthermore, in the ever evolving nature of steampunk, “as each new iteration of the idea becomes more ambitious, the mutations are delightfully limitless and unpredictable.”
This definition seems in line with Rachel A. Bowser and Brian Croxall’s statement that, “Steampunk is more about instability than any other single characteristic. It resists fixedness by unsettling the categories from which it cribs.” Yet, the authors do provide a definition for those looking for the quintessential steampunk. They write:
That being said, one common element…
The Stories We Tell and the Future We Create
Rade writes at A Lament for the Tir Nan Og:
It is fashionable, and unfortunate, that among people interested in living sustainably, having children is often seems as part and parcel with the downfall of everything good. The usual statistics showing how the average America uses an exorbitant amount of energy and resources per-capita are presented, which I think in a subtle way, denigrates the message of a sustainable life. It is as though people who are most committed to sustainable living are telling a story that says their children will follow the usual path of leaving home, setting out on their own and will eventually become SUV driving, McMansion dwelling boobs. The question of who will take the sustainable way of living into the future is not dealt with (in most cases). This is perhaps what I see as the biggest problem with the Permaculture movement as I understand it…
The ‘Curses o’ Whoredom’: Rome’s History Turns Into Wisconsin’s Misery in Phase 3 of The Madison Uprising
Caligula: a career model for the modern statesman?
“Elections may be lost by failing to energize the base, but they are only won by charming non-ideological voters who form the majority. Milwaukee and Madison are the state’s most left-leaning cities, but in the eyes of Wisconsin’s rural and suburban majority, they are also the darkest pits of Babylonish whoredom.”
The wheels seem rapidly to be coming off the runaway freight train that was the effort to recall troubled Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. Nearly 1,000,000 people affixed their names and addresses to a petition to initiate the unprecedented recall procedures against Walker. But as of late April, Walker is polling at least 5 % HIGHER than his most likely opponent, Milwaukee’s mayor, Tom Barrett. WTF?
Here is a brief recap of events since I last wrote about the Madison Uprising:
1. Walker appointees refused to cooperate with a Federal John Doe investigation into Republican campaign violations. To date several minions…
The U.S. Government Is Committed to Keeping the Drug Market As Dangerous As Possible
Jacob Sullum writes on Reason:
Yesterday the Justice Department unsealed an indictment that charges eight men from three countries with running “a sophisticated online drug marketplace that sold everything from marijuana to mescaline to some 3,000 people around the world,” AP reports:
“The Farmer’s Market”…allowed suppliers of drugs—including LSD, Ecstasy and ketamine—to anonymously sell their wares online. They hooked up with buyers in 34 countries and accepted various forms of payment, including cash, Western Union and PayPal transactions, the indictment claims….
The market “provided a controlled substances storefront, order forms, online forums, customer service, and payment methods for the different sources of supply” and charged the suppliers a commission based upon the value of the order, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles.
“For customers, the operators screened all sources of supply and guaranteed delivery of the illegal drugs,” the statement said …. The marketplace allegedly used the Tor…
Better Late Than Never! Tax-Day Tips for Tax Protesters
EAGER, ARIZ.— This tax day, the legacy of tax protesters still lives strong. And perhaps among the most famous Americans in their number was Bill Cooper, who now resides in a cemetery just off of 356 South Papago Street in Springerville, Ariz. Hanging in the area near Mr. Cooper is not much that Google Maps seems to want to comment on — a baseball diamond, a fenced in area to take a stroll — no webcam footage.
All that looks available of the area is a single Flickr user with geotracking on a digital single-lens reflex camera. That there is tax-dodging country.
Here’s The Internet Chronicle’s guide to fearing the IRS, who is like Seal Team 6, but more omniscient.
- The heat will probably be really hyped up, even if you’re just really just a self-sufficient survivalist. You’re no more in the “militia” than Zimmerman is a “neighborhood watch enthusiast” like the liberal media down at…
Battle for The ‘Soul’ of Occupy: Fear of Co-option Leads to Self-Destructive Polemics
Perhaps my problem is that I live in too many worlds at the same time, while many political eras live in me.
That may be why I responded so negatively to a recent polemic wrapped up in a poetic communique from Adbusters, the culturejammers in Canada, who do so much good work (and often so creatively) battling the consumption virus promoted by big corporations many of us have grown to despise.
I respect their magazine and marvel at the impact they have had in helping to stir Occupy Wall Street into existence. They clearly feel a sense of ownership in the movement and act not just as the midwife that promoted the occupy idea, but as the guardians of their version of the movement’s essence, as if they own the copyright and have to defend it aggressively in the court of public opinion.
Their latest communique, directed to “jammers, occupiers and Springtime dreamers,”…
A Timothy Leary for the Viral Video Age
Ross Andersen writes in the Atlantic:
I want to introduce you to Jason Silva, but first I want you to watch this short video that he made. It will only take two minutes, and watching it will give you a good idea if it’s worth your time to read the extensive interview that follows. If you ever wondered what would happen if a young Timothy Leary was wormholed into 2012, complete with a film degree and a Vimeo account, you have your answer: Jason Silva. If Silva, who was born in Venezuela, seems to have natural screen presence, it’s because he’s no stranger to media; he worked for six years as a host at Current TV before leaving the network last year to become a part-time filmmaker and full-time walking, talking TEDTalk.
E+SM Mix: Evolution for Your Ears
Have you ever wondered what a planetary transformation of society and consciousness based on the integration of esoteric philosophy, shamanic practice, design science, dance floor grooves, and cutting-edge communications technology might sound like? We hope so, because we devised our first free E+SM Mix: Evolution for Your Ears, to satisfy this secret yearning.
At the Evolver Social Movement, we believe in the concept of free – of sharing, foraging, scavenging, bittorenting, and all forms of open-source opportunism. We are, therefore, delighted to offer Evolution for Your Ears to you gratis, as a gift, with positively no strings attached, ever. In fact, we believe that everything should be free, from now until the end of time or the death of God, whichever comes first.
It’s Tax Time: Time to Occupy the IRS
Every year I trek down to a nondescript office building near Wall Street with a bag full of receipts and a belly full of anxiety.
When it’s tax time, I always hope for the best but … I also had an accountant who I trusted to keep me on the up and up. He was recommended years earlier by the Yippie activist Abbie Hoffman, who wanted to avoid the Al Capone problem.
Abbie had been busted enough for his political activities and didn’t want more jail time for non-payment of taxes. So he had to be like the driven snow to withstand any audit. And he was. He was a revolutionary who held his nose and paid the man.
Back in the day, the government used IRS investigations to threaten political activists and intimidate activists that paid their taxes as opposed to those who became tax resisters to refuse to pay for wars.
Those…
Ask Not What Occupy Can Do For You…
Via Open University of the Left:
With more than 1,400 Occupy sites in the U.S., the success of Occupiers as a social movement and as a force for challenging austerity on the ground — supporting labor union struggles, reversing home foreclosures, opposing deportations, and raising awareness of education cuts and college loans — has raised the inescapable question of “which way forward?”
Mainstream and independent media have been quick to offer the Occupy movement an endless stream of advice. Yet, even when offered with the best intentions, much of this counsel is misguided.
OUL welcomes a panel of Chicago Occupiers to demystify the actions and experience of this creative and vital movement; demonstrate that the movement remains most connected to the needs of its immediate communities, rather then external guidance; and discuss the ways in which Occupy remains open to all levels of commitment by individuals and communities, as these panelists will introduce and outline. Participants were: Joe Macare, Brit Schulte, Rachael Perrotta and Natalie Wahlberg.
A World of Religion
In honour of the recent “world’s largest” gathering of atheists in Washington D.C, a reminder of their place in the great scheme of things — there are less than 150 million of them at last global count:
Still beats the Wiccans, Bahai’i and Yazidis combined. On the other hand, secularism (separation of church and state) counts as 1.1 billion.
Reference: ‘Graphic: A demographic breakdown of the world of religion‘, National Post, 23 March 2012
The “99% Spring”: Co-Opting Occupy or Helping Spread its Message?
Jake Olzen writes on Alternet:
Next month, activists and organizers across the country are planning to train 100,000 people in nonviolent direct action for what they call The 99% Spring. But despite borrowing one or two of the Occupy movement’s favorite slogans, The 99% Spring hasn’t been called for by any general assembly.
Rather, this massive and controversial effort is coming from the institutional left — a diverse coalition of labor unions, environmental and economic justice groups, community organizations and trainers’ alliances. While some celebrate what appears to be a mainstreaming of resistance thanks to Occupy, others are crying co-option.
“This spring we rise!” write 99% Spring organizers in a letter to “America.” “We will reshape our country with our own hands and feet, bodies and hearts. We will take non-violent action in the spirit of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Gandhi to forge a new destiny one block, one neighborhood, one city, one…
Twitter Won’t Hand Over Data About OccupyWallStreet Protester
John Paul Titlow writes on ReadWriteWeb:
Barely two weeks after the New York District Attorney asked Twitter to hand over data about an Occupy Wall Street protester, the company says it will not comply with the request, at least for the time being.
The D.A.’s office had sent a subpoena to the microblogging service’s headquarters seeking information about the account belonging to Jeffrey Rae, one of several hundred activists arrested during an Occupy Wall Street demonstration in New York on March 1.
Paul Mills, the attorney representing Rae, filed a motion to quash the subpoena on March 15 on the grounds that the request was in violation of California’s requirements for out-of-state subpoenas. Twitter’s legal department then informed the D.A.’s office that they would not comply with the request until the motion was resolved, Mills tells ReadWriteWeb.
Earlier this week, the D.A. offered Rae what’s known as an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal, which…
Police Violence Against Occupy the Midwest
Image via Twitter @OccupiersFilm
Natalie W writes at Diatribe Media:
An Open Letter To The St. Louis Mayor, Chief of Police, and Media
Dear Mayor Slay and Chief Isom,
My name is Natalie and I’m a member of Occupy Chicago. Please know that I only speak for myself and am not claiming to represent the opinions of Occupy Chicago or any other Occupations. I am however a sister in the global revolution of citizens united to restore power to the people and remove corporate influence over the state, among other initiatives.
On Thursday, March 15, 2012, I watched a livestream feed of Occupy the Midwest and saw my Occupy family was smashed with cold police batons as they attempted to comply with illogical regulation of public land, the space specifically bought and maintained with public dollars. Simply, I watched the footage of senseless violence wrought against as they crossed the street, attempting to obey police…
Go Left, The Season Has Changed: Time for an OWS Spring Offensive
For years, in the last century, when I was in School and learning about the early days of journalism, we were taught that author Horace Greeley who founded the New York Herald Tribune, was famous for saying, “Go West Young Man And Grow Up With The Country.”
One problem, as we learned recently, he didn’t coin the phrase but only popularized it. (Another media mistake involving a top dog in the media!) Indiana newspaper writer John Soule actually gave the advice in 1851 and, it would serve as the mantra for 19th century “action” in the form of Westward migration.
These days, those good and the great men and women who won their struggle stripes in the civil rights and anti-Vietnam war movements have a new mantra for action.
Some, who recently appeared at New York’s annual Left Forum, were sharing it with younger people, “Go Left.”
They would probably agree with Mitt Romney…
OWS Cops More Concerned With Citizen Journalists Than A Convulsing Protestor’s Health (Video)
Do the cops ever think about who they really work for? ~6:55 is where the an OWS protestor having a seizure is ignored and stared at while protestors voice their anger and indignation. Via We Are Change:
