Race, Class, Unions, and Media "Reform"

by: eli_beckerman

Thu Apr 28, 2011 at 15:08:36 PM EDT

From Black Agenda Report
A Black Agenda Radio commentary by BAR editor and columnist Jared A. Ball
4/26/2011

The Media Reform Conference and Democracy Now! share common characteristics: they are the best that the white left has to offer, and profoundly inadequate. Democracy Now! doesn't just shortchange people of color, but unions as well. And the politics of periodic Media Reform conferences are as blindingly white as the corporate variety.

Race, Class, Unions and Media "Reform"

There is truly good reason for friends to remind me of my having gone back on a previously made promise to stop attending the very white and liberal National Conference for Media Reform [6]. Again the conference gathered, this year in Boston a couple of weeks ago, and again nearly all of the Black and Brown people I spoke to expressed disappointment at being present but not so much heard. One friend promised to smack me and anyone else he hears about coming back in the future. Another more prominent Black woman within this and other related political struggles whose experience and work truly deserves more credit and attention than she gets simply raised her tired eyes above her glasses and asked me with all the frustration and fatigue in the world, "Jared, why do you come here?"

"Still Waiting for the Change" (new song by David Rovics)

by: mikeheichman

Wed Apr 27, 2011 at 11:08:19 AM EDT

"Here's a song for President Obama (and the Democratic Party more broadly) I wrote today." --David Rovics

Good to See The PowerSpeech Video

by: michael horan

Tue Apr 26, 2011 at 22:59:13 PM EDT

Of course, if you're gonna see it anywhere, it's likely to be GMG. So, 'twas even better to see it posted by a serious candidate for US Senate on his public FB page--Somerville's Bob Massie. How many mainstream candidates do you see touting McKibben? And how many mainstream candidates do you see McKibben showing up to endorse?

Eli wrote some time ago that "Bill McKibben has accepted that the time for individuals acting on their own has past, and that it is time for collective (i.e., political) action." He seems to be embracing this with a vengeance now. I know that his decision to actively fundraise for a Democrat will be disappointing to some--Eli's point, of course, was that Bill should be actively working to promote a party/parties that share an ecological vision as opposed to a growth-oriented economy.

But simply deriding or dismissing individual candidates because they've opted for a different strategy gets us nowhere.

So, with, so far as I can tell, no GRP candidates prepared to take on Scott Brown, I'd urge all Greens to have a look at Massie. I've come out about as publicly as possible noting that I'm very much liking what I'm seeing.  

Citizens' Radiation Monitoring Networks

by: gmoke

Fri Apr 22, 2011 at 23:24:46 PM EDT

RDTN.org: Radiation Detection Hardware Network in Japan

RDTN.org is a website whose purpose is to provide an aggregate feed of nuclear radiation data from governmental, non-governmental and citizen-scientist sources. That data will be made available to everyone, including scientists and nuclear experts who can provide context for lay people. In the weeks following launch, it has become evident that there is a need for additional radiation reporting from the ground in Japan. This Kickstarter project will help us purchase up to 600 Geiger Counter devices that will be deployed to Japan. (The project minimum will fund 100 devices).

hat tip boingbong

They've raised $13,104 of their $33,000 goal from 128 backers and have 14 days left to fund their project.

Green-Rainbow Initiative Summit launches four exciting initiatives!

by: eli_beckerman

Wed Apr 20, 2011 at 20:16:37 PM EDT

Wow. There was electricity in the air from the start.  And by the end of the day, we knew for certain that something new and exciting had appeared on the scene.

Thirty-five activists met Saturday at the Green-Rainbow Party's "Initiatives Summit" in Worcester to plan a new future for Massachusetts and beyond.  One by one they rose to tell of their experiences, their hopes, and their vision.  They were tired of the betrayals of a government in which politicians routinely sold out to special interests and big money.  Tired of seeing our men and women - and civilians in far off lands - maimed and killed in wars for oil while arms merchants grew rich. They were tired seeing their neighborhoods ravaged by unemployment and foreclosures while a well-placed few grew ever richer through financial manipulation. And they were tired of seeing their democratic rights eroded by insider deals cut by the Democratic and Republican Parties.  

(continued after the jump)

Clamshell Alliance Call to Action

by: gmoke

Mon Apr 18, 2011 at 22:31:20 PM EDT

Clamshell Alliance:

A Call To Action From Fukushima

Ø Fukushima: Chernobyl in the Pacific Ocean 25 years later.

Ø Nuclear corporation Entergy is poised to violate the will of the people of Vermont and operate the Vermont Yankee reactor (same make, model and age as Fukushima) past the 3/2012 contractual closure date.

Ø Federal NRC granted the VY reactor a 20-year extension just days after the meltdowns in Japan began.

Ø We must begin now to prepare for mass nonviolent action.

Asbestos Cannot Be The Building Block Of Gaza's Future

by: epicsurvivor

Mon Apr 18, 2011 at 10:06:07 AM EDT

Even during the cease-fire Israeli officials have unabashedly shown their support for an escalation of the violence and bombing of the Gaza strip, with National Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau publicly declaring that the IDF "needed to finish off the job in Operation Cast Lead" rather than agreeing to Hamas' appeal for a cease-fire.  Unfortunately it seems unlikely that Gaza can withstand another military action like Operation Cast Lead, the IDF's brutal campaign that left over 1,500 dead and 6,000 injured, and the merciless blockade that accompanied it.  

Fight to win!

by: eli_beckerman

Wed Apr 20, 2011 at 00:57:29 AM EDT

Happy Tax Day!

by: eli_beckerman

Sat Apr 16, 2011 at 23:00:13 PM EDT

Chuck Turner's first article in Black Commentator

by: mikeheichman

Thu Apr 14, 2011 at 18:44:16 PM EDT

2009 Energy Use in the USA

by: gmoke

Wed Apr 13, 2011 at 23:37:59 PM EDT

A larger version of this chart, where you can read the numbers more easily is at
https://flowcharts.llnl.gov/content/energy/energy_archive/energy_flow_2009/LLNL_US_Energy_Flow_2009.png

Estimated US energy use in 2009 was 94.6 quadrillion btu's.  54.64 quads were "rejected energy," wasted energy.  39.97 quads actually provided energy services, did work.  We lost about 57.75% of the energy we produced to get the use of 42.25% of what we, mostly, burned.  At least, those are the percentages I get with my calculator.

Join the fight - drop the duopoly!

by: eli_beckerman

Tue Apr 12, 2011 at 13:35:39 PM EDT

"You can't spoil a system that is spoiled to the core."
--Ralph Nader

As the Los Angeles Times reports, key Democrats are beginning to embrace the no-holds-barred arena of corporate influence on political elections, in which disclosures of funding are not required by law.

Democrats putting together new independent political organizations for the 2012 campaign are embracing a model that will allow them to conceal their donors - the very tactic for which they criticized Republicans in 2010.

Majority PAC, a new group aimed at electing Democrats to the Senate, and American Bridge 21st Century, which will serve as a research hub, are being organized as so-called super political action committees that can raise unlimited amounts of money from contributors whose donations are reported to the Federal Election Commission. But both are also affiliated with nonprofit 501(c)(4) social welfare groups that can raise money from undisclosed donors and give money directly to super PACs.

The same dual structure is being considered by Bill Burton and Sean Sweeney, two former White House aides who are likely to launch their own independent expenditure effort in support of President Obama's reelection, according to people familiar with the plans.

As a spokesman for Obama, Burton repeatedly hammered Republican groups for their lack of transparency in 2010. He declined to comment.

Recycled Solar Garden Cloche

by: gmoke

Sat Apr 09, 2011 at 17:33:37 PM EDT

Every year I start my garden early by using solar cloches made from 2 liter plastic bottles.  These three cloches were planted with seed in the last week of March and first week of April, respectively, with tomato and basil, cucumber and dill, and zucchini in planting Zone 6A, eastern Massachusetts.

The ring of bottles are filled with water to store solar heat during the day and the central bottle has its bottom cut out and pressed into the soil to protect the growing seeds.

Whatever your issue, media is #2

by: eli_beckerman

Tue Apr 12, 2011 at 12:08:21 PM EDT

Kudos to Free Press, based in the Pioneer Valley, for putting on such a great event -- their fifth national conference (starting in 2003). The major theme banged home during the weekend was that no matter what your issue focus is, you've got to make media your second issue. Whether we're talking about media policy or media making, it is imperative to transform the way we communicate to each other and to larger and larger audiences of concerned citizens. From message to medium, from media justice to media literacy, this conference brought together a few thousand people who are remaking the media from the bottom up.

Nuclear Massachusetts

by: eli_beckerman

Mon Apr 11, 2011 at 14:28:34 PM EDT

Actually, what's at stake is even more troubling, considering that the Quabbin reservoir sits just about 30 miles south of Vermont Yankee, which is known to have been leaking Tritium into the Connecticut River.