Keystone

We talked before that the war was not over...
Indigenous Leaders Will Hand Obama Emergency Mother Earth Accord

This Friday, tribal leaders from across the continent will meet for their third summit with the president in Washington, and one of the prime items on the agenda will be the fight against the Keystone Pipeline. They'll talk about the way both the pipeline and the process of approving it have violated treaties, and they'll present the president with a copy of the Mother Earth Accord adopted in a special meeting at the Rosebud reservation a few weeks ago. It's a strong document, full of details about the impacts of tar sands mining and pipeline leaks and carbon emissions -- but it also speaks with the real power of the people who've lived longest and best on this continent. Indeed, it begins by affirming that "the earth is our true mother, our grandmother who gives birth to us and maintains all life."

This comes at a great time since a Republican Bill Demands a Quick Keystone XL Permit.

Republican lawmakers in Congress introduced legislation on Wednesday that would force the Obama administration to issue a construction permit for the controversial Keystone XL pipeline within 60 days unless the president decides that the project is not in the national interest.

So is the war coming to a final end? Which side will be victorious - Mother Earth or big Oil?
I think McKibben says it best...

No win lasts forever, not in environmental battles. There's always someone there who wants the money badly enough that they'll find a way...

I just hope money loses to health and environment.

Sheeple on Black Friday

#BuyNothingDay saw the sheeple riot.  But not against consumerism.  Not against the corporate giants.
They rioted with pepper spray. They punched their way through. They were tased. They were arrested. For what?
For that "great deal" on that latest DVD player/toy/junk!  They ran over or through fellow man to "get what they want!"
Instead of democracy and equality (what we need) the sheeple voted for more Stuff (what they want).  Consumer culture remains strong - not something we should be proud of.
Instead of celebrating the increase in Black Friday spending over last year, we should mourn the loss of simplicity/family/quality time...

Be very afraid

Senators Demand the Military Lock Up American Citizens in a “Battlefield” They Define as Being Right Outside Your Window

... the Senate is gearing up for a vote on Monday or Tuesday that goes to the very heart of who we are as Americans. The Senate will be voting on a bill that will direct American military resources not at an enemy shooting at our military in a war zone, but at American citizens and other civilians far from any battlefield — even people in the United States itself.

Senators need to hear from you, on whether you think your front yard is part of a “battlefield” and if any president can send the military anywhere in the world to imprison civilians without charge or trial. The Senate is going to vote on whether Congress will give this president—and every future president — the power to order the military to pick up and imprison without charge or trial civilians anywhere in the world. Even Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) raised his concerns about the NDAA detention provisions during last night’s Republican debate. The power is so broad that even U.S. citizens could be swept up by the military and the military could be used far from any battlefield, even within the United States itself.

The people are watching this.  If it is passed, there better be a veto!  If no veto then be prepared for arrests!

Enjoy your turkey dinner

Drugged-Up Turkey

As families across America adorn their dinner tables with plump, juicy turkeys this Thursday, they've likely given little thought to what their future food previously consumed.
By the end of this year, an estimated 248 million turkeys will have been raised in the U.S., approximately 83 percent on farms that produce more than 60,000 turkeys each and most eating a diet that includes low doses of antibiotics. This common agricultural practice results not only in more meaty birds, according to experts, but also in greater risks to public health.
"Antibiotic use in animals comes back to haunt people," said Stuart Levy, a Tufts University microbiology professor who focuses on antibiotic resistance. He recently co-authored a review of the evidence showing how animal antibiotics affect human health -- via direct contact and indirectly via food, water, air and anywhere manure goes.
Levy and other experts warn that the widespread use of antibiotics to treat sick livestock, prevent the spread of disease in cramped conditions or simply promote animal growth has fueled the proliferation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which is making many infections in humans harder to treat.

Makes your mouth water doesn't it?

Santa needs a break

#OCCUPYXMAS kicks off Nov 25/26

You’ve been sleeping on the streets for two months pleading peacefully for a new spirit in economics. And just as your camps are raided, your eyes pepper sprayed and your head’s knocked in, another group of people are preparing to camp-out. Only these people aren’t here to support occupy Wall Street, they’re here to secure their spot in line for a Black Friday bargain at Super Target and Macy’s.
Occupy gave the world a new way of thinking about the fat cats and financial pirates on Wall Street. Now lets give them a new way of thinking about the holidays, about our own consumption habits. Lets’ use the coming 20th annual Buy Nothing Day to launch an all-out offensive to unseat the corporate kings on the holiday throne.
This year’s Black Friday will be the first campaign of the holiday season where we set the tone for a new type of holiday culminating with #OCCUPYXMAS. As the global protests of the 99% against corporate greed and casino capitalism continues, lets take the opportunity to hit the empire where it really hurts…the wallet.
On Nov 25/26th we escape the mayhem and unease of the biggest shopping day in North America and put the breaks on rabid consumerism for 24 hours. Flash mobs, consumer fasts, mall sit-ins, community events, credit card-ups, whirly-marts and jams, jams, jams! We don’t camp on the sidewalk for a reduced price tag on a flat screen TV or psycho-killer video game. Instead, we occupy the very paradigm that is fueling our eco, social and political decline.
Historically, Buy Nothing Day has been about fasting from hyper consumerism – a break from the cash register and reflecting on how dependent we really are on conspicuous consumption. On this 20th anniversary of Buy Nothing Day, we take it to the next level, marrying it with the message of #occupy…
We #OCCUPYXMAS.
Shenanigans begin November 25!

Santa and his cronies will be upset but that shepherd and little drummer boy (both of lore) at the stable will revel in this campaign

O's mic check

Occupy Wall Street Protester Delivers Statement To Obama

A speech by President Obama in New Hampshire was briefly disrupted Tuesday, when Occupy protesters attempted to upstage him with a so-called "mic check." Though they were quickly drowned out by a chorus of "Obama, Obama," one protester reached the president while he was shaking hands after his address and delivered him their complete message by hand.
"Mr. President: Over 4000 peaceful protesters have been arrested. While banksters continue to destroy the American economy with impunity. You must stop the assault on our 1st amendment rights. Your silence sends a message that police brutality is acceptable. Banks got bailed out. We got sold out."

A weak response by O.  More of a "no response" IMO.

Pepper Spraying Democracy

More at jockohomo.tumblr.com/

My own revolution

What Does Gardening Have to Do with the #Occupy Movement?

"Vegetable gardening has been called 'the peaceful sedition' because at the most basic level, when a person can feed and shelter herself, she doesn't require a government to provide for her. ... It's not about pride or independence, or even connecting with nature. It's about wanting hash browns on a Saturday morning and being able to run out to the backyard in your bathrobe to grab some potatoes from the garden."
I would argue that, even more, it means that she doesn't need a corporation to provide for her. And when we don't need the corporations, they cease to have the ability to exist -- or at least cease to have so much power that the will of the people means nothing. Look at the way we're fighting for something as simple, as self-explanatory, as GMO labeling. 87 percent of Americans want to know if they're eating GMOs or not. The hubris of corporate America, and their Congressional lapdogs, is what is keeping us from that knowledge.
"Certain gardens are described as retreats when they are really attacks." -- Ian Hamilton Finlay This is how I've come to see my garden, bit by bit, over the years. Where others see a peaceful place to while away a summer afternoon, I see a full arsenal in my fight against corporatocracy. The shake of a seed packet is my chant; rows of chard and beds of potatoes are my weapons.

The power of the garden trowel!

FOX News - drug of choice?

Surprise: Fox News Viewers are Most Misinformed About Climate Science, Study Confirms

It's almost become a cliche to point out that Fox News is less a reliable news organization and more of an ideological agenda-setter for the American conservative movement. As such, the statement itself has come to be regarded less as a fact than liberal griping. Which is why it's important to remember that all that griping is actually founded in facts.
Studies have previously been conducted to determine whether the existence of a so-called 'Fox News Effect' -- whether people who use Fox to get most of their news are more misinformed about world events and scientific truths, and whether that misinformation skews towards supporting a conservative political agenda. The answer, it seems, has largely been a resounding 'yes'.
There really does seem to be a “Fox News effect," then, and one that is playing a central role in driving our political divide over reality in the U.S. And now comes a true tour-de-force seventh study showing that Fox News viewers are the most misinformed, this time once again about global warming.

Okay - I know2 you really didn't need another reason to not watch FAUX News.

Crazy buys

In Wake of Chevron's Major Oil Spill, Forbes Says: Buy Stock in Chevron

Yesterday, Chevron officially admitted that it was responsible for a massive spill that loosed as many as 3,700 barrels of oil a day into the Atlantic Ocean. Though the rupture that caused the release has since been plugged, oil is continuing to leak into the sea at a rate of 420-4,200 barrels a day. That's Chevron's estimate, anyway. The Brazilian government says that thus far, at least 110,000 gallons of oil have been released into the deep blue.
So, what's the response from Forbes? Buy Chevron!
Bearing advice that is sure to win Wall Street countless new fans, Nigam Arora, a stock trader and investment officer, penned an article for Forbes entitled "Why I'm Buying Chevron And Transocean Because Of The Brazilian Spill."

Morals? Who needs them!

Easy and meaningful

Peace Wreath

Supplies: one old wreath, cardboard tubes, scrap fabric, and a hot glue gun.

Very easy to make. Makes a strong statement. A must have wreath!

Bloomberg and Keith

Keith Olbermann was spot on when he called Bloomberg a

PUTZ!

Revolution

Running through the fire, running through the flame, running through the hatred, pushing through the blame, running through the hopelessness and shame, revolution already underway.

Belated birthday greetings

Enough of this Bull!

Drugs in your burger

FDA To Reject Antibiotic Ban

The FDA has rejected a petition to ban certain antibiotics for use in livestock that are important for the preservation of human health. The two petitions, filed by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, Environmental Defense, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Public Health Association, Food Animal Concerns Trust (FACT), and the Union of Concerned Scientists, were requested in 1999 and 2005, according to Food Safety News.
The FDA has announced that it will reject two petitions filed that would have banned the use of some antibiotics in livestock.

Did it really take the FDA 12 and 6 years to decide?
Maybe Perry should add this agency to his "cut list" after this joke of a ruling?
Need another reason to avoid meat?

Words of Caution and Sense

Imitating #OCCUPY To Death

If #OCCUPY is to be a revolution, it cannot become a ritual. We must innovate and never imitate.

What is in Texas' water?

It's not dead yet!

U.S. to seek new Keystone route, delaying approval

The Obama administration plans to announce on Thursday it will explore a new route for a Canada-to-Texas oil pipeline, delaying a final approval beyond the 2012 U.S. election, sources briefed on the matter said.
The decision would be a victory for environmentalists, many of whom oppose the pipeline, and a setback for TransCanada Corp, whose $7 billion Keystone XL project is seen as the most important North American oil pipeline plan for decades.
One source familiar with the matter said that studying a new route for the pipeline would likely take 12-18 months, putting a final decision after President Barack Obama's bid for re-election on November 6, 2012.
If the administration explores a new route, "it's a huge victory, and it would probably be the biggest environmental gift that President Barack Obama has given us," said Tony Iallonardo, a spokesman at the National Wildlife Federation.
Some of Obama's liberal supporters have strongly opposed the project and delaying a decision could allow Obama to avoid antagonizing environmentalists disillusioned with his progress on climate change. However, it could also open up a line of attack from Republicans who could argue that a delay will slow job growth.

So not dead and buried but delayed and "looking for a new home." A victory? Clearly this is a battle won but the war is still going on!

Hope in Congress?

Democrats ax bill to block US EPA clean air rule

Senate Democrats defeated a bill on Thursday that would have blocked federal environmental regulators from slashing power plant air pollution that blows downwind to other states and causes lung and heart problems.
The bill, sponsored by Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican and Tea Party favorite, needed only a simple majority of 50 to pass. The measure got only 41, while 56 voted against it. Only one Democrat, Joe Manchin from coal-rich West Virginia, voted for it.

Cheer yes - for now. But unless these guys finally get a spine and stand up against the lobbyists then be ready for tomorrow.

Watch for the flash

Scary! It could be any of us.

Three cheers Roger

Tar sands and money

We'll See if Obama's "An Oil Guy or a People Guy"

12,000 tar sands protesters wrapped themselves in a huge human chain around the White House. A couple months before, 1,253 people got arrested in another powerful demonstration. Green groups, students, activists, celebrities, and politicians have all rallied behind a single, unambiguous message to Barack Obama: Deny the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline proposal.
Yesterday's event saw the biggest turnout yet -- in fact, Bill McKibben, a head organizer, said that NRDC founder (who was also in attendance) John Adams had speculated that it was the biggest environmental protest that the White House has seen in decades.

But come on now Bill. So far the money has been talking to the State Department and others in DC.
Sure a Top U.S. Climate Scientist is against it...



But can he line the pockets of Congress. Ha! I didn't think so.

It's the money, stupid!

Tomorrow at Liberty Square

From Jambands.com:

Following the lead of fellow political songwriters like Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie and Tom Morello, David Crosby and Graham Nash will play for Occupy Wall Street protesters tomorrow. Nash and Crosby will play Occupy Wall Street’s New York home base in Zuccotti Park at roughly 3 PM. Crosby and Nash—who have toured and recorded as a duo as of late—are in New York for a performance with Crosby, Stills & Nash tonight.

Wonder what train i would have to catch out of Norwalk?

Running on grease

Freedom Fuel: A Petroleum Free Tour from Quiet Life on Vimeo.

They - and their van - will be inb New Haven on November 23. Grease anyone?

BP and the bad boys

BP's bid to clean up its act dealt blow by revelations in Russia case

BP's attempt to rebuild its public image after the worst oil spill in US history has been dealt a blow by court documents showing it was willing to do a major deal with Russian billionaires whom it regarded as "crooks and thugs" to gain access to the country's vast oil wealth.

Wonder if those billionaires feel the same way about BP?  I know I do

Poor Koch Bros

Activists Gather to Protest Koch Brothers Gala

Americans for Prosperity, a GOP front group funded in part by billionaires Charles and David Koch, held a gala at DC’s Walter E. Washington Convention Center. The event was part of its Defending the American Dream Summit and featured appearances by Republican presidential hopefuls Mitt Romney and Herman Cain.
As the GOP’s A-list sat down for an evening of dinner and a movie (a screening of Atlas Shrugged), a group of protesters gathered outside the convention center for a counter-event sponsored by Health Care For America Now! and The Other 98% called the "Koch Brothers Guerrilla Drive-In." The organizers aimed a projector at the wall of the convention center building to screen a short documentary about how the Koch brothers have used their massive fortune to influence the country's democracy. The atmosphere was filled with anger and excitement as the number of people gathered outside the convention center grew, largely due to Occupy DC and Occupy K Street protesters who marched from their encampments at McPherson Square and Freedom Plaza to “Occupy the Kochs.”

Those poor brothers.  They were only there to welcome family.

They are all proud to be the 1%, against science, against facts, for power....and for Godfather Pizza.

Don't give up the fight

S.W.A.T.

How to respond everywhere.

‘Occupy Squads’ are groups of people willing and committed to responding to examples of injustice created by the system, wherever they should arise. If someone is screwed over by a bank, by an employer, by government red tape, they no longer have to face it all alone – now they have a group, a squad, a movement to back them up. 'Occupy Squads' are people on call, ready to respond in the local struggle at the site of injustice, occupying until there is some justice. Such a move would flip the system on it’s head.

A 99% SWAT team.  Love this idea.

Go Bernie!

"I won't believe a corporation is a person until Texas executes one."

The future is bright

The Future of #OCCUPY

Of the many questions swirling around #OCCUPY, the most challenging is how to gel into a global movement without sacrificing the decentralized, leaderless model. There is a widespread acknowledgment that there are challenges that can only be dealt with on a global scale, such as a climate change accord and overturning international casino capitalism, and that we must therefore forge a globally united people's movement. However, there is also a growing recognition that the general assembly model that has worked beautifully thus far may be fundamentally limited on a structural level.
A breakthrough came on Friday from the New York City General Assembly where the structure working group has proposed, and the general assembly has accepted, the adoption of a modified spokes council model that will work in conjunction with the general assembly. This lays the foundation for a regional, national and potentially international spokes council, something that both #OCCUPYPHILLY and The 99 Percent Declaration have been pushing for. We are beginning to see how the #OCCUPY movement will elevate itself into an international force.

As the Earth's health is intertwined with ours - our plight is intertwined with every single person in this world.  It is no longer our state, their nation...it is one big interconnected world.

It is all connected

Green issues and greenbacks: Occupy Wall Street connects the dots

Occupy Wall Street (OWS) protesters linked climate and the environment to their movement this past Sunday, Oct. 30.
OWS's environmental working group put the Climate Justice Day event together in five days, hosting workshops at New York City's Zuccotti Park on topics such as fracking and sustainable economics.
Throughout the day, speakers drew connections between the economy and the environment. "Every bank which you are down here protesting finances extreme energy -- fracking, tar sands development, mountaintop removal, deep water drilling," said Gasland documentary director Josh Fox after a "mic check" to the crowd.
He encouraged listeners to join the protest against fracking in the Delaware River basin planned for Nov. 21 in Trenton, N.J., to protect New York City's drinking supply. "Right now," he said, "50 percent of New York State, including the New York City watershed, the aquifers and the aqueducts that bring the water to the city are in jeopardy of this massive natural gas drilling campaign."

Planet welfare, our health, our survival - intertwined.

1% Cartman

1%
Get More: SOUTH
PARKEric Cartman,Wendy Testaburger,more...

'South Park' Tackles Occupy Wall Street

We wonder if those in charge of banks are reacting the same way that Cartman does while alone in his room.

Koch Bros Naked

No, no Rush...not naked that way. Don't get excited.
Best Koch Brothers TV Expose Yet

Stitching together their own field research with the best Koch footage out there from Taki Oldham's documentary Astroturf Wars and Lee Fang's great jump interview of David Koch (with Tim Phillips trying desperately to cut it off), this story provides a great picture of the Koch Brothers campaign to dominate the American political arena.